Despite the fact that farming is one of the most important human activities that brings food to our tables, it contributes significantly to global pollution. Unsustainable farm practices result in the loss of biodiversity, climate changes, erosion, and the pollution of soil and water. However, when managed in a sustainable way, farming can be a source of solutions for future demands.
Organic farming, as a sustainable farming practice, started like a vision of pioneers. There are now 2.3 million certified farmers who are growing organic crops on 43.7 million hectares in 172 countries. Although this farm practice reaches only 1% of the global agricultural land, its advantages are becoming more prominent. It’s important to point out that Bhutan is the first country that has pledged to become 100% organic by 2020. Following its example, Sikkim in India converted 75 000 hectares into certified organic farms.
What is the Best about Organic Farming?
Although there are numerous scientific and public discussions about organic farming and its management practices, this type of farming has many benefits for both the soil and humans:
- It is environmentally friendly; organic farm practices avoid any risks for water, soil and air pollution and organic fertilizers increase soil organic carbon thus, sequestering large amounts of carbon from the atmosphere to the soil
- Organic soil management practices improve soil fertility; organic manure combined with crop rotation increases nutrient use efficiency, reduces erosion and increases access to water during drought periods, thus enabling healthy and viable soil that can be used for a long period of time
- Lower input costs; the costs of organic fertilizers and pesticides are much lower than in conventional farming due to the use of free natural products
- Added value to a product; organically produced crops can achieve bigger price than conventionally grown, which provides a much higher income for farmers
- Healthy food; organic food is free from any chemicals, hormones, and artificial colors or preservatives, which eliminates any health risks.
Advantages of organic farming
Organic Farming as a Popular Practice
Not only is organic farming recognized among the farmers who are willing to implement it as a sustainable farm practice, it’s also the only suitable way of farming for farmers in developing areas without access to synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. It’s interesting that many conventional farmers recognized the advantages of organic practices and started using or even converting their farms into organic. Some organic practices they use are fertilization with manure to improve soil fertility of depleted soils and to enhance soil organic matter and biological plant protection using natural enemies as well as anaerobic soil disinfestation, which was already written about in our previous blog post
Although organic farming has many regulations and restrictions, farmers still need to track their activities on fields. To facilitate tiresome record keeping and to have it all in one place, AGRIVI farm management software gives them the best organic practices for 100 crops and helps track all organic materials, work hours and finances on their farm. With powerful analytics, AGRIVI software allows farmers to track complete the farm’s productivity and profitability based on entered data.
Make your organic farming easy as a song – use AGRIVI.
Text sources: Organic Farming Research Foundation || FAO || Organic Food
Image sources:Â Behance
