Chapter 3- Green Organic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXe0K1XrMjo

Introduction & Perception

Learn more about  Organic Farming

Definition:

Method of crop and livestock production that involves much more than choosing not to use pesticides, fertilizers, genetically modified organisms, antibiotics and growth hormones.

Method of farming system which primarily aimed at cultivating the land and raising crops in such a way, as to keep the soil alive and in good health by use of organic wastes (crop, animal, farm wastes and aquatic wastes) and other biological materials along with beneficial materials along with beneficial microbes (bio-fertilizers) to release nutrients to crops for increased sustainable production in an eco-friendly pollution free environment

Holistic system designed to optimize the productivity and fitness   of diverse communities within the agro-ecosystem, including soil organisms, plants, livestock and people.

Goal:

•   To develop enterprises that are sustainable and harmonious with the environment.
•  To concern for the environment and working with agricultural chemicals in conventional farming systems.

Successful organic farming:

• §  The adoption of genetically engineered (GMO) corn and canola varieties on conventional farms has created the issue of buffer zones or isolation distance for organic corns and canola crops.
• §  Farmers produce corn and canola organically are required to manage the risks of GMO contamination in order to produce a “GMO free” product.

Characteristics:

•  Protecting the long term fertility of soils by maintaining organic matter levels, encouraging soil biological activity and careful mechanical intervention.
• Providing crop nutrients indirectly using relatively insoluble nutrient sources which are made available to the plant by the action of soil micro-organisms.
• Careful attention to the impact of the farming system on the wider environment, conservation of wildlife and natural habitats.

Transition Period:

•   First few years of organic production are the harvest.
•   Organic lands must be managed using organic practices for 36 months prior to harvest of the first certified organic crop.
•   When both soil and manager adjust to the new system.
•   Insects and weed populations also adjust during this time.
•  Cash flow can be a problem due to the unstable nature of the yields and the fact that price premiums are frequently not available during the transition since the products do not qualified as “certified organic”.
• Farmers choose to convert to organic production in stager.
• Crops with a low cost of production are commonly frown during the transition period to help manage this task.

Advantages:

          

1.Nutrition

Nutritional value of food is largely a function of its vitamin and mineral content.

Organically grown food is dramatically superior in minerals content to that grown by modern conventional methods.

2. Poison-free

Free contamination with health harming chemicals such as pesticides, fungicides and herbicides.

3. Food keeps longer

Organically grown plants are nourished naturally, rendering the structural and metabolic integrity of their cellular structured superior to those conventional grown.

As a result, organically grown foods can be stored longer and do not show the latter’s susceptibility to the rapid moulding and rotting.

Disadvantages:

• ·         Time

Requires greater interaction between a farmer and his crop for observation, timely intervention and weed control for instance.

It is inherently more labour intensive than chemical or mechanical intensive agriculture so that naturally a single farmer can produce more crop using industrial method than he or she could by solely organic methods.

• ·         Skills

       It requires considerably more skills to farm organically.

Organic farmers do not have some convenient chemical fix on the shelf for every problem they encounter.

They have to engage careful observation and greater understanding in order to know how to tweak their farming system to correct the cause of the problem rather than simply putting a plaster over its effect.

 

When an organic farmer succeed, we all thrive