Vanguard Neurologist

From FoodNavigator.com

Organic farming can yield up to three times as much food on individual farms in developing countries, as low-intensive methods on the same land, says a new study from the University of Michigan.

The research, published in the journal Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, could challenge the long-standing view that organic farming methods cannot produce enough food to feed the global population.

The research, published in the journal , could challenge the long-standing view that farming methods cannot produce enough food to feed the global population.While yields of organic and conventional farms were approximately the same in developed countries, said the researchers, in developing countries, food production could double or triple using organic methods.

“My hope is that we can finally put a nail in the coffin of the idea that you can’t produce enough food through organic agriculture,” said lead researcher Ivette Perfecto.

According to the Organic Trade Association (OTA)’s 2006 Manufacturer Survey, organic products currently make up 2.5 percent of all retail sales of food in the US. The overall food organic market grew 28 percent since 2003 to reach a total value of $14bn in 2005, and is expected to reach $16bn by the end of 2006.

Yet despite the steady growth of the market in the past decade, one obstacle that still remains is the lack of adequate supply. The sectors hardest hit by supply shortages are the organic orange juice, meat and dairy sectors.

But in developing countries, yields of organic crops would equal or better conventionally produced crops using existing quantities of organic fertilizers, without putting more farmland into production.

Perfecto and co-workers compiled data from published literature to investigate the two chief objections to organic farming: low yields and lack of organically acceptable nitrogen sources.

Their findings challenge these arguments, said Perfecto, and confirm that organic farming is less environmentally harmful yet can potentially produce more than enough food.

And this could be good news for developing countries, where many farmers still do not have the access to the expensive fertilizers and pesticides. Yields in developing countries could increase dramatically by switching to organic farming, she added.

A comparison of nitrogen availability for both organic and conventional farming techniques, calculated by multiplying the current farmland area by the average amount of nitrogen available for production crops if “green manures” were planted between growing seasons, showed that planting green manures between growing seasons provided enough nitrogen to replace synthetic fertilizers.

For their analysis, researchers defined the term organic as: practices referred to as sustainable or ecological; that utilize non-synthetic nutrient cycling processes; that exclude or rarely use synthetic pesticides; and sustain or regenerate the soil quality.

Perfecto said the idea that people would go hungry if farming went organic is “ridiculous.”

“Corporate interest in agriculture and the way agriculture research has been conducted in land grant institutions, with a lot of influence by the chemical companies and pesticide companies as well as fertilizer companies – all have been playing an important role in convincing the public that you need to have these inputs to produce food,” she added.

From FoodNavigator.com:

The US organic sector has become increasingly dependent on imported ingredients as a supply squeeze continues to limit the sector’s growth, according to a new report from the US Department of Agriculture.

Despite dire predictions for organic sales in the current economic climate, the sector has continued to grow, with US sales up 15.8 percent in 2008, according to a recent study from Lieberman Research Group on behalf of the Organic Trade Association.

But the USDA report, entitled Emerging Issues in the US Organic Industry, said that nearly half of US organic handlers find ingredients in short supply and, in 2004, 13 percent failed to meet market demand for at least one of their products.

“While new producers have emerged to help meet demand, market participants report that a supply squeeze is constraining firm growth and limiting growth in the overall sector,” it said.

Looking elsewhere

Although certified organic acreage has doubled in the US since 1997, organic food sales have quintupled over the same period, from $3.6bn to $21.1bn last year. This has led handlers to look to international markets for supplies – which can often be cheaper due to lower labor and input costs.

In 2007, the USDA certified 27,000 producers or handlers worldwide to the US organic standard; approximately 16,000 in the US and 11,000 in more than 100 foreign countries.

Local competition?

The USDA highlighted several studies showing that consumers tend to value local production over organic, and that they would also be willing to pay a premium for locally produced food.

“A weaker US economy and higher food prices, along with new competition from food marketed as “locally grown,” have not yet had a major impact on the organic marketplace, but are emerging issues,” it said.

However, even as larger organic farms and international producers and have entered the market, the USDA said that small players are not losing out.

“The smallest US organic farms have maintained a stable share of the organic sector,” it said.

US organic demand has outstripped supply since the early 1990s – when many organic suppliers were forced to sell their products on conventional markets due to a lack of consumer demand. Now, the most problematic supply issues are found with coffee, soybeans, milk, seeds, corn, and nuts.

Although the growth of organic sector is “rising from a small base”, accounting for about three percent of total US food sales, the report said that a majority of Americans buy organic products at least occasionally. According to a survey from market research organization The Hartman Group, 69 percent of Americans bought organic in 2008.

Fruit and vegetables still represent the biggest sub-sector of organic food sales in the US at 37 percent, followed by beverage and dairy at 14 percent each. Areas of fastest growth include the organic beverage sector, which grew by 40 percent in 2008, and organic breads and grains, which achieved 35 percent growth over the year.

From FoodNavigator-USA.com

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced that the US Department of Agriculture will conduct its first ever large-scale survey of organic farming in the US this spring.

Speculation has been rife about how well the organic sector will hold up during the recession as consumers change their purchasing priorities and look to scale back as a result of financial hardship. Research indicates that organic growth has frozen, but it is still expected to pick up as the global economic situation improves.

Vilsack said: “The Organic Production Survey is a direct response to the growing interest in organics among consumers, farmers, and businesses. This is an opportunity for organic producers to share their voices and help ensure the continued growth and sustainability of organic farming in the United States.”

He added that the reason for the survey was to better understand how organic farming is “changing the face of US agriculture”.

In 2007, the Census of Agriculture counted more than 20,000 farms involved in organic production. The survey will concentrate on various aspects of organic farming during the 2008 calendar year, including marketing and production practices, as well as income and expenses.

Shaping future decisions

It will also focus not only on established organic farms, but also examine those making the transition to organic, with the aim of helping other farmers make informed decisions about the future of their production practices.

The USDA said in a statement: “The results will help shape future decisions regarding farm policy, funding allocations, availability of goods and services, community development and other key issues.”

Despite promising growth in recent years, research conducted by the Hartman Group found that demand for organic goods began to slow last year.

Although the number of consumers using organics increased from 55 percent to 73 percent between 2000 and 2006, there has been no notable change between 2006 and 2008, according to the organization.

It concluded that its findings “indicate that aggregate organic use patterns have basically remained the same since 2006”.

Market research organization Mintel, on the other hand, said that it expects to see “slowing but steady growth” in the organic sector over the next five years.

The USDA said that it will mail its survey to all known organic farms in the country in early May, and asks that they are returned by June 17. It will also be possible to complete the survey online at www.agcensus.usda.gov .

The National Agricultural Statistics Service said it will publish its findings this winter.