ORGANIC farming, once seen as a fad for overfed Westerners, is increasingly
feeding the poor world too.
鈥淔armers in developing countries are reaping the benefits of green
agricultural practices far more than their Western counterparts,鈥� says a study
launched last week at a conference in Nuremburg on organic farming. 鈥淚n the
West, the myth is that organic farming means lower yields,鈥� adds the study鈥檚
author, Nicolas Parrott of Cardiff University. 鈥淏ut in the developing world that
does not apply, especially among poor farmers who can鈥檛 afford massive amounts
of fertiliser and pesticides. For them, it raises yields.鈥�
Often, farmers turn to organic methods only reluctantly, as governments
withdraw subsidies for agrochemicals or as pests become resistant to pesticides.
But they are sometimes surprised by the results.
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For instance, cotton farmers in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh all but
gave up production after the main pest there, the whitefly, became resistant to
common pesticides. To rescue the business, one cotton mill encouraged its
suppliers to grow weeds that lure the flies away. Seven years on, yields are up
20 per cent, labour and production costs have fallen by 30 per cent, and more
than 1000 farmers cultivating more than 6000 hectares have joined the
scheme.
Cuba had to shift to organic farming methods after the collapse of the Soviet
Union cut its supplies of expensive agrochemicals. Local scientists recruited a
parasitic fly to keep cane borers out of sugar fields, a predatory ant to tackle
weevils on sweet potatoes, and a wasp to stop caterpillars eating their way
through cassava fields. Today, 65 per cent of Cuba鈥檚 rice and 50 per cent of its
fresh vegetables are produced organically, Parrott says.
In other examples highlighted in the report, which was co-sponsored by
Greenpeace, rice farmers in Madagascar have upped yields from 3 to 10 tonnes per
hectare. And Brazilians doubled their maize yields by using crop residues and
alternating maize with other crops to improve the fertility of their soils.
The findings mirror a similar study by Jules Pretty of the University of
Essex last year. He found average yield increases of 73 per cent on projects in
the developing world that used sustainable methods, often organic. In all, the
projects covered 3 per cent of Third World fields (New Scientist, 3 February
2001, p 16).