Organic farming could feed the world

July 13, 2007 | Source: NewScientist.com news service

A switch to organic farming would not reduce the world’s food supply and could also increase food security in developing countries, say the authors of a new study.

They found that in developed countries, organic systems on average produce 92 percent of the yield produced by conventional agriculture. In developing countries, however, organic systems produce 80 percent more than conventional farms because the materials needed for organic farming are more accessible to farmers in poor countries (they cannot afford the fertilisers and pesticides needed for intensive agriculture).