What is organic agriculture?

“Organic” means “of plant or animal origin”. Organic agriculture (OA) is therefore a kind of farming that uses organic manures or other natural inputs such as pesticides of plant origin and renounces the use of synthetic or chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Organic farming follows the example of a living organism in which the elements like soil, plants, farm animals, insects, and the farmer are closely linked with each other. It therefore depends on a thorough understanding and proper management of these interactions and processes.

However, organic farming is also defined by standards that explain the principles and permitted methods and inputs. While standards are well suited to define a minimum common understanding of the rules of organic agriculture, they do not explain how it is practiced.

The principles of organic agriculture, as defined by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM – Organic International), the umbrella organisation for organic organisations worldwide, apply to agriculture in the broader context. They include the way farmers manage soils, water, plants and animals in order to produce, process and distribute food and non-food products. The four basic principles health, ecology, fairness and care can be seen as the basis upon which organic agriculture is built. The detailed rules and regulations are specifically elaborated by national legislations and private label organisations.

Main characteristics of organic farmers

Depending on the types of crop or livestock enterprises on the farm, organic farmers:

Combine scientific knowledge of ecology and modern technology with traditional farming practices based on naturally occurring biological processes. The methods are continuously refined based on new findings on the interactions among the different elements on the farm such as plants, soil organisms, natural enemies of pests or disease controlling effects of natural substances.
Rely on fertilizers of organic origin such as compost, manure, green manures, bone meal and others.
Rely on naturally occurring substances while prohibiting or strictly limiting synthetic substances. It excludes genetically modified organisms, nano-materials, human sewage sludge, plant growth regulators, hormones, and limits antibiotic use in livestock husbandry.
Manage soil organic matter to maintain fertility of their soils based on (micro)biological activity and a good soil structure, and to encourage maximum water and nutrient conservation, minimal erosion and timely mineralisation of nutrients.
Place emphasis on techniques such as cultivation of nitrogen fixing plants (mostly legumes) for fertilisation of crops, and planned rotation of crops to avoid development of soil-borne pests and diseases.
Use resistant or tolerant varieties, applies mixed cropping, creates good growth conditions, ensures crop hygiene, encourages insect predators, and uses biological pesticides (among other measures) to control pests and diseases.
Use crop rotation, cover crops and mulches to suppress weeds, while cultural, biological, mechanical, and physical methods are applied to control weeds without using synthetic herbicides.
Raise livestock and poultry for meat, dairy, and eggs, providing animals with nature-like living conditions and natural, farm-own feed.
Minimize negative impacts on climate change e. g. by encouraging minimum disturbance of the soil, and keeping the soil covered with vegetation as much as possible.
Organise fair and long-term partnerships along the value chain for the marketing of their products. To cover possible additional costs and effort and to make sustainable investments in their farms, organic farmers aim for higher prices for their products than the prices for conventional products, including by processing their own products on the farm as far as possible to increase their added value.

Introduction to organic farming

Introduce the farmers to the principles and characteristics of organic agriculture. Explain to them the difference between practicing organic farming by renouncing chemical pesticides only, or by combining best agricultural practice with the application of specific organic practices.

Discuss possible benefits of organic agriculture in their context.

What can be motivations of farmers to adopt organic farming practices?
Are there any constraints to adoption of organic farming?

Discuss opportunities and risks of organic farming in a local context. Mention organic certification or participatory guarantee systems as a prerequisite for marketing organic products. Discuss the challenges and potentials of marketing OA products in their context.

Note

For further information on the definition and the benefits of organic agriculture, and the comparison of organic farming with other forms of farming see Module 1 of the African Organic Agriculture Training Manual at www.organic-africa.net > Training Manual, and the website of IFOAM at ifoam.bio.