Organic agriculture alone can't fight hunger: FAO
Rome (PTI): Organic farming may produce wholesome, nutritious food and generate income for developed and developing countries, but it cannot be solely relied upon to ensure global food security, the Food and Agriculture Organisation has said.
"We should use organic agriculture and promote it. But you cannot feed six billion people today and nine billion in 2050 without judicious use of chemical fertilisers," FAO Director-General Dr Jacques Diouf said here on Monday.
FAO has no reason to believe that organic agriculture can substitute for conventional farming systems in ensuring the food security, Diouf said, commenting on recent press and media reports suggesting that FAO endorses organic agriculture as a solution to world hunger.
Organic farming generally bars the use of any chemical inputs. Nearly 31 million hectares, or roughly two per cent of the world's farm land, was cultivated organically in 2005, generating sales of some 24 billion dollars in the EU, the US, Canada and Asia in 2006.
In May of this year, FAO hosted an international conference on organic agriculture. One of the papers presented for discussion argued that organic agriculture could produce enough food for the current world population.
However, according to FAO data, the productivity of organic farming as opposed to conventional method show that the potential of organic agriculture is far from large enough to feed the world.
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