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Conference on 'Sustainable diet and food security'
Symposium 2: Food production system
28 - 29 May 2013
Joint meeting between the Belgian Nutrition Society, The Nutrition Society and Société Française de Nutrition
Faculté de Médecine, Lille
At present, agriculture faces the unprecedented challenge to secure food supplies for a rapidly growing human population while seeking to minimise the adverse impacts of agriculture on the environment and reduce the use of non-renewable resources and energy. A shift towards sustainable agricultural production entails the adoption of more system-oriented strategies, which include farm-derived inputs and productivity based on ecological processes and functions(1).Sustainable agricultural systems also involve the traditional knowledge and entrepreneurial skills of farmers(2).System-oriented sustainable practices include organic farming, Low External Input Sustainable Agriculture and agro-forestry. In addition, a few elements of agro-ecology such as integrated pest management, integrated production and conservation tillage, have been successfully adopted by conventional farms as well.
The concept of organic agriculture
Organic farming is most consistent in combining agro-ecological approaches with productivity. Because of the ban or restricted use of many direct control techniques such as pesticides, herbicides, synthetic soluble fertilisers and veterinary medicines, organic farmers rely heavily on preventive and system-oriented practices. Organic farm management aims to maximise the stability and homoeostasis of agro-ecosystems. It improves soil fertility through the incorporation of legumes and compost and by the recycling of local nutrients and organic matter. Preventive and direct measures found in nature are the repertoire of organic farmers to regulate pests and diseases in crops and livestock.
Less driven by off-farm inputs and better embedded in ecosystem functions, organic farms are supposed to produce more public goods than the conventional ones. In addition, organic producers claim to deliver premium quality and healthy foods, which leads to a continuously growing demand by consumers. While the organic food chains are well organised in developed markets, organic farming is still germinal in most developing countries. They often organise access to local markets as part of a Participatory Guarantee System (a system relying on mutual control within a farm community or group of farmers) or, as a second step, they can profit from high-value export markets when certified by accredited third-parties....