Eco-farming could double food output by 2020: UN
Yasir Wardad | Monday, 4 April 2011
Yasir Wardad
Farmers in developing countries can double their food production in 10 years by transitioning from the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides to ecological agriculture (eco-farming), says a United Nations study. The new UN report, presented to the U.N. Human Rights Council last month, found that eco-farming projects had led to an average crop yield increase of 80 per cent in 57 developing countries. It showed small-scale farmers could double the food production in ten years in developing countries by using their indigenous methods that focusses on organic practices. As world food prices continue to climb, feeding the world's population would become increasingly difficult, according to the report on agro-ecology and the right to food said. It estimated that the world, now populated by 6.7 billion people, would expand to 9 billion by 2050. "To feed 9 billion people in 2050, we urgently need to adopt the most efficient farming techniques available," Olivier De Schutter, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food and author of the report, He said, "Today's scientific evidence demonstrates that agro-ecological (eco-farming) methods outperform the use of chemical fertilisers in boosting food production where the hungry live -- especially in unfavourable environments". The report also points out that projects in Bangladesh, Indonesia and Vietnam recorded up to 92 per cent reduction in insecticide use for rice, leading to important savings for poor farmers. Addressing the climate change scenario, the report said, "We won't solve hunger and stop climate change with industrial farming on large plantations." He pointed out that agriculture "is at a crossroads," and growers will have to implement methods that allow continued crop yield in a time when industrial farming - heavily dependent on oil - is simply not sustainable, nor affordable, for many farmers in developing nations. Dr. Wais Kabir, executive chairman of Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council said, "We have two paths concerning agriculture- chemical reliant farming and eco-farming. We have to accommodate both." "Now-a- days, depending only on eco- farming will not succeed to ensure the food security where increasing yield is essential," he said. At the same time, he added, the country must eschew "indiscriminate use of chemical fertiliser or pesticides." Dr. Kabir noted that 'the Pesticide Rule 2010' had also recognised the eco-farming methods combating harmful pests and the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programmes had been incorporated under the rule. The Department of Agricultural Extension said chemical fertiliser use increased 200 per cent in last decade in Bangladesh. More than 4.2 million tonnes of chemical fertiliser and 48,500 tonnes of pesticides were used in 2009-10 by Bangladeshi farmers.
Farmers in developing countries can double their food production in 10 years by transitioning from the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides to ecological agriculture (eco-farming), says a United Nations study. The new UN report, presented to the U.N. Human Rights Council last month, found that eco-farming projects had led to an average crop yield increase of 80 per cent in 57 developing countries. It showed small-scale farmers could double the food production in ten years in developing countries by using their indigenous methods that focusses on organic practices. As world food prices continue to climb, feeding the world's population would become increasingly difficult, according to the report on agro-ecology and the right to food said. It estimated that the world, now populated by 6.7 billion people, would expand to 9 billion by 2050. "To feed 9 billion people in 2050, we urgently need to adopt the most efficient farming techniques available," Olivier De Schutter, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food and author of the report, He said, "Today's scientific evidence demonstrates that agro-ecological (eco-farming) methods outperform the use of chemical fertilisers in boosting food production where the hungry live -- especially in unfavourable environments". The report also points out that projects in Bangladesh, Indonesia and Vietnam recorded up to 92 per cent reduction in insecticide use for rice, leading to important savings for poor farmers. Addressing the climate change scenario, the report said, "We won't solve hunger and stop climate change with industrial farming on large plantations." He pointed out that agriculture "is at a crossroads," and growers will have to implement methods that allow continued crop yield in a time when industrial farming - heavily dependent on oil - is simply not sustainable, nor affordable, for many farmers in developing nations. Dr. Wais Kabir, executive chairman of Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council said, "We have two paths concerning agriculture- chemical reliant farming and eco-farming. We have to accommodate both." "Now-a- days, depending only on eco- farming will not succeed to ensure the food security where increasing yield is essential," he said. At the same time, he added, the country must eschew "indiscriminate use of chemical fertiliser or pesticides." Dr. Kabir noted that 'the Pesticide Rule 2010' had also recognised the eco-farming methods combating harmful pests and the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programmes had been incorporated under the rule. The Department of Agricultural Extension said chemical fertiliser use increased 200 per cent in last decade in Bangladesh. More than 4.2 million tonnes of chemical fertiliser and 48,500 tonnes of pesticides were used in 2009-10 by Bangladeshi farmers.