LCA Food 2012 in Saint Malo, France! - Manifestations et colloques ...

KEYNOTE SESSION 8 th Int. Conference on LCA in the
Agri-Food Sector, 1-4 Oct 2012
ferences with conventional agriculture under these biophysical conditions examined. In addition, for a farming
system comparison it would be desirable to examine a system metric like total human-edible calorie or
net energy yield of the entire crop rotation rather than biomass yield of a single crop species. Probably most
importantly, however, more studies on organic agriculture need to be conducted that are representative of the
agricultural reality of the majority of farming systems. In this meta-analysis organic systems were mostly
compared to commercial high input systems (which had predominantly above-average yields and came from
irrigated agriculture in developing countries). However, 75% of global cropland is not irrigated (Portmann et
al., 2010) and 50% of cropland receives fertiliser rates of less than 2.5 kg N ha -1 (Potter et al., 2010). The
conventional systems in our database received on average 126 kg N ha -1 and the organic systems 118 kg N
ha -1 .
To better understand the performance of organic agriculture, we should therefore: (1) systematically analyse
the long-term performance of organic agriculture under different management regimes; (2) study organic
systems under a wider range of biophysical conditions; (3) evaluate the productive performance of
farming systems through holistic system metrics and (4) examine the yield performance of organic and conventional
agricultural systems of smallholder agriculture.
Yields are, however, only part of a suite of economic, social and environmental factors that need to be
considered when gauging the benefits of different farming systems. In developed countries, the central question
is whether the environmental benefits of organic crop production would offset the costs of any lower
yield (such as increased food prices and reduced food exports). Studies have shown that organic practices
can have a reduced environmental impact (Bengtsson et al., 2005; Siegrist et al., 1998). However, although
the overall environmental performance of organic agriculture is often positive, the environmental impact per
unit output or per unit input is not always better than in conventional agriculture (Leifeld et al., 2009).
In developing countries, instead, a key question is whether organic agriculture can help alleviate poverty
for small farmers and increase food security. On the one hand, it has been suggested that organic agriculture
may improve farmer livelihoods due to cheaper inputs, higher and more stable prices, the possibility of integrating
traditional knowledge and risk diversification (Scialabba and Hattam 2002). On the other hand, organic
agriculture in developing countries is often an export-oriented system tied to a certification process by
international bodies, and its profitability can vary in different locations and years (Raynolds 2004; Valkila
2009).
5. Conclusion
The discourse on organic agriculture needs to move away from an ideologically charged to a more balanced
debate that is informed by empirical evidence. On the one hand, benefits and problems of organic agriculture
need to be assessed objectively and organic practices improved accordingly. The biophysical, economic
and social conditions under which organic agriculture would be favourable should be investigated. A
less dogmatic approach to organic agriculture might also be helpful. Organic certification systems should
reconsider the roots of organic agriculture as a farming system concerned about environmental outcomes, not
about ideological prohibitions of specific inputs. Organic agriculture should be first of all a management
system that uses best environmental practices. If, as the results of this meta-analysis imply, organic fertilisation
requires higher nitrogen inputs than conventional agriculture for achieving high yields, mineral fertilisers
might be a better option for increasing poor farmers productivity. Even those that promote the adoption
of alternative, agro-ecological framing practices caution against the total exclusion of mineral fertilisers
(Schutter 2010). On the other hand, conventional farming systems should take advantage of the experience
gained in succesful organic systems and implement those practices that can improve the environmental sustainability
while maintaining the productivity of the system. Mixed approaches that combine the use of mineral
fertilisers with succesful practices from organic management, like cover cropping, mulching, use of crop
residues and increased crop diversity, can show both high yields and reduced environmental problems
(Tonitto et al., 2006).
From an agricultural perspective to achieve sustainable food security we need to produce more food at affordable
prices, ensuring livelihoods to farmers and using management practices that reduce the environmental
costs of food production. Considering the scale of the challenge ahead of us there is a strong need to
enhance our efforts of understanding how different farming systems and management practices contribute to
the provision of sustainable food.
6. References
Avery, A. A., 2007. 'Organic abundance' report: fatally flawed. Renew. Agric. Food Syst. 22, 321-323.
Badgley, C., Moghtader, J., et al., 2007. Organic agriculture and the global food supply. Renew. Agric. Food Syst. 22, 86.
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