Could a blend of organic and conventional farming techniques be what is necessary to provide enough food for the rapidly growing population of the world? Some farmers and government officials see that as the only way we can do so.
Farmer Bill Mason in Maryland grows both organic and conventional crops on his 340 hectare farm. Two-thirds of his soybean and corn crop is grown organically while one-third is not, and he feels the heat for that from some people. “There are some die-hard organics,” he says. “They think every organic farmer should not be planting any conventional.” Mason adds that organic crops don’t produce as much as his conventionally grown ones do, stating “we are finding that our corn yields are about three-quarters of the yield of a normal conventional crop.”
Mason isn’t alone sitting in the middle between the arguments for and against conventional or organic farming. Although he isn’t necessarily a fan of the idea, stating that “as a scientist, I don’t like that as the solution,” Columbia University’s Pedro Sanchez thinks we may partly need a blend of both methods in order to grow enough food for everyone. He believes we may need to use organically-produced nutrients to conventionally grow crops. But Michel Cavigelli from the U.S. Department of Agriculture thinks that regardless of which method farmers choose, we won’t be able to feed the 9 billion people expected to be living on the planet by 2050. “Right now, we can’t feed 9 billion people with the ways we’re farming, whether it’s conventional or organic,” he said. Cavigelli is working to increase productivity of organic farms using additional natural fertilizers like chicken manure.
The lack of a clear path to a solution leaves the future of farming in doubt, with differing opinions on the best way forward.
Organic food is in higher demand as more people learn about the chemicals used to grow conventional crops, leaving organic farmers struggling to keep up with the demand. Farming organic crops means less pesticide and fertilizer run-off into waterways and potentially more nutritious foods but also comes with reduced crop output. Because of this, some experts don’t think farmers can grow solely organic crops and fulfill the food supplies of a rapidly growing population. A blend of both organic and conventional farming methods may be the only way to feed everyone.
What do you think? If it enables farmers to grow enough food for everyone, would a blended approach make more sense than a strictly-organic one? Or should farmers and officials only be searching for techniques to increase yields on organics in order to minimize the need for conventionally-grown crops?
[via Voice of America]
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