Go Organic, Go Healthy The term ‘Organic’ refers to the way in which farmers grow and process the agricultural products such as the fruits, vegetables, dairy products and meat. They are grown in safe soil, away from medications, artificial fertilizers or any deadly chemical pesticides. Natural fertilizers like manure and compost are used which are the reasons behind the benefits the organic food provides. With the rise in illness and increasing health hazards people have become more aware and conscious about healthy self improvement needs. Apart from keeping the human body healthy, organic foods also keep the environment healthy by protecting neighboring plants and animals from chemicals, reducing soil and water pollution.
Conventional farming can be detrimental to the environment and people 's health. Research indicates that organic farming is a cleaner and healthier way to farm than conventional farming. A majority of chemicals used in conventional farming can be toxic. In "A Crop Timeline: Organic Vs. Conventional," Natalie Kurylko mentions that conventional farming methods can cause chemicals to run off farm fields and pollute waterways, while organic farming minimizes erosion (39).
Organic agriculture has been developed as an alternative form of farming compatible with natural systems, and the concept of organic farming is based on a holistic viewpoint (Kortbech- Olesen, 1998) . Organic agriculture is different from other techniques of farming, such as conventional agriculture which is an industrialized system using chemical synthetic substances for fertilizers and insecticide to maximize the volume of production and profit (Guido et al 2010) . Vindigni et al (2002) argue that ‘organic’ often refers to a claim associated with the process, not a claim associated with the product. According to IFOAM (2009b) , organic agriculture is a production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems and people. It relies
This is because conventional coffee plantations are dependent on chemicals suffer from soil decreasing and regular coffee plantations suffer from increased erosion also rainforest are removed to make sure there is fresh growing ground for the coffee. However shade grown coffee does not do this so less soil is
Such low productivity leads to increasing poverty and food insecurity of rural poor farm households in the country. During the past years, the government and NGOs have undertaken various attempts to enhance agricultural productivity particularly that of cereal crops so as to achieve food security and to reduce poverty in the country. The available studies on the productivity of cereal crops in general and maize production in particular in Ethiopia found low productivity in comparison with the international standards (Alemayehu, 2009), although, the
Although A. fulica can have a negative effect to humans as it feeds on the crops of farmers, resulting in a loss in crops available for the farmers to sell. Additionally, when the A. fulica dies it can cause pollution to the soil around it since its body is composed of calcium carbonate which when left in the soil can change the soil
Stress is an external factor that exerts a disadvantageous influence on the plant and is measured in relation to plant survival, crop yield and growth (biomass accumulation). The major abiotic stresses are drought, high salinity, cold and heat which reduce the survival, biomass production and yields of staple food crops up to 70% (Thakur et al. 2010). Drought is a major agricultural menace reducing crop productivity and limiting the successful realization of land potential throughout the world and improving yield under drought is a major goal of plant breeding. Drought tolerance is a quantitative trait, with complex phenotype and genetic control.
A perfect illustration is the agricultural issues in Somalia, in the Sub-Saharan Africa. The IMF imposed a Structural Adjustment Programme within Somalia where food assistance was delivered resulting in Somalia's dependency on imported grain. This resulted in cheap grains in the local market, local producers were expelled from the industry as a result of the reduction in the consumption of local produce. majority of local crop fields were deteriorated and left the farmers with no source of income. The inflow of mass food aid rather brought on the impoverishment of the farming communities.
This means that the organic garden is natural, it introduces predators and natural wildlife and doesn’t cause any harm to the earth. It has better nutrition, organic foods grown are richer in nutrients and they taste better than conventionally grown foods. It costs less there is no spending on fertilizers, pest controls or weed killers. For fertilizers organic gardeners use compost, which is made of grass clippings, leaves and kitchen food scraps from fruit and vegetables. Organic gardeners also use “chicken pellets” from chickens that are organically fed, this feeds the soil and gives it the nutrients it need for plant growing.
In view of the several disadvantages associated with the unscientific use of fungicide in agriculture, there is an urgent need for minimising the use of chemical fungicide in the management of insect pests. Growing public concern over potential health hazards of synthetic fungicide and also steep increase in cost of cultivation/low profit making by farmers has led to the exploration of eco-friendly pest management tactics such as Integrated Disease Management (IDM). IDM aims at suppressing the pest species by combining more than one method of pest control in a harmonious way with least emphasis on the use of insecticides. In simple terms "IDM is the right combination of cultural, biological and chemical measures which provides the most effective, environmentally sound and socially acceptable methods of managing diseases, pests and weeds". The major components of IDM