Problems Of Organic Farming

Research question

Does the use of organic vegetable production methods result in a greater yield being achieved than the yield that is achieved through the use of conventional farming methods?

Introduction

Farmers in South Africa have historically employed the methods related to organic farming. However, over the years, with a steadily growing population and the resultant increased food demand, new, and what are now referred to as “conventional” farming methods were needed to match this increased food demand. However, organic farming has gained renewed popularity in recent years.

Conventional farming refers to methods of farming which include the use of synthetic chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides and genetically modified organisms

Organic farming is promoted due to its capacity to, amongst other benefits, maintain normal conditions of the soil by means of using organic wastes together with beneficial microbes to release nutrients into the crop growth. This farming method achieves improved sustainable production of crops inside an eco-friendly and pollution free environment, as well as contributing to biodiversity (Yahoo.com 2014).

Due to the many environmental and health benefits achieved by farming organically, it is necessary to determine what effect organic farming has on how the population sizes of species living together in groups change over time and space.

A study by way of an experiment will be conducted to determine whether the practice of organic farming enhances the ideal requirements for the optimal growth of a

They also found that taking into account methods that optimize the productivity of organic agriculture could minimize the yield gap. They specifically highlighted two agricultural practices, multi-cropping (growing several crops together on the same field) and crop rotation, that would substantially reduce the organic-to-conventional yield gap to 9 percent and 8 percent, respectively.

The yields also depended upon the type of crop grown, the researchers found. There were no significant differences between organic and conventional yield gaps for leguminous crops, such as beans, peas and lentils, for instance.

“Our study suggests that through appropriate investment in agroecological research to improve organic management and in breeding cultivars for organic farming systems, the yield gap could be reduced or even eliminated for some crops or regions,” said the study’s lead author, Lauren Ponisio, a graduate student in environmental science, policy and management. “This is especially true if we mimic nature by creating ecologically diverse farms that harness important ecological interactions like the nitrogen-fixing benefits of intercropping or cover-cropping with