Insufficient land to meet organic trend

Says Chemical Manufacturer

Vic Robertson / The Scotsman - United Kingdom   4dec00

THE rising demand for organic food is flying in the face of real trends towards more intensive agriculture as more and more land is needed for urban development, woodlands and amenities, according to a European farm policy analyst.

Only the current increase of around 1.5 per cent a year in agricultural productivity is able to compensate for the decline in farmland area in Europe, claimed Brian Gardner, a Brussels consultant.

Speaking at a London forum staged by Dow AgroSciences, Gardner said: "A total organic solution dreamed up by the extreme Greens would lead to tighter home food supplies in Europe which could only be met by a large increase in imports.

"The real price of food could be expected to rise considerably, with serious consequences for the poor food importing nations and a substantial reduction in real incomes of the people of developed countries.

"A worldwide 'organics only' policy would diminish the export surplus of efficient world agricultural producers such as the US, Canada, Argentina and Australia which currently provide the buffer stocks in world food supplies."

Quoting US studies, he said that eliminating pesticides and fertilisers would result in a 45 per cent increase in food prices and a 50 per cent decrease in fruit and vegetable supplies there. Eliminating pesticides alone would cut crop production by up to 27 per cent, with the loss of a significant portion of the world food safety buffer.

Organic farming methods would also lead to increased pressure on the natural environment, principally through increasing soil pressure. Without high levels of fertiliser and pesticide use, the world cropping area of around 5.8 million square miles - equal to the land area of South America - would need to be three times larger to cope with increased food demands since the 1950s.