Organic Farming as a Potential Tool

for Environment Safety

Dr. Ram A. Jat

Assistant professor (Agronomy)
N.M. College of agriculture
Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari
Outlines:

 Introduction

 Environmental damage due to conventional

agriculture

 Environmental benefits through organic farming

• Mitigation of global warming
• Soil health restoration & reduced soil erosion
• Reduced pollution of water bodies
• Increased biodiversity

 conclusion
 Environmental degradation is one of the most debated
issues today worldwide. The problem can be blamed mainly to
anthropogenic activities in the previous centuries but its effects
are being increasingly felt now. Therefore coordinated efforts are
being made at world level to conserve/ enhance the ecosystem
health.

Agriculture being among the major contributors to

environment degradation, agricultural scientists need to put their
sincere efforts for environment safety because agriculture is not
only the cause but victim of environmental degradation. In this
context regenerative production techniques like organic farming
hold great promise to contribute to environment safety to
continue the agricultural production on sustainable basis .
The problems with modern agriculture

– Emission of green house gases.

– Loss of soil carbon: soil erosion
Decreased soil fertility
Decline in WHC
– Nutrient overload in waterways
– Loss of biodiversity
– Animal health and welfare concerns.
Greenhouse gas emissions (CO2,CH4 and N20
converted to CO2 equivalents) by sector
in 2004

Annual GHGs emitted by the agricultural sector is estimated at between 5.1

and 6.1 gigatonnes CO2 equivalents in 2005 (Barker et al., 2007)
Main sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the
agricultural sector in 2005

Agriculture contributes about two third of total CH4 & N2O emissions

(Smith et al, 2007)

 Table: Contribution to GHG emissions by sectors in India

Sector Percent

Energy production & transformation 35

Agriculture 28

Industry, including 20 20

Industrial combustion 12

Other industrial processes 8

Transport 8
Residential sector 5

Land Use, Land use change and Forestry 2

Others (including waste) 1

Source: NATCOM, MoEF, 2004

Energy used for production of synthetic fertilizers and emissions of nitrous oxide
(N2O) from soils6 after application of fertilizer (in million tons CO2 equivalent),
based on data from the International Fertilizer Industry Association IFA

http://www.fertilizer.org/
Soil erosion:

Soil erosion in conventional farming is more due to -

1. Reduced aggregate stability because of
lesser use of organic residues
2. Lack of shelterbelts
3. Lack of practice of mulching
4. Lack of use of VAM
Adverse effects of nitrogenous fertilizers on human
and environment health
Effect Causative agents

Human health

Methemoglobinemia Excess NO3 in drinking water

(blue baby syndrome)
Nitrosoamine illnes NO2 and secondary amines

Carcinogenic effects Heavy metals

Environmental health

Eutrophication Inorganic and organic N in surface water

Materials and HNO3 and aerosols in rainfall

ecosystem damage
Concentration of selected heavy metals (ppm
on dry weight basis)
Sources Arsenic Cadmium Lead Nickel
Urea <0.04 <0.2 <0.4 <0.2
DAP 9.9-16.2 4.6-35.5 2.1-3.7 7.4-222
MOP 0.4 <0.2 <0.4-10 <0.2
TSP 10.3 15.0 11 17
Source: Chhonkar, P.K,2003
Environment safety
through
Organic Farming
 Environmental benefits of organic farming as against
conventional farming
Organic Conventional

Rewards “green” practices – Regenerative Environmentally harmful – Petroleum-based

methods reduce greenhouse gas emissions,
avoid waterway pollution, limit erosion, and
improve soil health
Energy saving – Reduces or eliminates
petroleum- dependent chemical fertilizer and
pesticide inputs. Integrated systems reduce
need for artificial inputs with high energy costs.
inputs release greenhouse gases, leach
nitrogen and phosphorus into the water and
deplete naturally occurring soil nutrients,
making it more dependent on chemical
fertilizer
High energy use – Continues and increases
use of petroleum-dependent chemical
fertilizer and pesticide inputs that take a great
deal of energy to produce and transport.

Reduces Erosion – More acres covered with Erosion-prone – Current systems that leave
growing crops for more months of the year fields fallow for large portions of the year are
reduce the risk of soil erosion much more vulnerable to soil loss
Improves crop biodiversity –carbon stored will Limits crops –farmers choose same small
stimulate a variety of crops, rather than number of crops. Growing single crops each
traditional commodity crops. Crop rotations also year also depletes nutrients from the soil
allow soil to replenish itself
Derived from .(Lasalle & Happerly, 2008)
Mitigation of global warming
Organic farming helps to mitigate global
warming in three ways:

– Carbon sequestration
– Reduction in energy use
– Reduction in GHGs emissions
Above ground net primary production and relative
global warming potential
Net primary C sequestration Net global warming Net global
production [kg CO2-eq ha- potential warming potential
[kg ha-1 yr-1] 1 yr-1] [kg CO2-eq ha-1 yr-1] per NPP
[kg CO2-eq ton-1]
Conventi 9240 0 1140 100% 123.38 100 %
onal
tillage
No till 9190 1100 140 12% 15.23 12 %

Low input 8840 400 630 55% 71.27 58 %

with
legume
cover
Organic 7790 290 410 36% 52.63 43 %
with
legume
cover

Robertson et al., 2000)

Comparison of soil carbon gains and losses in different
farming systems in long-term field experiments

Field trial Components compared Carbon gains Relative

(+) or losses (-) yields of the
kg C ha-1 yr-1 respective
crop
rotations
Frick2 Reduced Tillage Trial, Organic, 0 100 %
Research Institute FiBL, with ploughing
(Switzerland) (Berner, et al.,
2008) Running since 2002 Organic, + 879 112 %
with reduced tillage
Rodale FST, Rodale Institute, Organic, with + 1 218 97 %
Kurtztown, Pennsylvania farm yard manure
(USA,) (Hepperly, et al., 2006;
Pimentel, et al., 2005) Organic, with legume based + 857 92 %
green manure.
Running since 1981
Conventional + 217 100 %

Scheyern3 experimental Farm, Organic + 180 57 %

University of Munich, Germany
(Rühling, et al. 2005), Running Conventional - 120 100 %
since 1990
Relative global warming potential of organic agriculture relative to
conventional agriculture with and without consideration of CO2
sequestration (basis: grams CO2 equivalents per kg product

Küstermann et al., 2007

Organic farming if practiced on planet’s 3.5 billion tillable acres, could sequester
nearly 40% of current CO2 emissions.
 Input and output of organic and integrated farming systems of the DOK trial

Parameter Unit Organic Int. farming with Organic in %of

farming FYM IP
Kg N total ha-1 yr-1 101 157 64

Kg P ha-1 yr-1 25 40 62
Nutrient input
Kg K ha-1 yr-1 162 254 64

Pesticide applied Kg ha-1 yr-1 1.5 42 4

Fuel use L ha-1 yr-1 808 924 87

Total yield output % 83 100 83

for 28 years
Soil microbial Tons ha-1 40 24 167
biomass output
Mader, et al; 2006
Energy saving due to organic farming
The food energy output (kcal) per fossil energy input (kcal)
for organic corn, conventional corn, organic soybean, and
conventional soybean

David Pimentel, 2006

Global potential of organic sustainable food
systems for mitigating climate change
Greenhouse gas emissions (%)
Carbon sequestration in organic soil 11.0
Localizing food systems
Reduced transport 10.0
Reduced processing &packaging 1.5
Phasing out N fertilizers
Reduced NO2 emissions 5.0
No fossil fuel used in manufacture 2.0
Total 29.5
Cont..
Cont..
Energy (%)
Localizing food systems
Reduced transport 10.0
Reduced processing &packaging 3.5
Phasing out N fertilizers
No fossil fuel used in manufacture 3.0

Total 16.5
Mae-wan and Lim Li Ching
 Global nitrogen input and nitrogen circuits in agriculture

Nitrogen derived from industrial 90 to 100 Mt Erisman,

production (by the Haber-Bosch process N per year et al.,
with fossil fuel combustion) 2008, IFA,
2009
Potential nitrogen production by 140 Mt N per Badgley, et
leguminous plants via intercropping and year al., 2007
off-season cropping (without competing
cash crops). This potential is not used by
conventional farmers.
Nitrogen from livestock faeces of 18.3 160 Mt N per Estimated
billion farm animals (FAO, global figure). year by the
In specialized farming structure with authors
strong segregation between crop and
livestock production, nitrogen from
manure and slurry is inefficiently used.

FAO, 2009
Organic agriculture helps to reduce emission
of nitrous oxide due to:
 Reduced concentration of easily available N in soil
due to
Ban on use of synthetic N fertilizers
Reduced livestock units per hectare
 Diversified crop rotations with green manure
improve soil structure and diminish emission of N2O
 Organically managed soils are more aerated which
reduce denitrification.
 Integration of livestock and crop production
 Improved N use efficiency on organic farms.
Reduced N2O emission from OF has been reported by Mathieu, et al.
(2006), Petersen et al. (2006) and Flessa et al. (2002)
 Organic agriculture helps to reduce
emission of methane due to:

 Longevity of animals on organic farms

 Composting and biogas production
 Controlled anaerobic digestion of manure is best option.
 Reduced methane emission from organic rice
production and from ruminants: improved
techniques needed.
 The multi-target approach of organic farmers
and the fact that they are highly skilled could
enhance implementation of improved production
techniques.
Performance of organic agriculture compared to conventional
agriculture in the context of climate change
 Regenerative organic farming methods can transform
agriculture from part of the global warming problem to a
major part of the solution, by changing how we farm.

 Agriculture is an undervalued and underestimated

climate change tool that could be one of the most
powerful strategies in the fight against global warming.
Soil Health Restoration
Soil organic matter in the conventional and organic farming
systems after the 22-year experiments at the Rodale
Institute .

David Pimentel, 2006

 ORGANIC CONVENTIONAL

Soils improved over time through organic farming methods gain in

stored organic matter, which enhances biological cycling of nutrients
and management of water for the benefit of crops.(Lasalle & Happerly,
2008)
Organic carbon and available P contents in organic and
non-organic

Year organic Non-organic

organic Available P organic Available P

Carbon % (kg/ha) Carbon % (kg/ha)

June 1993 0.38 12.1 0.38 12.1

Feb1994 0.40 12.6 0.36 12.0

Feb 1995 0.46 14.5 0.35 12.9

Feb 1996 0.52 15.0 0.38 12.0

Sharma, P.D., 2003

 Soil biological and chemical properties under
different management systems.

Treatment Total Organ Microbial Microbial L- b-

soil N, ic biomass biomass aspar glucosi
ppm matter C N agina dase
,% se
Organic 1955 3.40 512.7 61.0 91.9 192.9
Integrated 1755 3.10 420.8 39.7 63.7 134.4
conventional 1242 2.23 357.7 34.0 59.8 131.4

Kramer et al., 2006

Physio-chemical parameters under organic and
conventional grown tea agro-ecosystem
Ecosystem Organic conventional
No. of earthworm spp. 5 2
Depth at which they are Upto 5 feet below Upto 3 feet below
found
Dominance index 0.418 0.828
Diversity index 1654 451
SOC % 3.3% 0.7%
Soil pH 5.5% 4.5%
WHC 44% 22%
Porosity Average Poor
aggregation Average Poor

Pareek
Mycorrhizal fungi produce stable compounds ( glomalin) to sequester carbon
dioxide as soil carbon, and slow decay of soil organic compounds
Earthworms and arthropods are beneficial in constructing
large vertical holes in the soil that facilitate the percolation
of water down into the soil.
Drought year yields conventional corn, organic corn,
conventional soybeans, and organic soybeans (kilograms
per hectare per year)

David Pimentel, 2006

Better water infiltration, retention and delivery to
plants helps to sustain yield during drought.

WR of crops under OF needs to be worked out David Pimentel, 2006

The better drainage and water-holding capacity of organic soils reduces
the risk of drought and soil erosion (the DOK long-term system
comparison in Switzerland.

organic conventional
NO3- Leaching to water bodies
 NO-3 leaching and N2O emission

Treatments NO3 N2O NO3 N2O (spring) Annual NO3

leaching (fall) leaching g/ha N2O-N leaching µg
(fall), µg of g/ha (fspring), µg of NO3 -Nat
NO3 -Nat N2O-N of NO3 -Nat 100 cm
100 cm 100 cm

Organic
Compost 9.66a,b 88.57b,c 180.13a 330.83b 241.26a
Alfalfa 9.38a,b 55.65b 234.11a 316.10b 309.84a
Control 3.73a 16.83a 68.06a 282.28a,b 108.47a
Integrated
CaNO3+compost 14.08b 124.57c 608.26b 327.25b 772.83b
Control 4.43a 19.24a 97.50a 269.03a,b 154.85a
Conventional
CaCNO3 13.08b 125.87c 1092.24b 325.98b 1352.52c
Control 3.41a 30.24a 73.38a 175.70a 130.96a

Kramer et al., 2006

Relative N loss rates from conventional (Con), integrated
(Int), and organic (Org) orchard treatments
Comparing impact of farming system on
nitrate leaching in a watershed

Haas et al. 2002 WMO

Biodiversity: A group of UK researchers reviewed 76
surveys comparing the biodiversity impact of organic and
conventional agriculture.
Plants: Total studies 10+5+2=17
– All but one studies recorded higher weed species richness and
abundance in organic systems.
– More rare and/or declining spp. were more in organic fields.
Soil microbes: (bacteria, fungi & nematodes)
Total studies:14+5
– Higher bacterial and fungal abundance and activity was found on
organic fields.
– Nematode population also followed the same trend.
Invertebrates:
Earthworms Total studies:6+7
– Most found earthworm densities in OF almost twice than in
conventional system.
The Soil AssociationMay 2000, info@soilassociation.org, www.soilassociation.org
 Beetles: Total studies:11+10
 12 reported higher abundance and richness of carabids (ground
beetles) in organic while 4 found the reverse.

Spiders: Total studies:10

 All found higher spider population under OF, although results
were not statistically significant in every case.

Vertebrates :

Mammals: Total studies:2

 Both found greater no. of small mammals on OF.
 Bat activity and foraging were also found significantly higher.

Birds: Total studies:5

 All five recorded higher spp. Richness and abundance on OF.
Both nesting density and success rates were also higher in OF.
The authors have proposed three main reasons for the
increased biodiversity:

 Prohibition/reduced amounts of chemical

pesticides and inorganic fertilizers.
 Sympathetic management of non-crop
habitats and field margins.
 Preservation of mixed farming.
Conclusion:

From the foregoing discussion it can be

concluded that organic farming when
implemented to maximum extent possible
in its right form and approach can
contribute a great deal to preserve and
enhance the quality of our eco-system
thereby making the planet earth a better
place to live and flourish for all organisms
including humans.
Thank you