Organic Farming: An Overwing Exit or Not
One pressing challenge in agriculture has been the need to produce enough food for the world’s growing population; this need gave rise to the use of prolific varieties and breeds of crop and livestock enhanced with growth promoters, inorganic fertilizers, pesticides, and germicides. However, the use of these high-yielding means of production has, to a good extent ensured food availability but with it, the common belief that with every good thing comes a catch is brought to light.
In the perfect-seeming picture of the conventional methods and means, consumers and scientists have come to oppugn their merits owing to the suspicions that they contribute to soil health, toxicity, environmental hazards and other externalities all of which have conspicuous tell-tale effects on human health. Overtime, nutritionists and health practitioners have linked most human organ diseases and medical conditions to chemical residues present in consumed foods.
The practice of organic farming encompasses the combination of traditional plant and animal farming methods and innovations based on naturally occurring biological processes that promote fair relationships between produce, environment and the consumers. These natural biological processes include but are not limited to the use of organic matter derived from compost and animal manures to improve soil fertility, cultural weed management procedures such as tillage, thermal weeding, mowing and mulching, use of nonsynthetic substances in animal rations, establishing preventive health care practices like selecting appropriate species of livestock, zero-use of hormones and other growth promoters in flock management.
Organic farming may have originated in the 20th century but present day policy makers and agricultural scientists think it an ‘overwing exit’ to save the health of produce consumers. The practice which is defined as the proactive, ecological management strategies that maintain and enhance biological diversity, and minimize risk to human and animal health and natural resources is legally enforced by many nations based on standards set by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM).
Agro-ecologically and infrastructurally marginalised third world countries play host to millions of farmers engaging in organic farming either by virtue of unavailability of synthesized inputs or simply out of incertitude. These farmers receive little to no recognition for attempting to preserve environmental and human health; to these farmers, organic farming is not an overwing exit theory, it is a way of life. Today however, these farmers are sought after for their products by consumers who are willing to pay for safer products whose labels carry the promise of additional values such as human health, animal welfare and environmental wellbeing.
The third world farmers suffer poor access to produce markets resulting from high variability of rainfall, limited production owing to highly weathered and nutrient-deficient soils, animals with disease carrier status which make their ‘healthy’ products otherwise less desirable. In a field study conducted in Michigan, USA, evidence of an unexploited yield potential of organic agricultural practices compared to conventional management particularly in the developing countries was generated; this and many other surveys seek to answer the question of sustainability and the ability of organic farming to ‘feed the world’.
Whereas, overwing exit is an aviation terminology that describes the not-so-large passage found on passenger aircrafts that provides a means of evacuation in cases of emergencies; they are known to be quite smaller than standard emergency exits and their primary hazard is that the passenger sitting nearby to it does not have to wait for safety prompts to open it, such passenger is left to assess the external hazard and employ discretion on the suitable time to open the exit - this often results in hazard because the passenger takes such decision while in panic and may not know just how to avert a dangerous situation that may be the case on the external. Organic farming on the other hand, proffers solution for the hazards of chemical residue as is the case with inorganic farming but like the passenger negotiating an overwing exit, the engaging farmer oftentimes indulges without caution and may end up overcompensating. As much as it is a safety passage, the concern remains - How much food can be produced using organic farming methods when juxtaposed with inorganic farming? What happens if there is an out-of-hand occurrence in the field like an outbreak of disease that becomes too much for the organic farming methods to handle? These questions in a way liken the whole concept of organic farming to that of an overwing exit – though it has the ability to avert impending danger, it comes with its own limitations.
Reduced efficiency, little access to effective pest and disease control options, reliance on soil tillage, inability to use genetically modified crops and animals, low productivity amongst others are some of the outlined demerits of organic farming and these limitations are perhaps the reason organic farming is viewed as an overwing exit.
The shortcomings of organic farming very well has the potential to open up more specific definition of rules under organic production and a broadening of the scheme to accommodate the promises of a healthier life. The organic produce should be made to receive both local and worldwide market acceptability. The need for food sovereignty and security should establish a platform where organic farming schemes are globalised and inorganic or conventional farming methods are reviewed to a mutually beneficial capacity.
Organic farming can contribute immensely to job creation, genetic diversity to producers and strengthening rural livelihoods among inhabitants of developing countries – that is by no means an overwing exit, putting into consideration the high unemployment rate and poor standard of living that is prevalent such regions.
In recent times, food security and agricultural revolution has become a focal point in government agenda across nations. Development efforts and policies should be given urgent attention; the policies should be such that support production of sufficient, affordable and healthy foods while strengthening the discourse between advocates of organic farming and conventional agriculture by making conventional agriculture more ecologically sound and organic agricultural products, more accessible to worldwide markets – this way, the question of the overwing exit might have been answered.
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