Food security and loss of biodiversity critical
ANDRE LEU, President, International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), is pictured above delivering his opening speech at BioFach 2013, Nuremberg, Germany.
Mr Leu spoke on the theme of ‘Partnership and International Cooperation’. He said the organic sector has several very positive messages for these troubled times.
“In a time of prolonged global economic crises the organic sector continues to grow and outperform most other agri-food sectors.
“Organic product sales, the number of hectares under production as well as the number of producers continues to increase,” said Mr Leu.
“The information from most countries around the world is showing a consistent trend of a dynamic and growing industry.
“However our positive messages are more than just the increase in production and size of our sector.
“There are other significant issues that we are facing as a planet and as a global society, where our sector can and must have a significant role as a constructive partner in the solutions.
“The issues of food security, climate change, the loss of biodiversity and ensuring social justice are critical.
“The long term sustainability of our planet and the well-being of all our people and other living entities that we share the world with are vital for all of us.
“IFOAM (the international patron of BioFach) has been running advocacy campaigns to promote the multifunctional benefits of organic systems in these key areas.
“Our food security campaign shows how good organic practices can improve the yields of smallholder farmers, the world’s most food-insecure population, make them food secure, reduce poverty and improve their quality of life.
Our climate change campaign uses peer reviewed scientific information showing how good organic practices produce resilience and reliable yields to counter the increasing levels of crop failures due to expanding rate of extreme climate events such as droughts and destructive rainfall.
“Crop failure due to climate change is a food security issue for all of us.
“Our Biodiversity Campaign is based using concept of Eco Functional Intensification.
“This is where we use applied functional biodiversity to provide the crop with nutrition and protection from pests and diseases rather than using toxic synthetic inputs.
“It is about the science of applied agro-ecology where we actively increase the biodiversity in our systems to deliver these services rather than using the conventional approach, based on reductionist monocultures reliant on external synthetics.
“We have selected Africa as our priority region because the ‘Green Revolution’ did not succeed there. There is 10 per cent less food per person now than in the 1960s.
“Studies show that good organic practices can improve yields for African small holders by more than 100 per cent.
“We are pleased that the African Union has made Ecological Organic Agriculture one of its priorities on the path to food security.”