Organic farming is not just another fashion trend. It is a sustainable lifestyle that has many benefits when it comes to non-organic crop growing. It offers food producers the benefits that conventional growers don’t experience.
Organic farming requires less capital investment as there is no need to purchase expensive chemical fertilizers. Many farmers take huge loans to get started, but no chemicals are needed for an organic farm. And if the year is not fruitful, the grower will not lose anything.
And although, depending on the growing conditions, organic farming may be less profitable than traditional growing methods, the average profit from organic farming is relatively high, as organically grown products are sold at much higher prices than non-organic ones.
Thus, with less initial investment and higher return rates, organic farming is more profitable in a shorter amount of time. But what does organic farming constitute?
It’s a production system that ensures healthy soil, biodiversity, environment preservation, and more nutritious food. Such production eliminates the use of resources that can cause adverse effects on the environment and food quality, relying on ecological processes, biodiversity, and cycles adapted to local conditions instead.
Basically, organic production methods imply using natural processes and substances, limiting or completely excluding the use of synthetic fertilizers and other harmful chemicals.
In this piece, we will go through the main advantages of organic farming over traditional.
1. Minimized Chemicals Use
An agricultural sphere is one of the most significant environmental pollutants due to the use of harmful chemicals used for fertilization and artificial pest control. Organic farming can help eliminate millions of pounds of toxic substances from entering the environment annually.
Besides, various modern tools enable remote field tracking, analyzing the state of soil and plant health in different field zones based on vegetation indices, most used being the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Such an approach allows for smarter use of chemicals only in the required areas, which helps significantly reduce their use.
2. Preservation of Biodiversity
Organic farmers actively apply crop rotations, as well as the cultivation of different crop varieties. Such practices support biodiversity and create the basis for the adaptation of new beneficial varieties and species. Attracting organisms helpful to the organic system ensures natural pest control and disease mitigation.
3. Healthier Soil
The environment benefits the most from organic cultivation. Avoiding the use of harsh chemicals leads to diversification of the microflora in the soil. In fact, organic farming thrives in a diverse microflora environment. This keeps the soil rich and therefore leads to higher yields. The produce will also taste better and be healthier as it receives more nutrients than when traditional farming is performed.
Organic farming also helps to tackle such a dangerous issue as soil erosion, which can destroy farmlands, habitats, and entire ecosystems, spreading disease and resulting in poor food security.
4. Ecological Benefits
Although eco and organic are not the same things, ecological preservation is among the most significant advantages of organic farming. The benefits of organic farming for the ecology include water conservation and protection, reduced toxins content in the soil.
Besides, with organic farming, greenhouse gas emissions are reduced, which means that you significantly reduce your carbon footprint by choosing organic, local, and seasonal products, lowering the risk of global warming triggers overall.
5. Healthier Foods
Organic products are produced without the use of the achievements of the chemical industry, without the use of mineral fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides. The entire process is controlled in organics, from raw materials to already packaged products that go to store shelves.
Ultimately, organic farming leads to the production of food products that are healthier and more nutritious, consisting of higher vitamins and minerals content compared to products produced from conventional methods of farming.
