In reply to Greg who thinks they can be used interchangeably.
Maybe in the US but here we have a lot of farmers who are definitely
not High tech, also not organic but could be called conventional (
we subdivide them into a group called resource poor, but that is a
subdivision) Let me suggest the following: Farming practise could
possibly be grouped into three categories:
1. Conventional: uses normal farming practises, modernized a bit
since Dad, but is still your country farmer type (this is the middle
group).
2. Organic: they farm with only natural products, no pesticides etc
etc They are to the "green or ecology" side of middle
3. High Tech: These guys use every new modern innovation possible,
the latest growth stimulant, hybrid seed, milking device etc. They
are the "modern" or "technological" side of middle
I make this distinction since certain categories are more likely to
farm in an unsustainable manner than others. I don't know about
the US but here we have all 3 types of farmers, some of which could
be classified as Sustainable agriculture and others not, and the
classification is not necessarily dependent on which category they
fall under.
In my opinion: None of these three are necessarily bad or good, what
makes good or bad is often the type of farming PRACTISE they
exercise. (A lot of the organics will disagree, but then a lot of the
other two disagree with the concepts that their methods are bad).
When we talk about sustainable agriculture we should be careful to
get our definitions correct. Sustainable does not equal organic only.
Sustainability may be regarded as a process of change where the
exploitation of resources is integrated with environmental concerns
in order to enhance the potential of the resource to meet future
human need. A sustainable agricultural system is one in which the
goal is permanence (dynamic not static) is achieved through the
utilization of renewable resources. Agricultural chemicals and
mechanization still have a place, but also the use of
green manuring, rotation with legumes and organic wastes (Poincelot,
1986 "Towards a more sustainable agriculture"
Organic farming is a specific system of farming, the
aim of which is to produce food of optimum quality in a manner
beneficial to the environment and wildlife. Essentially it prohibits
the use of synthetic chemicals, fertilisers, pesticides and
herbicides. Farming is practised in accordance with organic standards
which have been formulated for horticultural crops, cereals, grass
and the production of livestock and products in farming (Dept Agric
and food, Ireland)
It seems to me that this list focuses mainly on organic and equated
that form of farming to sustainable. In this country and hopefully
elsewhere sustainable has a wider meaning than organic. Issues that I
would have loved to have seen discussed would have been problems in
helping resource poor farmers to become sustainable and factors that
play a role, or similar questions and debates.
My 2 cents (south african)
Dr MJ Linington
HEAD:Department Agricultural Sciences
email:lngtn-mj@acaleph.vista.ac.za
Snail Mail: Dept. Agricutural Sciences
VUDEC, Vista University
P/Bag X641, Pretoria, 0001
Tel: 012 322 1303
Fax: 012 322 3243
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