including poverty; water use; climate change; and unsustainable .... solution to protecting the purity of current water
O R G A N I C FA R M I N G HELPING ACHIEVE THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
THE Sustainable Development Goals – SDGs or the Global Goals as they are known - set the UN development agenda for the next 15 years. They will be key in uniting efforts from global to local level in the public as well as the private sector to eradicate poverty and hunger, to achieve equitable and sustained economic growth and sustainable development, to protect the environment, and to promote peaceful and inclusive societies where no one is left behind. The goals and targets contain important messages and challenges for developed and developing countries including the Paciic Islands. Organic Agriculture, if implemented in a truly sustainable manner, offers viable solutions to many of the problems the Global Goals are meant to tackle. Investing in organic agriculture can address not only hunger and malnutrition but also other challenges including poverty; water use; climate change; and unsustainable production and consumption. The Goals have clear links to the 5 Paciic Principles of Organic Agriculture: Health, Ecology, Fairness, Care and Culture and Traditions and to support understanding of how organic agriculture can help us achieve the Global Goals POETCom has developed a series of position statements on the Goals where organic agriculture can have the most impact. Organics contributes to achieving the following SDG’s;
GOAL 1: NO POVERTY Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger The majority of people in the Paciic still rely on subsistence agriculture for their livelihood, this combined with strong support for the extended family or community is said to have contributed to alleviating extreme poverty. However the expansion of the cash-based economy, together with new forms of employment and urbanization, has restructured national and household economies and deepened economic inequalities1. Poverty is often not as visible or as extreme as it is in some parts of the world and the term poverty of opportunity more aptly describes poverty in the Paciic2. It is attributable to a range of factors including the limited opportunities to earn cash income. A comprehensive assessment of organic agriculture reveals overarching themes of comparable yields with conventional farming3 combined with price premiums offers signiicantly improved incomes through niche market opportunities. Organic agriculture requires and investment in knowledge instead of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides and builds up the farmer’s own possibilities to continuously improve farm management. Systems that depend upon sustainable use of locally available natural resources and farmers knowledge are far more likely to meet the needs and aspirations of resource poor farmers than those which requires costly or scarce external inputs4. The costs of adopting organic agriculture vary a lot, however organic agriculture can be cost-effective in reducing poverty and, even with the highest cost options, the amount involved per person taken out of poverty is much lower than that of development programs that achieve the same goals through investment in overall economic growth5.
1 2
UNDP, (1999). Pacific Human Development Report 1999: Creating Opportunities, Suva, Fiji
IBID Scialabba, N. & Hattam, H. (2002) Organic agriculture, Environment, and Food Security. Environment and Natural Resources Series No. 4. FAO, Rome. 4 PARROT, N., J. E. OLESEN, & H. HøGH-JENSEN (2006). Certified and non-certified organic farming in the Developing World. In: Halberg N, Knudsen MT, Alrøe HF and Kristensen ES (Eds) Global Development of Organic Agriculture: Challenges and Prospects. CABI publishing 5 ADB, (2015). Organic agriculture and post-2015 development goals: building on the comparative advantage of poor farmers. Mandaluyong City, Philippines. 3
GOAL 2: ZERO HUNGER End Hunger, achieve Food Security and Improved Nutrition and Promote Sustainable Agriculture Organic Agriculture supports and enhances ecologically sound systems of food production that can achieve food security by increasing and stabilizing yields, and improving resistance to pests and diseases. Poverty can also be addressed by applying the Organic Agriculture Principle of Fairness – which ensures farmers are paid a fair price for their produce. The Paciic Islands region is facing a steady rise in food and diet-related health issues, such as Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). Recent reports stated that diabetes prevalence among adults in the region is among the highest in the world, followed by obesity and other related diseases, like cardiovascular diseases, micronutrient deiciencies (anaemia) and hypertension. At the same time, food insecurity, under nourishment and hunger are of growing concern, as consumption of traditional foods and methods of food preparation and preservation are slowly being replaced by imported foods and more convenient alternatives. These are often of lower nutritional value and contribute to the rise in NCDs. Increasing dependence on imported food also leaves countries more vulnerable to external shocks, including international price volatility, and sudden changes in the availability of important staples, such as rice. The number of individuals undernourished in the region reached 1.3 Million in 2011, and is anticipated to be 1.4 Million in 20166. This situation may be exacerbated under climate change scenarios, predicting more extreme weather events, such as cyclones and droughts. In 2015, Vanuatu and PNG, for example, faced the worst droughts since 1997’s El Nino events, leading to wide-spread crop failures, food shortages and, in some cases, starvation7. Organic Agriculture can build resilience into farming systems by preventing nutrient and water loss through high organic matter content and soil covers. This makes soils more resilient to loods, droughts and land degradation processes. For example, organic farms can survive cyclone damage much better than their neighbours, retaining 20–40 per cent more topsoil, and sustaining smaller economic losses8. Organic systems also improve water uptake and retention, and reduce soil erosion, helping to overcome land aridity. A 2003 study found that, during drought years, organic farms can have yields that are 20-40 per cent higher than conventional farms9. While there has been concern about the potential of Organic Agriculture to meet growing food needs, a recent Berkeley analysis has shown that “The yields of organic farms, particularly those growing multiple crops, compare well to those of chemically intensive agriculture10.”Increasing productivity and incomes without harming fragile Paciic environments can best be done by increasing the knowledge of how to farm organically and, in the Paciic context, by employing traditional mixed cropping practices. By training farmers in organic farming methods and building on local management skills and resources, we can enable farmers to grow healthy and nutritious food, improve the variety and availability of local food and build resilience into food systems. This will combat hunger and improve nutrition in their communities. An example of this can be found in the impact on food security of Organic Participatory Guarantee systems (PGS). PGS is an organic certiication system that emphasises farmer empowerment and capacity building. A 2014 study11 noted that, 78 per cent of respondents stated that their farm performs better today than prior to joining the PGS; 92 per cent claimed that they now have access to suficient food all year, while 84 per cent believe that their families have more diverse meals now than before joining the PGS.
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FAO, IFAD & WFP. (2015). The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2015. Meeting the 2015 international hunger targets: taking stock of uneven progress. Rome, FAO. http://www.fao.org/emergencies/fao-in-action/stories/stories-detail/en/c/357764/ 8 Holt-Gimenez, E. (2000). A study of 1,804 organic farms in Central America hit by Hurricane Mitch. 9 Lotter, D. W., Seidel, R. & Liebhardt W. (2003). The performance of organic and conventional cropping systems in an extreme climate year. American Journal of Alternative Agriculture 18 (3): 146–154. 10 Ponisio, Lauren C., M’Gonigle, Leithen K., Mace, Kevi C., Palomino, Jenny, de Valpine, Perry, & Kremen, Claire. (2014). Diversification practices reduce organic to conventional yield gap. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2014.1396. 11 IFOAM, (2014) Global Comparative Study on Interactions between social processes and participatory guarantee systems Bonn 7
GOAL 3:
GOOD HEALTH AND WELLBEING
Ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all The distribution and use of pesticides in the Paciic region for agriculture and other purposes have been issues of concern over the past decades. The use of pesticides has been acknowledged as possibly threatening: the safe production of foods; the health of those exposed to pesticides during application, in particular farmers and their families; as well as the surrounding environments of farms, including waterways. Recent World Health Organisation (WHO) reports have stated that there are three million cases of pesticide poisoning each year, and up to 220,000 deaths, primarily in developing countries12. Pesticide use has also been linked to headaches and nausea and to chronic impacts, such as cancer, reproductive harm, diabetes and endocrine disruption. Incessant use of chemicals in farming is depleting soils and contaminating water13. Unlike chemical-based agriculture, Organic Agriculture does not use harmful chemicals, such as the weed killer Glyphosate, which WHO has recently deined as a “probable carcinogen”14. Traces of Glyphosate have been found in food, water and the air in the United States and Europe and, while these tests have not been carried out in the Paciic, Glyphosate is one of the most common weedicides used in the Paciic Islands. As well as deaths caused through exposure during use and in the environment, WHO also estimates that around 30 per cent of global suicides were due to direct pesticide self-poisoning15. In the Paciic, poisoning by pesticides is prevalent, in particular in Fiji where between 2000 – 2004, 17 per cent of suicide deaths were caused by ingesting of the weed killer Paraquat16. In Samoa, almost half of suicide attempts between 2000 – 2004 were through ingesting paraquat . WHO has stated that limiting access to these substances saves lives. By working with farmers to eliminate the use of chemicals in growing food by introducing safe organic alternatives, we can make a signiicant contribution to reducing the harmful effects of chemicals on people and the planet, and contribute to wellbeing for all.
12
Sarwar, M. (2015) The Dangers of Pesticides Associated with Public Health and Preventing of the Risks. International Journal of Bioinformatics and Biomedical Engineering Vol. 1, No. 2, 2015, pp. 130-136.http://www.aiscience.org/journal/ijbbe 13 IFOAM Organics International (2015) How Organic Agriculture Helps Achieve the Global Goals 14 http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Monographs/vol112/ 15 World Health Organization, (2005) Report on Meeting on Suicide Prevention in the Western Pacific Region, pg 1. 16 IBID, pg.19.
GOAL 6:
CLEAN WATER AND SANITATION
Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all The Paciic region is a region of a thousand Islands distributed across 180 million square kilometres of Ocean. Ironically, it faces increasing water woes as underground water lenses are threatened by: • overuse and contamination due to rapidly increasing population numbers and land-based activities; • droughts, looding and inundation brought on by climatic changes; and • inefficient and inadequate water management skills. Eutrophication17 of water from land activities, including agricultural chemical use has been identiied as the major environmental threat to Paciic aquatic ecosystems18. Organic agricultural practices eliminate the use of agrichemicals; therefore, minimising the seepage of chemicals into underground water reserves and river systems of island countries. Organic practices and production systems also provide valuable ecosystem services, ensuring appropriate forest cover is maintained, improving soil structure and maintaining the balance of microorganisms in soils. These serve as natural puriiers that remove chemicals and contaminants in water as it passes through the soil to underground reserves19. Organic Agriculture not only eliminates the use of chemical pollutants in agriculture but also eficiently provides a solution to protecting the purity of current water reserves for safer use in the Paciic. 17
Eutrophication is the increase in nutrients in a water body, increasing the plant and algal growth, which may upset ecosystem balance. Secretariat of the Pacific Community, (2011) Fresh WATER under THREAT: Pacific Islands: Vulnerability Assessment of Freshwater Resources to Environmental Change Suva, Fiji Islands: . Pg.20. 19 Ecological Society of America (1997) Revealing secrets about ‘natural water purification’ - Water purification: An Essential Ecosystem Service. Washington, DC. Pg. 1. 18
GOAL 12: RESPONSIBLE PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns Solid waste management has become an important issue in the Paciic due to rapid urbanization and associated impacts, such as changes in food preferences that shows an increasing demand for imported packaged and canned foods over natural grown foods, contributing to increasing waste levels and impacting the environment20. Most Paciic Island countries face similar problems when it comes to solid waste management, with limited land, high population density and a lack of technical skills to cater for increasing waste masses on small islands where there are very few options available to manage solid wastes. Available options for waste management include: landill, incineration, and open burning, which can exacerbate environmental pollution21. This pattern of consumption is not sustainable for our islands. Organic Agriculture utilises practical agro-ecological methods that not only produce healthy food for consumption in environmentally sound ways, but also makes use of organic waste in composts and mulches, reducing the need for landills and burning. Composting, for example; turns organic waste into organic fertilizer that can be used to replace chemical fertilizers. The world is producing enough to feed the world, yet food is wasted that could feed millions. Even in the Paciic Islands, we waste food through inadequate storage and distribution systems and by not capitalizing on seasonal over supplies. Investments are needed to reduce post-harvest losses at the point of food production, improve storage and distribution, and in processing and value-adding agricultural products. Organic farmers and processors in the Paciic are making signiicant contributions in this area, processing and exporting dried fruit and fruit pulps, utilizing produce that is not suitable for fresh export, or with seasonal gluts, such as mangoes22.
15 20 Guidelines for municipal solid waste management planning in small island developing states in the Pacific region: SPREP (1999) Apia, Samoa: South Pacific Regional
SPREP (1999) Guidelines for municipal solid waste management planning in small island developing states in the Pacific region: Apia, Samoa. UNEP Islands (1998) Management of wastes in small island developing State, [Online] Retrieved from: http://islands.unep.ch/dd98-7a2.htm [25th January 2016] 16 22 UNEP Islands. Management of wastes in smallInc, island developing [Online] Retrieved from: [25th January 2016]. Eg AGRANA Fiji(1998). Ltd, Women in Business Development Foundation for State, Rural Intergrated Enterprise andhttp://islands.unep.ch/dd98-7a2.htm Development 17 E.g., AGRANA Fiji, Women in Business Development Samoa, FRIEND Fiji. 21 Environment Programme.
GOAL 13: CLIMATE CHANGE Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
Climate change is one of the biggest challenges Paciic Island countries face. With rise in sea levels claiming coastal areas, affecting soil fertility and fresh water supply, and climate models predicting more frequent and extreme weather events, climate change has become a phenomenon that has far reaching effects on the foundations of the Paciic way of life. Agriculture has been a contributor to climate change — the degradation of soil through unsustainable farming has released huge amounts of carbon into the atmosphere and use of petrochemical-based fertilizers has increased agricultures negative impact. At the same time, agriculture is highly vulnerable to climate change impacts and this directly threatens food security in the Paciic, where the majority of the populations are subsistence or semi-subsistence producers. Soil salinity caused by rising sea levels affect the fertility of soils and, therefore, inevitably affect crop yields for exports and local food security18. An increase in natural disasters across the region also further exacerbates the issues of food security as Paciic Island countries are now also facing droughts and water shortages due to climate change19.
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One such solution for both climate change mitigation and adaptation is through the sustainable farming practices used in organic agriculture. A key part to organic farming practices is soil management. Using chemical organic fertilizers and organic farming practices, such as minimum tillage, returning crop residues to the soil, the use of cover crops and rotations, and the greater integration of nitrogen ixing legumes, increase the return of carbon to the soil. Furthermore, a study20 shows that with the “use of cover crops, compost, crop rotation and reduced tillage, we can actually sequester more carbon than is currently emitted, tipping the needle past 100 per cent to reverse climate change.” Organic farming also provides strategies that will assist farmers to adapt to the impacts of climate change; for example, by establishing that farming systems are drought resistant and support the conservation of water resources, and encourage use of locally adapted varieties and in situadaptation of crop species. Organic Agricultural farming methods provide adaptation solutions that will help ensure food security for affected Paciic Island countries whilst also contributing toward combating climate change globally.
IFAD (2009) Climate Change Impacts – Pacific Islands Washington, DC: SPREP (2008) Fact Sheet – Pacific Climate Change Apia, Samoa: SPREP. 25 Rodale Institute (2015) Regenerative Organic Agriculture and Climate Change: A Down-to-Earth Solution to Global Warming Kutztown, USA 24
GOAL 15: LIFE ON LAND Protecting, restoring and promoting sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably managing forests, combatting desertification, and halting and reversing land degradation and biodiversity loss. The Paciic Islands are home to approximately 5,330 native plant species, 242 native bird species, 61 native terrestrial reptiles, 15 native mammals, three endemic native amphibians and some 4,000 snail species. The majority of these creatures are found nowhere else on earth26. They are found on small speciic island habitats, and are vulnerable to extinction. Recent reports state that in 2008, the Asia and Paciic region recorded the world’s highest number of threatened species27. Biodiversity loss in the region has been due to population pressures, use of wood for cooking fuel and building materials. Even some subsistence agriculture practices, such as slash and burn techniques have contributed to this loss28. The most signiicant impact, however, has been from commercial activities, such as logging and intensive commercial cropping. For example, between 1990 and 2005, the Solomon Islands lost 21.5 per cent of forest cover due to commercial logging; clearing of rainforests to cater for pineapple and sugarcane plantations has left Hawaii with less than 25 percent of its natural forests. Traditional agro-forestry systems in the Paciic are naturally diverse but can also be improved by increasing agrobiodiversity through Organic Agriculture practices, such as integrated crop-tree animal systems, use of microorganisms and companion or other useful plants. This, together with inter-cropping, the use of traditional and underutilized food and fodder species creates habitats, attracts pest enemies and pollinators and also reduces the risk of crop failure across the agro-ecosystem. Studies have shown that organically managed lands host up to 30 per cent more species, and up to 50 per cent higher abundance of species compared to non-organic farmlands. Organic farms also hold 46 to 72 per cent more seminatural or natural habitats compared to non-organic farms29. There is an urgent need to balance development needs with environmental concerns in the Paciic Islands and Organic Agriculture can contribute to meeting the region’s economic and social development objectives whilst also ensuring the protection of biodiversity and prevention of land degradation.
26 Donoghue,
M. (2012). Pacific Islands and Ocean Program. Retrieved January 23, 2014, from Convention International: http://www.conservation.org/Documents/ Pacific_Islands_Program_Factsheet.pdf 27 United Nations Environment Programme (2010) State of Biodiversity in Asia and the Pacific Bangkok 28 Mongabay. (1998) Tropical rainforests: Pacific Islands, [Online] Retrieved from: http://rainforests.mongabay.com/20pacific.htm [25th January 2016]. 29 Pfiffner, L., & Balmer, O. (2011). FiBL Organic Agriculture & Biodiversity. Austria: FiBL.
