Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>]

All we need is more "organic" from countries with no controls

 Organic farming to replace conventional method!
http://www.theborneopost.com/?p=29409

ORGANIC vegetables, organic pepper, organic meat, organic dairy products
and eggs — consumers’ concern over the intensive use of agrochemicals
in agriculture has led to a growing demand for organic produce.

Organic farming is a production system which avoids the use of synthetic
(inorganic) fertilisers and pesticides. Apart from this, the farmer also
takes steps to protect the environment and conserve biodiversity.

Compost, animal wastes, leguminous plants, green manure and organic
fertilisers are used to improve soil fertility and plant growth. Mechanical
and physical methods; rotational cropping and biological control are used
to tackle the problem of pests, diseases and weeds.

The State government is now paying more attention to organic farming and
its leaders are calling for individuals and companies to venture into the
business.

Despite claims by some farms to be organic there is still no certified
organic farm in Sarawak, which is not surprising, as switching to organic
is a daunting proposition.

However, a few conventional farmers are considering converting to organic
farming due to the rapidly growing market for organic products and the
prospect of higher prices.

However, they are also aware that organic farm management entails more work
and possibly higher costs and they are unsure of its viability.

“A vegetable grower has to learn through trial and error on their farm
before they could really see the real results,” a farmer who prefer not
to be identified and is still in a research stage of organic farming here,
told the thesundaypost.

“For now, I dare not speak more about the concept until I have seen the
results,” he added.

Organic agricultural practices are quite distinct from those of
“conventional” farming.

Conventional farmers apply chemical fertilisers to the soil to grow their
crops, spray insecticides to protect crops from pests and disease, and use
synthetic herbicides to control weed growth.

Organic farmers, on the other hand, feed and build the soil with natural
fertilisers to grow their crops, use insect predators, mating disruption,
traps and barriers to protect crops from pests and disease, and make use of
crop rotation, mechanical tillage and hand-weeding, as well as cover crops,
mulches, flame weeding and other management methods to control weed growth.

The concept of organic farming in Malaysia is still relatively new compared
to more developed countries, such as those in the EU or United States.

Organic farming has been identified as one of the farming systems that
promote sustainable agriculture production in Malaysia especially for
fruits and vegetable under the National Agricultural Policy (1998 —
2010).

In Sarawak, the concept can be said to be still in a “wait and see”
stage — be it in vegetables, crops or livestock farming.

Organic agricultural methods are internationally regulated and legally
enforced by many nations, based mainly on standards set by the
International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM).

The label ‘organic’ must be stuck on vegetables or pieces of fruit and
on organic produce displays or packages of meat, cartons of milk or eggs,
cheese and other single-ingredient foods that are produced from genuine
organic farm.

In the US, for example, foods labeled “100 per cent organic” must
contain only organic ingredients. Products containing at least 70 per cent
organic content can be labeled “made with organic ingredients.”

Those foods labeled simply “organic” must have at least 95 per cent
organic ingredients, by weight or fluid volume, excluding water and salt
while livestock produce labeled “transitional,” means the farmer
produced it during the three-year conversion period from conventional to
organic.

Foods grown and processed according to the US federal standards in most
cases bear the seal “USDA Organic”.

European Union agriculture ministers were reported to have recently agreed
on new regulations on organic production and labeling. The use of the EU
organic logo will be mandatory, but it can be accompanied by national or
private logos.

The place where the products were farmed has to be indicated and they could
only carry the organic logo if at least 95 percent of the ingredients were
organic. But non-organic products will be entitled to indicate organic
ingredients on the ingredients list only.

Organic products must be certified and in most countries organic
certification and accreditation is mandatory.

Malaysian Organic Scheme (SOM) is a certification programme accrediting
Malaysian farmers who operate their farm in compliance with the standard
conditions set by the national organic standard MS 1529:2001.

The standards set out guidelines concerning production; wrapping;
transportation; and direct sale of the cultivated organic food crop.

Among the things considered in the scheme evaluation are: Suitability of
planting site; transition period from conventional to organic system of
production; pesticide residue and heavy metal; crop buffer and buffer zone
distance; soil fertility management; water management; use of seed and
plant material; use of fertilizers, soil conditioners and pest and disease
control materials; management of weeds, pests and diseases; wrapping,
storage and transport of farm products; direct sale of product; and record
keeping.

In Sarawak, the scheme is implemented by the State Department of
Agriculture and covers all entrepreneurs involved in organic crop
production.

According to the officer in-xcharge of certification in Sarawak, none of
the individuals or companies that practise the concept in the State is a
certified organic producer yet.

The officer said so far they have received only two applications for
certification from vegetable growers and one from a dragon fruit farmer.

It may take one year to approve an organic certification for a farm on a
newly cultivated land and two years for an old farm that shifted to organic
farming, added the officer.

“We have to be very strict in issuing organic certification. A farmer
must have a lot of commitment and willing to meet our criteria.

“Before we issue certification, we want to make sure that the farm and
the produce is truly organic. This is to ensure consumers are not cheated
… we must bear in mind that consumers are our boss and we cannot cheat
them,” said the officer.

Farm inspection is carried out by the inspector and the decision on
certification is made by a committee comprising officers from various
government departments and agencies.

Produce from by a certified organic farm can be labeled as organic and use
the logo Organik Malaysia on its products.

While the purpose of certification is to foster confidence of consumers and
promote organic products, the certification requirements and regulations
are a hindrance to the development of the organic industry.

However, the officer said there were no two ways about it and stressed that
all farmers have to comply with the standard, which strictly follows the
IFOAM standard.

“Even retailers have got to apply for licence to sell imported organic
products … and so far there is no certified organic produce retailer in
Sarawak yet,” the officer added.

In Kuching, a local farming enterprise that grows its crops with
environmental sustainability and health concerns in mind is N&N Farm Sdn
Bhd , which is one of the applicants for organic certification.

The 10-acre farm in Siburan, produces 14 leafy and fruit vegetables, such
as bitter gourd, chai sim, kai lan, cucumbers and ladies’ fingers,
without using chemical pesticides or fertilisers.

N&N Sdn Bhd, which began operation four years ago, has been developing not
only its own organic production system from the cultivation of seedlings
and production of natural compost, but also its own pest control system.

For example, it uses free range chicken to prey on pests and planted
natural repellent plants like serai wangi and spring onions around the farm
to ward off pests.

Currently, the company supply its produce to supermarkets around Kuching
and to regular customers who visit their main office at Jalan Nyiur.

“Organic farming is very challenging yet exciting, especially during the
probation period. It requires more management, responsibility and knowledge
about the production, as well as pest control system,” she said.

While waiting for approval for the certification was one of those
challenges, she said strict issuance of certification was good because
consumers were assured the produce they bought were truly organic and safe
from chemical residues, as they had been produced in compliance with the
national organic standard.”

Organic farming is not just about producing chemical or pesticide-free food
products. It has to be understood as part of a sustainable farming system
and a viable alternative to the more traditional approaches to agriculture.

Sustainable development must encompass food production alongside
conservation of finite resources and protection of the natural environment
so that the needs of people living today could be met without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

This objective requires farmers to consider the effect that their
activities have on the future of agriculture and how the systems they
employ shape the environment.