permaculture

["Nicholas Roberts" <nicholas@themediasociety.org>]

http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_agriculture/feed/feed-latest.html#5

5. "Organic green revolution" can solve global hunger

In a new report, the Rodale Institute calls for a dramatic shift from
costly, chemical-intensive industrial farming systems to regenerative
organic systems, which it says can help the world feed itself. The
report cites a study of small-scale farmers in 57 countries whose
yields increased by an average 79 percent when they used sustainable
agriculture techniques and other research in developing countries that
found organic farming was two to three times more productive than
conventional farming. Organic farming methods restore nutrients and
carbon to the soil, resulting in higher nutrient density in crops and
increased yields. Organic soils also contain more beneficial
microorganisms, are less vulnerable to erosion, and retain moisture
better to help plants survive drought conditions. A 28-year
side-by-side comparison of organic and conventional practices on
Rodale's research farm in Pennsylvania has found that organically
grown corn and soybeans are more resistant to drought, outperforming
conventional crops by 30 percent and 50 to 100 percent respectively.
Read the report (pdf).

http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/files/GreenRevUP.pdf
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Nicholas Roberts
[im] skype:niccolor