Abstract
Agriculture production has to increase by 70% within 2050 in order to keep pace with population growth and changing diets. However, this production increase will have to be achieved in a way that preserves the environment and reduces the vulnerability of agriculture to climate change. Agriculture will furthermore need to minimize the emissions of greenhouse gases, pesticides and plant nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous to the environment. Organic agriculture, conventional agriculture and conservation agriculture can be considered as different approaches for dealing with these production and environmental challenges. This chapter discusses the production and environmental implications of these three different approaches for agricultural development. Conventional agriculture is characterised by ploughing and limited recycling of organic materials. Organic agriculture uses no pesticides and mineral fertiliser whereas conservation agriculture is characterized by zero tillage, use of mulch and crop rotations.
The studies reviewed show that conventional agriculture and conservation agriculture have similar yield levels, but the yield levels in organic agriculture is in the order of 30–50% lower than in these two systems. One important reason for lower productivity in organic agriculture is limited supply of plant nutrients as organic sources of plant nutrients only supply 30–35% of the nitrogen taken up by crops. Conservation agriculture is furthermore more efficient in building soil organic matter than organic agriculture and conventional agriculture. Conservation agriculture has been found to sequester between 0.1 and 1 t C ha−1 year−1. Building soil organic matter content can be considered as a cornerstone in adaption to climate as this will increase soil water holding capacity and reduce soil temperature. System studies have shown that nitrogen and greenhouse gas emission are less in conservation agriculture as compared to conventional and organic agriculture. The non-use of pesticides is the major environmental advantages of organic agriculture.
It appears from this review that conservation agriculture is the approach that can best deliver on the production and environmental objectives of agriculture.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Aune JB, Bationo A (2008) Agricultural intensification in the Sahel. The ladder approach. Agric Syst 98:119–125
Badgley C, Moghtader J, Quinrero E, Zakem E, Chappel MH, Avilés-Vázquez K, Samulon A, Perfecto I (2007) Organic agriculture and global food supply. Renew Agr Food Syst 22:86–108
Baker T et al (2007) Technical summary. In: Metz B, Davidson OR, Bosch PR, Dave R, Meyer LA (eds) IPCC fourth assessment report. Climate change 2007. Mitigation of climate change. Cambridge University Press, New York, pp 26–93
Baker BP, Benbrook CM, Groth EIII, Benbrook KL (2002) Pesticide residues in conventional, IPM-grown and organic foods: insights from three U.S. data sets. Food Addit Contam 19:427–446
Bellarby J, Foerid B, Hastings A, Smith P (2008) Cool farming: climate impacts of agriculture and mitigation potential. Greenpeace International, Amsterdam, 45 p
Borggaard OK, Gimsing AL (2008) Fate of glyphosphate in soil and the possibility of leaching to ground and surface waters – a review. Pest Manag Sci 64:441–456
Brentrup F (2009) The impact of mineral fertilizers on the carbon footprint of crop production. The proceeding of the international plant nutrition colloquium XVI, UC Davies, USA, 8 p
Buerkert A, Bationo A, Dossa K (2000) Mechanisms of residue mulch-induced cereal growth increases in West Africa. Soil Sci Soc Am J 64:346–358
Connor DJ (2008) Organic agriculture cannot feed the world. Field Crops Res 106:187–190
Cordell D, White S (2008) The Australian story of phosphorus: sustainability implications of global fertilizer scarcity for Australia. Discussion paper prepared for the national workshop on the future of phosphorus, Sydney, 14 November 2008, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology, Sydney, 13 p
Cordell D, Drangert J-A, White S (2009) The story of phosphorus: global food security and food for thought. Glob Environ Change 19:292–305
Crews TE, Peoples MB (2004) Legumes versus fertilizer sources of nitrogen: ecological trade-offs and human needs. Agric Ecosyst Environ 102:279–297
Derpch R (2005) The extent of conservation agriculture adaptation worldwide: implications and impacts. Proceedings of the third world congress on conservation agriculture: linking production, livelihoods and conservation, Nairobi, Kenya
Derpch R, Friedrich T (2009) Global overview of conservation agriculture adaptation. In: Lead papers. 4th world congress on conservation agriculture, New Delhi, pp 429–438
Edmeades DC (2003) The long-term effects of manures and fertilisers on soil productivity and quality: a review. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 66:165–180
Erenstein O, Farooq U, Malik RK, Sharif M (2008) On-farm impacts of zero tillage wheat in South-Asia’s rice–wheat systems. Field Crops Res 105:240–252
Fan S (2010) Halving hunger: meeting the first millennium development goal through “business as unusual”. International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC, 17 p
FAO (2009) How to feed the world in 2050. http://www.fao.org/wsfs/forum2050/wsfs-background-documents/issues-briefs/en/. Accessed 13 Oct 2010
Fresco,LO (2003) Fertiliser and the future. FAO spotlight. http://www.fao.org/ag/magazine/0306sp1.htm. Accessed 20 Sept 2010
Gilbert N (2009) The disappearing nutrient. Nature 461:716–718
Gowing JW, Palmer M (2008) Sustainable agricultural development in sub-Saharan Africa: the case of a paradigm shift in land husbandry. Soil Use Manage 24:92–99
Giller KE, Witter E, Corbeels M, Tittonell P (2009) Conservation agriculture and smallholder farming in Africa: the heretics’ view. Field Crops Res 114:23–24
Graves A, Matthews R, Waldie K (2004) Low external input technologies for livelihood improvements in subsistence agriculture. Adv Agron 82:473–555
Hobbs PR, Sayre K, Gupta R (2000) The role of conservation agriculture in sustainable agriculture. Phil Trans R Soc B 363:543–555
IFOAM (2009) http://www.ifoam.org/about_ifoam/principles/index.html. Accessed 30 June 2010
IPCC (2007) IPCC fourth assessment report. Working group 1. The physical science basis. Cambridge University Press, New York, pp 987–989
Kirchmann H, Bergström L, Kätterer T, Andrén O, Andersson R (2008a) Can organic crop production feed the world. In: Kirchmann H, Bergström L (eds) Organic crop production – ambitions and limitations. Springer Science + Business Media, Dordrecht, pp 39–73
Kirchmann H, Kättrer T, Bergström L (2008b) Nutrient supply in organic agriculture – plant availability, sources and recycling. In: Kirchmann H, Bergström L (eds) Organic crop production – ambitions and limitations. Springer Science + Business Media, Dordrecht, pp 89–119
Knutsen MT, Kristiansen IBS, Berntsen J, Petersen BM, Kristensen ES (2006) Estimated N leaching losses for organic and conventional farming in Denmark. J Agric Sci 144:135–149
Korsaeth A (2008) Relations between nitrogen leaching and food productivity in organic and conventional cropping systems in a long-term field study. Agric Ecosyst Environ 127:177–188
Lal R (2004) Soil carbon sequestration impacts on global climate change and food security. Science 3(5677):1623–1627
Mäder P, Fliesbach A, Dubois D, Gunst L, Fried P, Niggli U (2002) Soil fertility and biodiversity in organic farming. Science 296(5573):1694–1697
Mazvimavi K, Twomlow S (2009) Socioeconomic and institutional factors influencing adoption of conservation farming by vulnerable households in Zimbabwe. Agric Syst 101:20–29
Morris M, Kelly VA, Kopicki RJ, Byerlee D (2007) Fertilizer use in African agriculture. Lessons learned and good practices. World Bank, Washington, 144 p
Powles SB (2008) Review Evolved glyphosate-reisistant weeds around the world: lessons to be learnt. Pest Manag Sci 64:360–365
Riley H, Pommeresche R, Eltun R, Hansen S, Korsaeth A (2008) Soil structure, organic matter and earthworm activity in a comparison of cropping systems with contrasting tillage, rotations, fertilizer levels and manure use. Agric Ecosyst Environ 124:275–284
Robertson GP, Paul EA, Harwood RR (2000) Greenhouse gases in intensive agriculture: contribution of individual gases to radiative forcing of the atmosphere. Science 289(5486):1922–1925
Sanchez PA, Shephard KD, Soule MD, Place FM, Buresh RJ, Izac A-MN, Mokwunye AU, Kwesiga FR, Ndiritu CG, Woomer PL (1997) Soil fertility replenishment in Africa. An investment in natural resource capital. In: Buresh RJ, Sanchez PA, Calhoun F (eds) Replenishing soil fertility in Africa. SSSA publication, Madison, pp 1–47, Special publication number 51
Singh RB (2000) Environmental consequences of agricultural development: a case study from the green revolution state of Haryana, India. Agric Ecosyst Environ 82:97–103
Smaling EMA, Nandwa SM, Jansen BH (1997) Soil fertility in Africa at stake. In: Buresh RJ, Sanchez PA, Calhoun F (eds) Replenishing soil fertility in Africa. SSSA/ASA, Madison, pp 47–62, Special publication 51: Soil Sci. Soc. Am
Smil V (2001) Enriching the earth. The MIT Press, 338 p
Smil V (2002) Nitrogen and food production: proteins for human diets. Ambio 31:126–131
Smith P, Martino D, Cai Z, Gwary D, Janzen H, Kumar P, McCarl B, Ogle S, Mara FO, Rice C, Scholes B, Sirotenko O (2007) Agriculture. In: Metz B, Davidson OR, Bosch PR, Dave R, Meyer LA (eds) Climate Change 2007: mitigation. Contribution of working group III to the fourth assessment report of the IPCC. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge and New York
Stopes C, Lord EI, Philipps L, Woodward L (2002) Nitrate leaching from organic and conventional farms following best practice. Soil Use Manage 18:256–263
Tabo R, Bationo A, Maimouna KD, Hassane O, Koala S (2005) Fertilizer micro-dosing for the prosperity of small-scale farmers in the Sahel. Final report. P.O. Box 12404, Niamey, Niger, International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, 28 p
US Geological Survey (2009) Phosphate rock. http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/phosphate_rock/mcs-2009-phosp.pdf. Accessed 13 Oct 2010
Thierfelder C, Wall P (2010) Rotation in conservation agriculture systems of Zambia: effects on soil quality and water relations. Exp Agric 46:309–325
Vandenbeldt RJ, Williams JH (1992) The effect of soil surface temperatures on the growth of millet in relation to the effect of Faidherbia albida trees. Agr Forest Meteorol 60:93–100
Vanlauwe B, Giller KE (2006) Popular myths around soil fertility management in sub-Saharan Africa. Agric Ecosyst Environ 116:34–46
Vlek PLG, Tamene L (2009) Conservation agriculture, why? In: Lead papers. Conference proceedings. 4th world congress on conservation agriculture, New Delhi, 4–7 February 2009, pp 10–20
Waggoner PE (1997) How much land can ten billion people spare for nature? In: Ausubel JH, Langford DH (eds) Technological trajectories and the human environment. National Acad Press, Washington, DC, pp 56–73
Wall PC (2009) Strategies to overcome the competition for crop residues in Southern Africa: some light in the end of the tunnel. In: Lead papers. Conference proceedings. 4th world congress on CA, New Delhi, 4–7 February 2009, pp 65–70
Williams AG, Audsley E and Sandars DL (2006) Determining the environmental burdens and resource use in the production of agricultural and horticultural commodities. Main Report. Defra Research Project IS0205. Cranfield University and Defra, Bedford, 97 p
Yara (2007) Case 2007: Yara announces N2O reduction catalyst technology. http://www.yara.com/about/history/2006-2007/n20_reduction_catalyst_technology.aspx. Accessed 20 Sept 2010
Zingore S, Manyame C, Nyamugafata P, Giller KE (2005) Long-term change in organic matter of woodland soils cleared for arable cropping in Zimbabwe. Eur J Soil Sci 56:727–736
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Aune, J.B. (2012). Conventional, Organic and Conservation Agriculture: Production and Environmental Impact. In: Lichtfouse, E. (eds) Agroecology and Strategies for Climate Change. Sustainable Agriculture Reviews, vol 8. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1905-7_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1905-7_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-1904-0
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-1905-7
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)