ORGANIC FARMING

Gathering of Plants

ORGANIC FARMINGI. BIBLICAL & THEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND

“More than being just the planter and

reaper, man is the Steward of Creation”

1. “Subdue the earth…dominion over the earth”… (Gen. 1:28)

2. It is not an absolute power or freedom to “use and misuse” the natural world. (Gen. 2:16-17)

3. When it comes to the use of the natural world, man is subject to both

physical/biological and moral laws…

(John Paul II, On Social Concern)

4. Man as a social being, that is the responsibility for one’s actions extend to the consequences those actions have on other people… “No man is an island”

5. Man has the right to live in a dignified manner (befitting manner)

6. Development cannot ignore both the needs of man and nature and the effects of indiscriminate industrialization and progress.

II. HISTORY OF FARMING SYSTEM

In the PAST, 1950-1971, there were:

No commercial fertilizers

Compost fertilizers direct to the farm

Organic fertilizers

Manual systems of farming

Abundance of fish/mud fish/eel

Natural equipments like Carabao

In 1972 up to the present:

• Commercial fertilizers/pesticides are

used.

Effects are:

- Soil became acidic

- Spring water is contaminated

- There is less harvest

- More debts

- More sickness

• There is single cropping/cash crops.

POSSIBLE/ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION

ORGANIC FARMING/NATURAL FARMING

- Recycling

- Using available resources as

fertilizers like grasses

- No hazardous chemicals

- Use of composted fertilizers

- Friendly environment

- Manageable

ORGANIC FARMING

- A production system that avoids or largely

excludes the use of synthetically compounded fertilizers, pesticides, growth regulators and livestock feed additives. To the maximum extent feasible, organic farming systems rely upon crop rotation, crop residue, animal manures, legumes, green manures, off-farm organic wastes, mechanical cultivation, and mineral bearing rocks. It also relies on aspects of biological pest control to maintain soil productivity and tithe, to supply plant nutrients and to control insects, weeds and other pests.

WHY DO PEOPLE CHOOSE ORGANIC

FARMING AND BUY ORGANIC PRODUCTS?

1. They want to be good stewards of the environment.

2. They are concerned about pollution of air, water and soil.

3. They care for the health of the family and community (Moral Act)

4. Chemicals destroy life.

5. Tending organic garden connects them with the soil and makes them feel closer to the nature.

HOW DOES THE ORGANIC METHOD WORK?

Natural ecosystems make their own fertilizer.

Natures’ cycle of growth and decay is continouos.

Some insects eat plants but predators and parasites keep their number in check. So there is no need for synthetic pesticides.

Nature allows some damage. (In the law of nature, there is balance)

When organic farmers intervene- they choose control tactics that have little impact on the natural system.

NEEDS OF A HEALTHY PLANT

1. Fresh air

2. Complete mineral nutrient (soil)

3. Clean water

4. Plenty of sunlight (At least 6 hrs of sun)

Less sunlight weakens the plants and does not produce products.

5. Mechanical support when needed

SOIL– Is able to provide most of what the plants need.

– A healthy soil is the key to organic farming.

– The soil is where our foods come from (not from the market)

TYPES OF SOIL:

1. Clay

2. Clay loam IDEAL SOIL PROFILE

3. Sandy loam - Fresh organic matter(1st layer)

4. Sand - Topsoil (2nd layer)

- Fine rock pieces (3rd layer)

- Largest rock pieces (4th layer)

Test in Analyzing Soil

Soil must have earthworms (the small ones)-surface earthworms for healthy soil

Enough sand

Enough clay (less)

Enough crumbs (black)

“Soil fertility is the basis of the public health system of the future”.

(Sir Albert Howard)

MICRO ORGANISMS AND LIVING

CREATURES IN THE SOIL

Good Bacteria – lives in oxygen and

easily dies with spray (synthetic

pesticides/fertilizers).

Bad Bacteria – does not live; lives in the

dark.

- Does not die with spray

- Solution: spray microbes (enzymes)

in the soil

MICRO ORGANISM – ENZYMES

IMO – Indigenous Micro-Organism

NEM – Nature Effective Micro-Organism

EM/EMO – Effective Micro-Organism

USES/FUNCTIONS

1. For decomposing

2. Anti-biotic

3. Deodorant

4. Fertilizer

DECOMPOSER

Materials:

• Organic rice – non commercial/commercial rice

• Banana (leaves)

• Sweet potatoes

• Bamboo/Wooden box

• Bond paper/manila paper/banana leaves

• Straw/string

Procedures:

1. Cook rice and let it cool.

2. Place it in a bamboo or wooden box, cover with bond/manila paper or banana leaves and tie with straw/string in both ends.

3. Put it in an uncontaminated place; it could be under the bamboo tree by digging 6” deep in the soil then put the bamboo cover with rotten leaves then cover with topsoil.

4. After 5 days, retrieve the bamboo then remove or segregate the black molds.

5. Put it in a plate then weigh it.

6. For every kilogram of NEM, add molasses of

its equivalent weight. (1 kg NEM = 1 kg brown

sugar/mascuvado)

7. Put it in a plastic not in a bottle then put it in

a shaded and moderately temperatured place

for at least 7 to 14 days; this will yield a mud

like juice.

8. If the yield IMO is so sticky, add more sugar.

* Sugar/mascuvado/mollassess – food of Micro-organisms

* NEM/IMO life span: 2 - 3 years

Extract Micro Organism/Activated EM

For every 200cc of IMO/NEM, add 100 liters of potable water in a plastic container.

Add 3 kgs of brown sugar/mascuvado

Mix the 200 cc IMO, water and sugar then cover with a manila paper or banana leaves and leave it for 21 days untouched.

After 21 days, collect and bottle in a plastic (coke plastic bottle, etc.)

BIO-ORGANIC FERTILIZER

Materials: (Alternative 1)

Animal manure – cow/carabao, goat (at least 60%)

Others (40%)

- Garame/dayame

- Green leaves (sun flower, azulla, ipil-ipil)

- Shells

- Pulverized charcoal/kuntan(rice hull)

Extract Micro-Organism = Ratio: 1 liter Extract Micro-Organism: 100 liters of water

Procedure/Process:

• For every layer, wet then sprinkle it with Extract Micro-organism

• Dayami/garami – 2” thick with Extract Micro-organism

• Animal Manure –2” thick with Extract Micro-organism

• Kuntan/rice hull (cooked and pulverized) –“pagwaris/pagwarsi”

• Shell (cooked and pulverized) – “pagwaris/pagwarsi”

• Green Leaves – 2” thick with Extract Micro-Organism

Curing period – 30 days (minimum) before packing

For every 1.5m x 6m x 5 layers can produce 35-40 sacks of 50 kgs BOF

• Green leaves - (2” thick) with IMO

Extract Shell (cooked and pulverized)

Kuntan/rice hull (cooked and pulverized)

Animal manure (2” thick) with IMO

Extract Garami (2” thick) with IMO Extract

Figure 1- 1 layer

*Kuntan – Korean Technology

Carbonized hull – conditioner for soil

Microorganism house/shelter

Alternative 2 (Composting)(Master’s Garden)

COMPOSTING- is normally

discovered through accident by early (ages) Indians.

a) GARDEN COMPOST (best alternative)

Materials/Equipments:

– Shredder (bolo if no shredder)

– Raw materials (green materials such as sunflower, cogon grass, etc.)

– Spading fork or shovel

Procedure:

1. Mix the shredded green materials with activated EM by spraying using the 16 liters knapsack spray can with a ratio of: for every 250 ml of Activated EM, mix with 16 liters of potable water.

2. Mix it everyday the shredded materials mixed with EM. Within 36 hrs, it can reach 170 degrees farenheight in temperature. It can cook any hard and bad bacteria what will be left will be the good bacteria.

3. Do it for at least 11 days if compost tea is mixed and 14 days if w/o compost tea.

b) KITCHEN COMPOST – Kitchen waste (rich in nitrogen); it should be balanced with carbon (brown materials).

c) MANURE COMPOST – animal wastes, except cat and dog wastes, mix with EM to compost properly (high nitrogen if mixed with brown materials).

d) SPECIAL COMPOST – for special plants

Ex. Blue berries/flowers –mostly like acid soil

– Pine needle (30-50%) in ratio to compost.

e) GARBAGE COMPOST- Municipal Compost Waste

*Battery (high in lead – poisonous) not

advisable for use in food production.

• COMPOST SITE – Can be everywhere and must be in a concrete floor as not to waste the richness of fertilizer to be composted. Must be shaded overhead and the site could be only in an open area if sun is out and no rain.

• Should Chemical be used in the Composting Process? – Yes in some cases (by adding urea when the compost is already dry and brown and no presence of nitrogen). But in some cases farmers do not.Nitrogen – component of all protein. (Use to degrade materials).Carbon – food for digestion of materials. (Carbohydrates).Low Cost Compost Builders – hair of man is 15% nitrogen similar to feathers of chicken.Calcium – Shell (egg shell)

• RIPENED COMPOST - fined material compost (3 months) fine texture.

• COMPOST TEA – liquid form digested materials (more superior than manure tea).

• MANURE TEA – lighter than compost tea.*Use to water the plants (Booster).

How to make Compost Tea:Put water 2/3 full into a container then add 1/3 full of compost/manure then mix and put it aside for a while for seven (7) days.

• How to Use:– Put 2/3 of water or any quantity and mix an amount

to make a color like Lipton tea which is for drinking.– Spray in the morning but wet first the soil before

spraying or sprinkling.

• *Note: Plants concentrate in getting food during daytime and growing at nighttime. Always water plants in the morning and not in the afternoon to avoid attack of fungus due to wetness.

Reasons Why You Should Never Ever Use Chemicals Again

1. Pesticides travel and have contaminated even the most remote regions of the world; they smell really bad.

2. Up to 20 % of the chemicals you buy legally include heavy metals like lead, dioxin and arsenic which are very toxic and poisonous.

3. Chemical fertilizers add nutrients to the soil but they don’t add anything else. The soil structure weakens and it can’t hold itself together and it starts to erode and collapse.

4. It can kill the bad and good bugs, the birds

and bees. Without bee pollination there would

be fewer fruits and vegetables.

5. The more you use, the more you need to use

just like a junkie.

6. They can make your family, your pets, you

and wildlife sick.

7. Buying chemical fertilizers and pesticides

support huge corporations who spend

millions of dollar, lobbying to try surpassing

research that shows how bad the stuff really

is. And they go and sell millions of dollar

worth of DDT to third world countries where it

is still legal.

Pesticides are harmful and poisonous to humans and can lead to death.

Pesticides are hazardous to apply and harmful to the environment.

Pesticides contaminate the area of contact and other nearby areas.

Pesticides kill animals.

Pesticides kill plants.

Pesticides create resistance and multiply.

Pesticides kill beneficial insecticide.

Pesticides do not increase yield or production.

Alternative Pest/Insect Control

A. CULTURAL METHOD OF PEST CONTROL

1. Good Soil Preparation

2. Use of indigenous variety

3. Pest control using mesh screen (nylon knots)

4. Roquing or pruning

5. Intercropping with aromatic herbs

6. Companion planting

7. Encouraging insect predators

8. Multiple cropping

9. Crop rotation

B. BIOLOGICAL PEST CONTROL

= Suppression of pest populations by living organisms such as predators, parasites and pathogens. These agents are responsible for keeping pests under control most of the time.

C. BOTANICAL PEST CONTROL-NATURAL INSECT REPELLANTS

= Is the method of using plant juices/plant extracts/essential oils in the management of pest population.

“Every part of the ecosystem on earth depends on the green life support apparatus of its survival as a whole”.

(by: Anthony Luxey)

“In the end, there is really nothing more important than taking care of the earth and letting it care for you”.

WE BELONG TO THE ENVIRONMENT; THE ENVIRONMENT DOES NOT BELONG TO US…

July 2006

Health effects of conventional farming:

• Asthma

• Birth defects

• Neurological effects

• Cancer

• Hormone disruption

• Parkinson’s disease

Relationships between chemical input levels and sustainability

IMPORTANCE OF ORGANIC FARMING:

Present burning issue in farming is the decline in fertility of soil and

fall in productivity levels.

Use of chemical fertilizers and synthetic pesticides have deteriorated

soil health as well causing harm to our natural eco-system by polluting

our environment as well as water.

Now we have reached a situation were productivity levels in soil

slowly decreasing day by day.

Now its time to go for organic farming and restore soil fertility and

maintain soil fertility on sustainable basis so that future generations

may not face problems

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CONVENTIONAL AND ORGANIC FARMING

CONVENTIONAL ORGANIC

It is based on economical orientation It is based on ecological orientation

GMOs are used GMOs are not used here

Synthetic fertilizers are used Synthetic fertilizers are not used

Weeds are controlled through herbicides Manually weeds are removed here

Pesticides and fungicides are used to control

pest and diseases

Pest and diseases are controlled biologically

Produce obtained will have chemical

residues accumulated in it

Produce is free from chemical residues

Air, water and soil pollution is common No such problem is observed

Produce is carcinogenic and causes several

health problems

No such problems are observed here

Low input: output ratio with pollution Optimum input: output ratio with no

pollution

Soil fertility is maintained for shorter period Soil fertility is maintained on long term basis

Intensive irrigation is required Irrigation requirements are reduced

Objectives of Organic Farming

Produce food with

higher nutritional

quality

Work with

natural system Maintain and

increase soil

fertility

Use renewable

resources as far

as possible

Wider social and

ecological impact

of farming system

Allow satisfaction

to agricultural

producer

Avoid Pollution

Objective of organic farming

(1) (2)

(3)

(4)

(5)(6)

(7)

Components of organic farming

Principles of organic agriculture

MAIN PRINCIPLES OF ORGANIC FARMING:

The main principles of organic farming are as follows:

To maintain the long-term fertility of soils.

To avoid all forms of pollution that may result from agricultural

techniques.

To produce foodstuffs of high nutritional quality and sufficient

quantity.

To reduce the use of fossil energy in agricultural practice to a

minimum.

To give livestock conditions of life that confirm to their

physiological need.

To make it possible for agricultural producers to earn a living

through their work and develop their potentialities as human being.

Rajib Roychowdhury et al. (2013)

DISTRIBUTION OF THE SHARES OF ORGANIC

AGRICULTURAL LAND 2013

7%

9%

25%59%

11 countries

15 countries

40 countries

97 countries

PERCENTAGE OF AREA UNDER ORGANIC FARMING IN THE TOTAL

CULTIVATED AREA OF DIFFERENT COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD

Country Percentage of area under

organic farming

USA 0.23

UK 4.22

Germany 4.10

Argentina 1.70

Austria 8.40

Australia 2.20

Japan 0.10

Switzerland 7.94

South Africa 0.05

Italy 3.70

India 0.03

Pakistan 0.08

Srilanka 0.05

0.23

4.22 4.1

1.7

8.4

2.2

0.1

7.94

0.05

3.7

0.030.080.050

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Percentage of area under organic farming

Rajib Roychowdhury et al. (2013)

Supply of nutrients

Nutrients are applied through organic manures

including

• Compost,

• Dung of various animals,

• Poultry manure,

• Green manure and

• Crop residues in farm fields.

Supply of Nutrients:

1. Bulky organic manures

Compost

Sheep and goat manure

Poultry manure

Green manure

Vermicompost

AVERAGE NUTRIENT CONTENT OF BULKY MANURE

MANUREPERCENTAGE CONTENT

N P2O5 K2O

Animal refuse 0.3-0.4 0.1-0.2 0.1-0.3

Cattle dung,fresh 0.4-0.5 0.3-0.4 0.3-0.4

Horse dung ,fresh 0.5 -0.5 0.4-0.6 0.3-1.0

Poultry manure,fresh 1.0-1.8 1.4-1.8 0.8-0.9

Sewage sludge,dry 2.0-3.5 1.0-5.0 0.2-0.5

Sewage sludge, activate dry 4.0-7.0 2.1-4.2 0.5-0.7

Cattle urine 0.9-1.2 trace 0.5-1.0

Horse urine 1.2-1.5 trace 1.3-1.5

Sheep urine 1.5-1.7 trace 1.8-2.0

Rural compost, dry 0.5-1.0 0.4-0.8 0.8-1.2

Urban compost, dry 0.7-2.0 0.9-3.0 1.0-2.0

Farmyard manure, dry 0.4-1.5 0.3-0.9 0.3-1.9

Filter-press cake 1.0-1.5 4.0-5.0 2.0-7.0

Groundnut husks 1.6-1.8 0.3-0.5 1.1-1.7

Ash, wood 0.1-0.2 0.8-5.9 1.5-36.0Regional Centre of Organic Farming, Krishna Chandra.(2005)

Seed treatment technique popular

amongst farmer in organic farming

a) With cow urine

cow urine + water (1:10)

soak the seed in solution for 15 minutes

dry the seed in shade and sowing.

It better germination and prevent seed borne disease

b) with cow milk

Cow milk + water (1:5)

Soak the seed in solution for 30 minutes

Dry the seed in shade and sowing.

It prevent yellowing of leaves and leaf spot diseases

C) With wood ash

Wood ash + water (10 gram + one litter)

Dip vegetable seed in solution for 15-30 minutes

Dry in shade and sow immediately

It prevent seedling rot

D) Hot water treatment

Boil water till it reaches 550 c.

Soak the seed for 15 – 30 minutes.

Dry seed first in shade and after in sun and stored in insect proof container.

It control pathogens which develop seeds when they are stored for a long time period.

PROSPECTS OF ORGANIC FARMING

Consumer acceptance

Environmental friendly

Higher biodiversity

Better soils

Bello(2008)

Differences in nutritional content between organic and conventional

vegetables: mean percent difference for four nutrients in five

frequently studied vegetables

Virginia Worthington

Virginia Worthington

Diet Vit-c (mg) Iron (mg) Magnesium(mg) Phosphorous

(mg)

Organic 89.2 3.7 80.0 124.0

Conventional 67.9 3.0 68.6 111.8

NUTRIENT CONTENT OF AN ORGANIC AND

CONVENTIONAL DIET: MILLIGRAMS OF VITAMIN C, IRON,

MAGNESIUM, AND PHOSPHORUS IN ONE DAY’S

VEGETABLE INTAKE

Soil quality parameters as affected by organic (Org.) and conventional (Con.)

farming

Ramesh et al.(2010)

Advantages of organic farming:

Organic matter supplies all the essential macro and micro plant

nutrients.

Organic matter improves physico-chemical and biological

properties of soil.

Organic farming improves agro-ecosystem and helps in

stopping environmental degradation .

Organically grown crops are preferred by most people as it is

believed to be more nutritious compared to conventional ones.

Organic produce fetches more prices in national and

international market.

Debated issues on organic agriculture:

Can organic farming produce enough food for everybody?

Is it possible to meet the nutrient requirement of crops entirely

from organic sources?

Are there any significant environmental benefits from organic

farming?

Is the food produced by organic farming superior in quality?

Is organic farming economically feasible?

Is it possible to manage pest and disease in organic farming?

Munda et al.

Organic farming is better for our environment.

Organic farmers do not use synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides

FEEDING

THE SOIL

RATHER

THAN

FEEDING

THE PLANT