Is Organic Farming Better For The Environment ?

All countries around the world are dependent on agriculture to help them cater to their ever growing population. The agricultural sector gives employment to almost half of the world's population. Before the advent of technology, the only way that food was grown was through organic farming.

However, when technology started developing during the Second World War, it also had a dramatic effect on the agricultural sector. Conventional farming methods make use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, mechanization and also genetic engineering all in the name of producing maximum yields. Also, many farmers are just growing a single crop instead of using crop rotation, and this causes soil erosion and strips the soil of its nutrients.

However, organic farming is beneficial not just for people who eat the produce, but also for the environment. Organic farming does not use chemicals and synthetic fertilizers to increase yield. Neither does it use genetic engineering. Instead, organic farming protects its crop by using natural methods of pest control, it uses crop rotation to prevent growth of weeds, it uses mulches to retain soil moisture and many more environmentally-friendly practices.

By using organic farming, soil erosion is reduced and the topsoil is retained. Crop rotation prevents the stripping of nutrients from the soil, and the fact chemicals are not used as fertilizers or pesticides, ensures that the produce is non-toxic and chemical-free. Above all, none of the chemicals finds their way into the ground water or water bodies thereby polluting the water sources. Also, organic farming helps to reduce carbon emissions and this helps to protect the changing global climate.

All these advantages of organic farming clearly show that organic farming does help the environment.

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