Organic Agriculture and Climate Change

The foundation of the organic farming method lies in recycling organic matter as a way of preserving and enhancing the fertil- ity of the soil, which becomes better able to retain large amounts of water, prevent ero- sion and increase its carbon content, an im- portant factor in the fight against climate change. The ‘Climate Change and Land’ report published by the United Nations In- tergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) highlights the relationships between climate change and the way in which land is worked. The intensive use made of the soil in agriculture is responsible for almost a quarter of all the greenhouse-gas emis- sions caused by human activity.

Intensive farming, monoculture and the use of synthetic weedkillers, decontami- nants and fertilizers are some of the factors which most impoverish the soil. Degraded soil has a reduced capacity to retain and store carbon, which contributes to global threats like climate change. The agroecological approach, of which organic and biodynamic farming constitute the most advanced and efficient models, inverts this dangerous trend.