Not only can organic agriculture feed the world, according to the UN Environment
Programme (UNEP) in a report released in October, it may be the
only way we can solve the growing problem of hunger in developing countries.
UNEP states that its extensive study “challenges the popular myth that
organic agriculture cannot increase agricultural productivity.” UNEP reported
that organic practices in Africa outperformed industrial, chemical-intensive
conventional farming, and also provided environmental benefits such as improved
soil fertility, better retention of water and resistance to drought. This
analysis of 114 farming projects in 24 African countries found that organic or
near-organic practices resulted in a yield increase of more than 100 percent.
(UNEP “Organic Agriculture and Food Security in Africa,” 2008) Achim
Steiner, head of UNEP, said the report “indicates that the potential contribution
of organic farming to feeding the world may be far higher than many
had supposed.”