Endnotes

¹ The IFOAM (2005) defines organic agriculture as a "holistic production management system which promotes and enhances agro-ecosystem health, including biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil biological activity. It emphasizes the use of management practices in preference to the use of off-farm inputs, taking into account that regional conditions require locally adapted systems."

² UNESCAP (2003), however, cites data which reveal that the impact of poverty on the environment is weak compared with the damage to livelihood and health which the poor suffer from a deteriorated environment. Instead, the report stresses that the non-poor are largely responsible for environmental degradation. IFAD (2002) likewise reports that as much as 70 percent of the world consumption of fossil fuels and 85 percent of its chemical products are attributable to 25 percent of the world’s non-poor. This same inverse relationship is likewise seen in the consumption of forest products and other commodities.

³ It has been observed that in recent years, social expenditures have been given priority over investments in the agriculture sector (Rosegrant, Ringer, et.al, 2005, citing Gautam, 2003). Rosegrant, Ringer, et.al. have further noted that, given their strong social focus, the MDGs could provide additional justification for countries to privilege social expenditures over investments that would lead to pro-poor growth (2005).

⁴ These marginal areas include mountainous, semi-arid and rain fed areas, forest margins, and wetland are where majority of the poor reside. The common characteristics of marginal areas include complex and fragile ecosystems with inadequate soil fertility and water and difficult access to commercial inputs (Zakri, 2003).

⁵ Scialabba, et.al. (undated) define horizontal resistance as "the ability of a crop to resist many or all strains of a particular pest (which differs from breeding for "vertical resistance" to have a gene to resist one specific strain of a disease)."

⁶ On the other hand, farms that convert from Green Revolution agriculture may experience a decline in yields for the first few years, but over time organic agriculture may lead to equal yields (Rundgren, 2002).

⁷ In Japan for instance, women were responsible for starting the organic movement. In the 1980s, with rapid development of industrial and service sector, men began working in the industrial sector and left the farm to be managed by women. During the same period of time, the use of green house for cultivating crops was becoming widespread but as the negative consequences agro-chemical use, particularly pesticides, became more apparent in green house agriculture, the women farmers decided to form groups to convert to organic agriculture. In the 1990s, marketing groups, generally formed by women, established market linkages with housewife associations and consumer associations (Oyama, 2004, Hashimoto, 2004).

⁸ See Ransom, 2002; Environmental Justice Foundation, 2002; Kishi, et al., 1995, Rola and Pingali, 1993; Jeyaratnam, 1990).

⁹ Nitrogen is a leading cause of ground water pollution in areas where intensive agriculture is practiced.

¹⁰ It has been estimated that 49 percent of the 10 million deaths among children less than 5 years old each year in the developing world are associated with malnutrition, which impairs immune systems and makes children susceptible to even the most common childhood diseases. (WHO, 1999, as cited in Setboonsarng, January 2005, Rosegrant, et.al., 2005).

¹¹ Nitrous dioxide is a greenhouse gas that is over 300 times stronger than carbon dioxide. (Saunders, 2004)

¹² In response to this, many firms have started adopting corporate social responsibility instruments such as codes of conduct, social reporting and auditing, social and eco-labels as a means of obtaining a comparative advantage (Humphrey, 2005, Wall, Weersink, et.al, 2001). For instance, the ADB (2005b) reports that ISO-14001 certification has grown rapidly in Asia and the Pacific, now accounting for over 40% of the world’s total12. The number of certified firms in PRC alone grew by more than 200% to 8,865 in 2005 from 2,802 in 2002.

¹³ Organic certification system, which is currently a largest impediment in the participation of the poor, is a big topic which will be discussed in a different manuscript.

Download this Discussion Paper [ PDF 296.7KB| 28 pages ].

Comment(s)

There are [1] comment(s) for this entry. Post a comment.

1. Anthony Zola
   (posted 06 October 2006 / 10:00:45 AM)
   
   Aspects of this paper are based upon a recent international workshop in Bangkok. The workshop was excellent and the proceedings already make an important contribution to the existing literature. This document reflects only one aspect of the discussion, albeit a very important aspect, that of meeting the MDGs and how organic agriculture can contribute to that process.