Ahmed S. El Wakeel

Organic agriculture is the oldest form of agriculture on earth. Organic farming refers to agricultural production systems used to produce food and fiber. The principles of organic agriculture are established by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM). Certified organic production means production by approved organic methods. However, crops and livestock production are often disassociated from each other, and manures must be imported. Organic food is as safe to consume as any other kind of food. Farmers worldwide managed 32.2 million hectares of agricultural land organically in 2007, nearly 5 percent more than in 2006 and a 118-percent increase since 2000. 2.2 million hectares are certified according to organic standards. Over the past decade, sales of organic products have shown an annual increase of at least 20%, the fastest growing sector of agriculture. 

On the other hand, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) constitute synthetic inputs. In 1998, participants at IFOAM's 12th Scientific Conference issued the Mar del Plata Declaration, where more than 600 delegates from over 60 countries voted unanimously to exclude the use of GMOs in food production and agriculture. Nevertheless, cultivation of GM plants continues to increase worldwide. In 2008, GM crops rose by 9.4 per cent to occupy 125 million hectares. GM plants are utilized in 25 countries, of which Bolivia, Burkina Faso and Egypt are the newest. GMOs are very helpful for particular challenges like pests, bad soil, or droughts. Organic growers criminate GM contamination to have cost them valuable markets. Genetic pollution is also blamed for threatening organic production as a whole. A 2005/2006 FiBL survey showed that organic agriculture in Sudan occupies 200,000 hectares (650 farms) making 0.15% share of the total agricultural area. The evolution of organic agriculture in Sudan began in the late 1990s. Many products can be classified as fully organic but are not certified and are therefore exported under conventional marketing systems. A formal body and policy are needed to organize and certify these products but before that several constraints must be overcome. Developed countries moved toward organic farming as a lifestyle choice for communities with surplus food and against agricultural technology in general and GM in particular. Effective co-existence between GM crops, conventional and organic agriculture is imperative and has to be dealt with in existing legislation on agriculture, environment and health and consumer protection and will require additional legislation at the community level and in national laws and regulations.
Keywords: Organic Agriculture, GM crops, Co-existence, Mutual Supportiveness, food security.

 

Background and Introduction
In spite of major advancements in agriculture and significant growth in food production in the latter part of the twentieth century, many parts of the developing world still suffer from hunger and famine. Political instability, poor distributional infrastructure, with a prevalence of subsistence farming and the resulting low farm incomes, combined, production and distribution of food commodities will substantially be impeded in developing countries. Global food demand is forecast to at least double and more likely triple, over the next 50 years. Feeding the 9 billion population of the planet by 2050 will be a great challenge. The number of underfed people already exceeds one billion; feeding this many people requires more than piecemeal changes. Furthermore and according to current trends, agricultural productivity rates are expected to fall to 1.5 per cent between now and 2030 and further to 0.9 per cent between 2030 and 2050, compared with 2.3 per cent per year since 1961. FAO’s Director General pointed out that, in the last 30 years, agricultural imports have risen more rapidly than exports, with Africa becoming a net importer of agricultural commodities, 87 per cent of which were food products in 2005.
FAO defines food security as the access by all people at all times to the food needed for a healthy and active life. The concept means the achievement of the food self-sufficiency, and guarantees that this condition will be sustained in the future. Food security implies reaching productive growth while preserving the environment. Some views suggested that feeding the world is more connected with politics and economics than agriculture. This is explained by the fact that there is abundance of food in wealthy countries while poor people in poor countries can’t afford buying it.
Agriculture began around ten to twelve thousand years ago and man started to capture and domesticate wild animals and cultivate edible plants in what came to be known as “natural selection”. Consequently and over succeeding generations, the nutritional qualities of various plants and animals were stabilized and improved. It is estimated that three quarters of the world’s poorest people depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. However, agriculture is not high on the agenda of media, politicians, financial institutions or many environmental organizations. Yet, none of the major global challenges ahead of us will be met without fundamental and persistent changes of today’s dominant agricultural practices and food policies. There are threats such as climate change, hunger and poverty, loss of biodiversity, forest destruction, water crises and food safety. What these have in common is that a main cause for each of them is in the way people produce, trade, consume and dispose of food and other agricultural products. Sound strategies need to focus on improving local availability of food and sustainable productivity where it is needed. This is more pressing than increasing overall bulk commodity production and productivity and global trade. But maintaining and restoring the natural resource base, upon which all livelihoods depend, is crucial.
This paper attempts to encourage boosting clean production of food from agriculture in developing countries and not only emphasize the notion of coexistence among organic, conventional and biotechnological agriculture but also seek research avenues that take it some steps further towards mutual supportiveness.
Major Agricultural Production Systems
There are a multitude of agricultural systems worldwide. They range from small subsistence farms to small-scale and large commercial operations across a variety of ecosystems and encompassing very diverse production patterns. Agriculture as the source of human food, animal feed, fiber and fuel plays a central role in efforts to achieve global sustainable development. According to FAO, agriculture is a major occupational sector in developing countries, with the poorest countries being those with predominantly agricultural economies and societies. Approximately 2.6 billion people, men, women and children rely on agricultural production systems, worldwide. These systems can be farming, livestock production, forestry or fishery. Most food is produced in Asia and other densely populated poor regions, and most of that food is consumed domestically.
Globally, agricultural systems have been changing over time in terms of intensity and diversity, as agriculture undergoes transition driven by complex and interacting factors related to production, consumption, trade and political concerns. It is important to adopt a true holistic scientific approach in order to implement sustainable agriculture. Fragmentation of agricultural science defeats the idea of intrinsic wholeness nature where indigenous knowledge and values are dominant and not marginalized. Sustainable agriculture cannot be reduced to a science that deals only at the molecular level.
Below is a background on the existing three most recognized agricultural production systems including pros and cons. These are namely; the organic, the conventional and the biotechnological (GM) agricultural production systems. They all claim that sustainable agriculture is their ultimate destination.

Organic agriculture
Organic agriculture is known to be the oldest among the other production systems. This production system conserves soil fertility, recognizes the natural capacity of plants, animals and landscape. Nevertheless, crops and livestock production are often disassociated from each other and therefore manures must be imported. Organic agriculture utilizes these as the key to successful production through which it can optimize quality in all aspects of agriculture and the environment. All kinds of agricultural products are produced organically, including produce, grains, meat, dairy, eggs and fibers such as cotton, flowers, and processed food products. Organic farming management relies on developing biological diversity in the field to disrupt habitat for pest organisms, and the purposeful maintenance and replenishment of soil fertility. Organic farmers are not allowed to use synthetic pesticides or fertilizers.
Organic agriculture is defined by the Codex Alementarius Commission as a holistic production management system that promotes and enhances agroecosystems health including biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity.
All products sold as organic must be certified. Certified organic production, then, signifies production by approved organic methods, necessitating extra efforts to be carried out to eliminate contamination with prohibited materials and mixing with conventional products. Organic food is as safe to consume as any other kind of food.
Farmers worldwide managed 32.2 million hectares of agricultural land organically in 2007, nearly 5 percent more than in the previous year and a 118-percent increase since 2000. Organic farming is now reported in 141 countries; about two thirds of this land area is in industrial countries, and nearly half of the producers are in Africa. Still, more than three times as much land is devoted to genetically modified crops, and less than one percent of the world's agricultural land is now managed organically, according to the article. 2.2 million hectares are certified according to organic standards in year 2007. The global market for organic products reached a value of over 46 billion US Dollars in 2007. Over the past decade, sales of organic products have shown an annual increase of at least 20%, the fastest growing sector of agriculture.
In 1998 participants at IFOAM's 12th Scientific Conference issued the Mar del Plata Declaration. In the conference more than 600 delegates from over 60 countries voted unanimously to exclude the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food production and agriculture. From that point GMOs have been unconditionally kept out from organic farming.

Conventional agriculture
The conventional agricultural production system represents agriculture of the present. This agricultural production system is characterized by mechanization, monocultures, and the use of synthetic inputs such as chemical fertilizers and pesticides, with an emphasis on maximizing productivity and profitability. Injecting hormones in beef is another form of inputs. It is explained that nearly every feedlot in the US (99.5 percent) of them utilizes hormones to achieve faster growth and greater muscling to increase their productivity. Essentially, hormones conserve land, habitat, water and nutrients. It is pointed out that the use of hormones increases total volume of beef produced from limited resources and reduces costs, leading to more muscle, less fat and less pollution per pound of beef produced.
While organic agriculture is generally connected to growing crops with minimum use of fertilizers and pesticides, conventional agriculture is the one that mankind has been using since it has been discovered that fertilizers accelerate the growth and pesticides reduce the influence of pests.
Conventional agriculture works towards uniformity and tries to produce a homogenous environment irrespective of the distinctiveness of the pre-existing ecosystem. Therefore, it uses irrigation extensively, often thereby geographically extending the age-old problems associated with it. It divorces animal production from crop production. It plants single variety monocultures as a continuum over very extensive areas. Ecosystem disruption thus becomes inevitable. One indicator of such a disruption is the regular and quick collapse of crop varieties owing to emerging vulnerabilities to diseases and pests. It also uses pesticides and herbicides. Nutrients are leached out and washed away and have to be externally supplied at regular intervals. Soil structure deteriorates and compaction becomes a serious problem. This leads to intensive use of agricultural machinery. The natural components of the ecosystem are thus replaced by tradable artificial components that are bought and sold in the market.
Biotechnological agriculture (GM crop production)
The biotechnological agriculture system represents agriculture of the future. Although "biotechnology" and "genetic modification" commonly are used interchangeably, GM is a special set of technologies that alter the genetic makeup of organisms such as animals, plants, or bacteria. Biotechnology, a more general term, refers to using organisms or their components, such as enzymes, to make products that include wine, cheese, beer, and yogurt. Combining genes from different organisms is known as recombinant DNA technology, and the resulting organism is said to be "genetically modified," "genetically engineered," or "transgenic." GM products are diverse and may include medicines and vaccines, foods and food ingredients, feeds, and fibers. Genetically modified crops could help feed the hungry, but their expansion also threatens biodiversity, nature's best defense against climate change. Countries whose lands were previously too poor to be used for agriculture would be able to grow their own food, leading to increased food security. All this would help greatly with feeding the ever increasing number of people in the world. Crops able to produce harvests even in harsh environments are being developed. These could be of great value in many poorer nations where climate and poor terrain restrict crop-growing, and would also help reduce the amount of land being cleared for use in agriculture.
Through adopting monocultures and replacing traditional varieties will narrow the ability to adapt. One of the most exciting applications of gene technology is the eventual development of plant types that are more nutritious, yield bigger harvests, but at the same time are more resistant to disease and to stresses like drought. Domestic animals would also become more productive, and make more from less.
Genetically modified (GM) foods are foods derived from genetically modified organisms.
In 2006, 252 million acres of transgenic crops were planted in 22 countries by 10.3 million farmers. The majority of these crops were herbicide and insect-resistant soybeans, corn, cotton, canola, and alfalfa. Other crops grown commercially or field-tested are a sweet potato resistant to a virus that could decimate most of the African harvest, rice with increased iron and vitamins that may alleviate chronic malnutrition in Asian countries, and a variety of plants able to survive weather extremes.
The cultivation of genetically modified crops worldwide has increased once more. Growing areas have expanded by 12 million hectares to a total of 114 million hectares. In the case of maize, a significant gain of 10 million hectares was noted in 2007.
Over the past decade, the application of biotechnology to the problems in world agriculture has yielded significant productivity gains to producers. With advancements in GM technologies, and as market acceptance and availability of GM products increases, these benefits are expected to increase. Current trends indicate that transgenic crop production is increasing in developing countries at a faster rate than in industrialized nations.

Issues of Debate
Bio-fuels
The "food versus fuel" or "food or fuel" debate is international in scope, with good and valid arguments on all sides of this issue. Biofuels are not all the same in terms of impacts and benefits or even in terms of the origin of their raw inputs. Therefore, it is important to distinguish between different types of biofuel production systems before drawing conclusions regarding their impact, not only on food prices, but also on food security and energy and environmental balances. Biofuels derived from food crops, such as maize, wheat, or oil crops, clearly have the most immediate impact. Bioethanol made from sugarcane, for example, has little to do with bioethanol made from wheat or maize. Using non-food crops for biofuels can still threaten food security by causing farmers to shift land away from the production of food crops to biofuel crops. Sugarcane bioethanol is advocated as preferable to other biofuels both because of its food security impacts and because of environmental and energy aspects. The production costs for raw sugar in certain LDC’s range between Euro 300 and Euro 400/ton. The current world market price for raw sugar amounts to an average of Euro 150/ton. It seems that no special reason is available to continue to produce cane sugar for export with the exception of the export to the EU. But all crops compete with each other for land, water and other resources. On one hand, biofuels may imply improved energy security, economic gains, rural development, greater energy efficiency and reduced GHG emissions compared to standard fuels. The need to address the growing volume of greenhouse gasses which in turn negatively influences the global weather patterns, as been internationally agreed to through the Kyoto Protocol is also another value driver. On the other hand, production of energy crops could result in the expansion of the agricultural boundary, deforestation, monocropping, water pollution, food security problems, poor labor conditions and unfair distribution of the benefits along the value chain.
It is estimated that less than 2 percent of land is being globally used for biofuels which indicates that there is no major demand on global land base. In some developing countries there has been a lot of investment in jatropha plantations on marginal land for biodiesel production.
There is considerable concern that biofuel development will lead to a wider spread of GMOs because of the need to improve both the economic efficiency and the energy efficiency of biofuels. The use of GMOs will contaminate local varieties and destroy biodiversity. The main arguments against GM technologies relate to food safety concerns, and their impacts on biodiversity and on farmers’ livelihoods.

Co-existence
Agriculture being an open process makes perfect segregation of the different agricultural production types practically impossible. Consequently, coexistence between GM and non-GM production requires specific segregation measures designed in a way that takes these limitations into account. Coexistence in agriculture refers to a situation where different forms of agriculture exist side by side, for example, conventional farming or organic agriculture and agriculture using genetically modified (GM) crops, without one excluding the other. The possibility of adventitious presence of GM crops in non-GM crops cannot be excluded.
Co-existence of various production methods is not a new concept to the agricultural community. Farmers have practiced co-existence for generations so as to meet demands for different types of products. Coexistence pursues the aim to achieve a sufficient segregation between GM and non-GM production. Coexistence always refers to GMOs that have passed the very strict EU authorization process, including extensive assessments of health-related or environmental risks. Therefore, environmental or health-related risks do not concern the formulation of coexistence rules.
Concerns about co-existence relate to potential economic loss through the admixture of GM and non-GM crops that may result in a lowering of the crop’s value, and with costs and time associated with identifying workable management measures to minimize such admixture.
Coexistence of two or more crops of the same species is also not a new concept. Within farming community, growing similar crops for different markets in the same farming region is not a new challenge. For many years, what might be considered as incompatible crops, for example specialty maize grown for human consumption and waxy maize grown for the starch industry, have been grown in the same areas or even on the same farm.
The compromise chosen by many countries has been to implement co-existence and traceability. Traceability has become commonplace in the food and feed supply chains of most countries in the world, but the traceability of GMOs is made more challenging by the addition of very strict legal thresholds for unwanted mixing. Farm practices (such as separating crops by space and time, communicating with neighbors, use of good husbandry, planting, harvest and storage practices) to enable successful coexistence have been practiced by many farmers (including seed producers and growers of specialist crops) for many years. However countries within the European Union disallow any trace of contamination in products claiming to be GM-free, and will reject shipments outright. Coexistence refers to the choice of consumers and farmers between conventional, organic and GM crop production, in compliance with the legal obligations for labeling defined in Community legislation.

Discussion
The general public, almost globally, is motivated by the idea of producing food without chemicals. The ideal still for many lies in a dream of producing and consuming clean food in a clean environment. But there are situations where people are pushed by need to accept food of lower quality and live in spoilt environments. This holds true especially in deprived, food-insecure, hunger-stricken and resource-poor countries. Many African countries possibly best illustrate situations of food insecurity.
The majority (over 75%) of Africa’s population makes their livelihoods in agriculture, including crop and livestock farming, forestry, fishing and herding. 200 million of its 900 million inhabitants have to survive on one inadequate meal a day, and 33 million children suffer from malnutrition. In global terms, only 1% (235,000 ha) of certified organic land is found in Africa. Certified organic farms produce almost exclusively for the European market. Uncertified organic is undoubtedly far more extensive than certified organic production. One of the biggest constraints to expansion of certified organic agriculture has been the lack of domestic certification. In addition, a complete prohibition on the use of chemical fertilizer makes no sense if an area is already deficient in a nutrient. At the same time food industry has become much more complex, especially with the development and refinement over the years of certification systems and standards.
Traditional agricultural production systems and practices are dominant in the African countries. These systems use near-organic agricultural methods and technologies are ideally suited for many poor. They resemble the organic but cannot be classified as ones as they are uncertified. Most of Africa’s farmers are smallholders and most of them are women. The products of this kind of agriculture do not find fair markets if they are to be exported.
The FAO’s Director General has issued the following statement clarifying the organization’s position on the role of organic agriculture, “FAO has no reason to believe that organic agriculture can substitute for conventional farming systems in ensuring the world’s food security. We should use organic agriculture and promote it”. He added, “It produces wholesome food and represents a growing source of income. But you cannot feed six billion people today and nine billion in 2050 without wise use of chemical fertilizers.”
It is agreed that plant biotechnology applications must respond to increasing demands in terms of food security, socio-economic development and promote the conservation, diversification and sustainable use of plant genetic resources as basic inputs for the future agriculture. Many GM technology’s proponents believe that without the adoption the task of keeping food production abreast of its population does look promising.
Stem borers are major insect pests of maize, the main staple food crop in East and Southern Africa. Tackling this pest through conventional breeding is very difficult, but Bt maize offers farmers an effective and practical control option.
In Africa, however, potential benefits can be very high, especially given stagnating economies and food production, decreasing per capita food production, and an increasing number of poor people. This is what GM offers, if only sufficient money is put into research. There has been no work yet on the crops specific to the region, such as cassava and yams. In east Africa, Kenya is testing biotech corn and other crops. In West Africa, Burkina Faso and Mali are moving toward production of Bt cotton. Nonetheless, Bt cotton may hold a promise if fair access to the technology is ensured and biosafety structures are put in place.
To signal Africa’s acceptance of modern biotechnology applications, the African Union Commission has developed an African Strategy on Biosafety. The Strategy aims at guiding modern biotechnology developments at national, sub-regional and regional (Africa-wide) levels, as well as providing guidance on how Africa deals with the rest of the world, especially during international negotiation forums of relevance to biosafety.
Regulations on co-existence have been in flux ever since GMOs entered the market. They adapt to reflect shifts in demands from citizens and the ever-increasing complexity of GMO dynamics worldwide. The latest legislation on GM plants in the EU, with a new, process oriented labeling basis, came into effect only in 2003. When these regulations were implemented, the science required to realize them lagged behind.
Traceability is a requirement now imposed upon all types of food by EU regulation. Food producers and processors need to know where their goods come from and where they’re going. The added challenges posed by traceability for GM foods and feeds are that it is so difficult to tell the difference between GMOs and non-GM goods, and that there is such a low threshold for accidental mixing.
Traceability within and between production systems that coexist, whether they be organic, GM or conventional, is not driven by product or crop safety, which is regulated federally, but is about the economic impact of the production and marketing of the crops.
Some countries don't want to grow GM corn for fear they will never be able to sell their crops to Europe, where opposition to biotechnology is strong. Although GMOs have been an amazingly successful technology, Europe and Japan have been reluctant to embrace it, since the expected benefits are small compared to the perceived risks. Current GM crops may not appeal to Africa because of relevance, proprietary issues, and a negative reaction towards GM foods in Europe.
It must be realized that Europe can afford romanticism when it comes to living, but the African poor cannot. The return to organic peasant agriculture is an appealing fantasy to European but to the African poor it is a mode of life. The African poor do not have many options.
Conclusions
It is obvious that poor communities are highly dependent on agriculture for their food security especially in Africa. For such communities efforts should be targeted to integrating the different agricultural production systems, as much as possible, and make them become mutually supportive and cumulative. The conclusions below are drawn from what has been discussed above:
Food security in developing countries should not necessarily be strictly influenced by European and/or US policies and standards.
Organic agriculture has been evidenced to outperform conventional and biotechnological agricultural systems under environmental stress conditions.
Organic agriculture alone cannot feed the African poor or other world poor.
Organic agriculture should be an integral part of any agricultural policy aiming for food security and improved livelihoods.
Smooth transition is possible between conventional, integrated and organic farming, as an outcome of different assessments of economic, ecological and social goals.
Biological technique strategies such as Integrated Pest Management (IPM) might improve conventional agriculture.
It does not sound feasible to strictly ban pesticides and mineral fertilizers as required by organic standards especially in nutrient-deficient areas.
Public and private research sectors together could tremendously improve the present state of food security and help to further evolve and fine-tune organic practices to substantially increase yields in low-input areas.
Gender issues and policy reforms must be addressed, for many reasons, in order to support future development of organic farming in Africa.
Global production of biofuels has doubled in the last five years and will likely double again in the next four years. Most estimates suggest that biofuels are responsible for between 25 and 40 percent of the increase in food prices.
The problem with organic agriculture is that it cannot exist without conventional agriculture. There is often invisible dependency of organic upon conventional agriculture and they should be working smoothly together.
Coexistence is not a new concept. It has essentially been occurring for many years between different non-GM production systems.
Therefore there is a concerted worldwide effort to develop harmonized, cross-border policies for trade with GMOs. A good example of this is the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the transboundary movement of GMOs.
Recommendations
All agricultural systems that are viewed as safe should have an equal opportunity to contribute to the agricultural food production system under free market conditions. Preference of one system over another must not be the result of artificial, discriminatory and impractical standards. Different agricultural systems can co-exist perfectly easily to play an important role in sustainable agricultural-food production systems globally. The recommendations below are addressed to developing and poor countries especially in Africa:
• Certification systems and internal procedures for control, inspection and development should be further developed.
• Africa needs value adding which includes all levels from on-farm processing and joint access to local markets in addition to a more fair development of the conditions for international trade, e.g. tariff barriers.
• Constraints to coordinating the existent but fragmented domestic capacity across organizational barriers ought to be overcome. African countries should remove these constraints and link up with advanced research institutes and international organizations to make use of biotechnology.
• In Africa the presence of vocal scientists that articulate the merits of biotechnology and experience with the private sector are positive signals.
• Bt corn can benefit poor African farmers because it can substantially increase crop yields and reduce pesticide use and generate more income.
• Africans should not overstretch biosafety and socio-economic concerns to the extent of putting unnecessary barriers against biotechnology adoption than the circumstances on the ground merit.
• Coexistence does not mean that there would necessarily be widespread release of GM organisms, but it does mean that each application would be treated on a case-by-case basis to preserve opportunities for all. Co-existence cannot work without traceability.
• To achieve coexistence, accepted threshold values for labeling and distance measures for separation of fields with different cropping systems have been introduced, as well as rules on how to handle problems.
• Since organic agriculture is only a production system, the same threshold values for organic products should be formalized as for conventional products.
• Good agricultural practice codes for GM crops to limit mixing in the first stages of production ought to be developed by researchers and politicians. These may include: cleaning of machinery, the establishment of "isolation distances" and "pollen barriers".
• Conducting intensive research to determine planes for harmonization with non-EU countries and to set up international conduits for exchanging new information on co-existence and traceability.
• Enable authorities to trace, detect and identify GMOs and to be able to monitor and enforce compliance with co-existence regulations,.
• Encourage the coexistence of all forms of agriculture. The different production systems should not be seen as being in opposition to each other, but rather as contributing in their own ways to the overall benefit of all.
• Thresholds adopted for conventional products should apply equally to organic ones. Decisions relating to co-existence should be rational and take full account of these figures.
• Develop or introduce coexistence protocols. The aim of these is to manage the introduction of approved GM crops in such a manner that the consumer and producer desire for choice and traceability is delivered.
• Find possible solutions and research avenues that will enable maintaining positive sides of co-dependency while weakening or eliminating the negative sides of it.
• Seek creative solutions to the questions of fair pricing, cost internalization, food security, the right to an adequate livelihood, and the multifunctional role of agriculture to achieve sustainable agriculture.

It is becoming imperative that the scientific community rethinks radically of transforming agriculture through growing more food without compromising the environment integrity and simultaneously cope with climate change. It is important to increase the supply of both basic staples and energy. Alternatives can be reducing food demand through changing food habits or else by reviving some of the neglected or underexploited food crops.
Innovative approaches especially in research are needed to help in eradicating hunger. Switching to more sustainable farming methods will enable the world’s farmers to grow enough food to meet the demands of a growing population. It is essential to employ modern biotechnology applications for the benefit of food security but not without strictly adopting the biosafety regulations.

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نظم الإنتاج في الزراعة العضوية والمحاصيل المحورة وراثياً:
هل يمكن لها أن تدعم بعضها تبادلياً

 

 

الزراعة العضوية هي أقدم أسلوب للزراعة على وجه الأرض، وهي أحد نظم الإنتاج الزراعي المستخدمة لإنتاج الغذاء والألياف. وقد أسس الإتحاد الدولي لحركات الزراعة العضوية (IFOAM) لمبادئ الزراعة العضوية والإنتاج العضوي المعتمد (Certified) الذي يقنن الإنتاج بطرق عضوية. أشرف المزارعون على مستوى العالم في عام 2007 على إدارة 32.2 مليون هكتاراً من الأراضي المزروعة عضوياً أي بزيادة 118% مقارنة بتلك في عام 2000 وكان من بين هذه 2.2 مليون هكتاراً زراعة معتمدة بمقاييس الزراعة العضوية. وفي العقد الماضي إزدادت مبيعات المنتجات العضوية بـ 20% سنوياً، على الأقل، وهي بذلك القطاع الأسرع نمواً.

من جانب آخر فالكائنات المحورة وراثياً ومن بينها المحاصيل فهي تشكل المداخل الإصطناعية في الانتاج الزراعي، ولكن في عام 1998 أصدر المشاركون في المؤتمر العلمي الثاني عشر للإتحاد الدولي لحركات الزراعة العضوية إعلان "ماردل بلاتا" حيث صوت ما يربو على 600 مشاركاً يمثلون أكثر من ستين قطراً بالإجماع على إقصاء الكائنات المحورة وراثياً من الدخول في إنتاج الغذاء والانتاج الزراعي. رغم هذا فقد إستمرت زراعة النباتات المحورة وراثياً في الزراعة في الإزدياد عالمياً، ففي عام 2008 ارتفعت المحاصيل المحورة وراثياً بـ 9.4% لتحتل مساحة 125 مليون هكتاراً. تستخدم هذه المحاصيل في 25 قطراً من بينها بوليفيا، بوركينا فاسو ومصر كآخردول تلج هذا المجال. مما يدلل على أن لديها حيز في الاستهلاك والأسواق. تعتبر الكائنات المحورة وراثياً مفيدة للغاية في مواحهة بعض التحديات كالآفات واستخدامات الأراضي التي كانت تعتبر غير صالحة والجفاف، بينما يجرم زراع الزراعة العضوية الكائنات المحورة باعتبارها ملوثة لمنتجاتهم مما يفقدها بذلك السوق بل يلقون باللائمة عليها كمهدد لإنتاج الزراعة العضوية بصفة عامة.
وفي مسح أجرته (FiBL) في 2005/2006 إتضح ان الزراعة العضوية في السودان تحتل 200,000 هكتاراً (650 مزرعة) تشكل 1.5% من مجمل المساحة المزروعة، وقد بدأت نشأة وتطورالزراعة العضوية بالسودان في فترة التسعينات من القرن الماضي، إلا أن منتجاتها غير معتمدة (non-certified) ولذلك فهي تصدر عن طريق نظم وقنوات لأسواق لما هو منتج تقليديا. عليه فإن هنالك حاجة ماسة لجسم وجهد رسمي وسياسات لتنظم وتعتمد هذه المنتجات وذلك يستوجب إزالة المعيقات العديدة والراهنة أولا.
تبنت الدول المتقدمة الزراعة العضوية، والتي تنعم بفائض من الغذاء، كنمط من أنماط حياة مجتمعاتها ولكبح جماح التكنولوجيا الزراعية بصفة عامة والتحوير الوراثي بصفة خاصة. وليس هذا هو الحال في البلدان والمجتمعات الفقيرة حيث الاختيار والخيارات تكاد أن تكون معدومة.
تشكل المعايشة بين انتاج المحاصيل المحورة وراثياً والزراعة التقليدية والعضوية امراً هاماً في عالم يزداد عدد سكانه بوتيرة سريعة وباضطراد. لهذا فالأمر يقتضي التعامل بواقعية أكثر ولا يتأتى ذلك دون الإستعانة بالتشريعات الزراعية والبيئية والصحية الموجودة حالياً وربما تشريعات إضافية وقوانين وضوابط دولية وإقليمية ووطنية وعلى مستوى المجتمعات تضمن الأمن الغذائي وسلامة الإنسان وبيئته.

عبارات أساسية: الزراعة العضوية، المحاصيل المحورة وراثيا، المعايشة، الدعم المتبادل، الأمن الغذائي.

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