FAO: Organic Farming Will Not Feed The Hungry

By Scott C. Lucas|19 December 2007

Diouf’s statement, published on AllAfrica.com, was a reaction to recent media reports suggesting that the FAO should endorse organic agriculture as a solution to world hunger.

"We should use organic agriculture and promote it," Dr. Diouf said. "It produces wholesome, nutritious food and represents a growing source of income for developed and developing countries. But you cannot feed six billion people today and nine billion in 2050 without judicious use of chemical fertilizers," he said.

According to FAO, data and models on the productivity of organic farming show that the potential of organic agriculture is not nearly large enough to feed the world, as the large investments required and efficient production and marketing management puts organic agriculture beyond the reach of most farmers in developing countries.

However, judicious use of chemical inputs, particularly fertilizers, could help boost food production in Sub-Saharan Africa, where farmers use less than 10% of the fertilizer applied by Asian farmers, Diouf said.