food for our children 12 march 2014, seminar ‘action plan for the future of organic production in...
TRANSCRIPT
Food for our Children
12 March 2014, Seminar ‘Action Plan for the future of Organic Production in the
European Union’ EU committee of the regions.
Wijnand Sukkel Wageningen University, Applied Plant Research.
Global soil degradation – GLASOD (FAO 2000)
Global and local food security
Soil degradation +
Climate change +
Biodiversity decline
=
A cocktail for disasters!
Role of agriculture
Most important driver of soil degradation
Major driver of biodiversity loss
Approx. 25% of global greenhousegas emissions
Decreasing adaptation capacity to climate change
Changes are often slow and un-noticed
Effects of organic agriculture?
Better soil quality
More biodiversity (per ha)
Less ghg emissions (per ha)
Higher resilience
But
In EU lower yields (25%) and higher production costs
BIO
Trends in yields (LTE Vredepeel)
GI-high
Yield BIO increasingLow o.m. supply decreasing
BIO +20%
GI-low 10%
Inde
x yi
elds
av
erag
e ov
er a
ll cr
ops
in th
e ro
tatio
n
Innovation in soil management
Controlled traffic
Smaller is better
Reduced tillage
Continues soil cover
Rotation with grass clover
Thank you very much
for your attention!