Organic farming generates many benefits aside from the quality of agricultural products and nutrition

Benefits to the environment:

• Organic farming combines best environmental practices, a high level of biodiversity and the conservation of natural resources. Organic farmers in the European Union have the obligation to respect nature’s systems and cycles; protect the health of the soil, water, plants and animals; contribute to a high level of biodiversity. Organic farmers also make responsible use of energy and natural resources, such as water, soil, organic matter and air.
• Soil: The soil is essential for life on earth because it nurtures plants, which in turn provide food and oxygen for humans and animals. Organic farmers try to keep the soil in a healthy, fertile and natural state as well as to improving its structure, giving them the proper nutrients state, and conducting effective water management.
• Biodiversity: One of the main principles of organic agriculture is that each organism has its role and importance in the ecosystems. Therefore, in organic farming every link in the supply chain of organic foods are focused on maintaining and, if is possible, increasing the diversity of plants and animals.
• Water: Water is vital for the development of life on earth, and it is for this reason that organic farmers manage this resource carefully. Organic methods contribute to retaining water resources and maintaining the high quality of these water resources.
• Landscape: All agricultural activity inevitably involves modification of the natural environment; however, organic farming tries to reduce this as much as possible, being integrated into the landscape and respecting it.
• Climate Change: Global warming affects agricultural production and water resources, causing hunger, malnutrition and social unrest worldwide. Organic farming can mitigate climate change by increasing carbon sequestration in the soil, reducing the release of greenhouse gases and consuming less fossil fuels. Organic farming practices increase the ability of the agro-ecosystem to ameliorate its environmental competitiveness in a semi-arid region like Cyprus where climate change consequences are expected to be severe in the next decades.

Grows a Healthy Economy: Organic farming can bring significant benefits to the economy and social cohesion of rural areas such as: increasing farm income, expanding market opportunities, increase number of jobs and empowering farmers and reduce their exposure to chemicals. According to Organic Farming Research Foundation, for investors, the organic agricultural sector is one of the few fields that demonstrates consistent growth over the last decade.

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