SANA 2016 – Organic Farming: The global answer to global warming
Within the framework of SANA 2016, an event on organic farming and climate change took place on Monday, 12 September 2016 in Bologna. A few days after the Agreement ratification by China and US and less than two months before the next COP 22 in Marrakech, Federbio, the Italian federation representing the whole organic sector, together with Kyoto Club, the Italian Organiko project partner, have discussed about relationships between agriculture and climate change.
“Starting from the EXPO Milan 2015 Bio Charter, FederBio is working to promote organic farming as feeding and farming model for the future, especially in Italy – explained Paolo Carnemolla, President of FederBio – Since the market is finally demonstrating that the consumers really want an OGM- and pesticide-free farming, able to preserve soil, water and bio-diversity, it is necessary to implement a great organic transition to give an answer that includes the climate change call. Italy, historic leader of the organic sector, has to guide this major transition to a new farming scheme able to give an active contribution to the Paris Agreement goals.”
“Following the COP 21, it becomes more and more urgent to raise public awareness about the impact of climate change in our daily life – highlighted Sergio Andreis, Director of Kyoto Club – “The second UN Goal for Sustainable Development by 2030 advocates for the right to ‘end hunger, reach the food safety, improve feeding and promote a sustainable farming’, because the farming sector has definitely a leading role in the fight against climate change. In the latest G20 China and the US have finally declared their ratification of the Paris Agreement: a very important development. Alongside with the support from the European national governments and the EU institutions, we need to disseminate the good practices already contributing to maximise the organic and bio-dynamic farming impact in reducing the greenhouse gas emissions”, Andreis concluded.
“Relationships between farming and climate change are extremely complex. On one side, farming is one of the main greenhouse gas sources, for example CO2, methane (CH4) and N2O, which are the principal responsible of the climate change –emphasized Lorenzo Ciccarese, Researcher at ISPRA, Italy’s Institute for Environment Protection and Research. According to the FAO, the farming animal and vegetable emissions are around 5.3 billions of CO2 tons, which are the 14.6% of the total fossil fuels emissions. Even in Italy, the farming sector is a greenhouse gas emitter and its emissions are around the 7% of the national total. However, farming, thanks to the photosynthetic activity, may have a significant role in reducing climate change, if good farming practices, like soil, rice fields (methane sources), animal waste and irrigation management, soil recovery, bio-energy production instead of using fossil fuels and carbon capture in soils and bio-mass would be implemented.”
In conclusion Hans Herren, President and CEO of the Millennium Institute and World Food Prize 1995 Winner said that: “Data on the relationship between organic farming and global warming give us a valid reason to pull up organic, regenerative agriculture and agro-ecology, including in this sustainable transition, and in general in the organic farming-related debate, decision makers. It’s necessary that future farming and feeding policies be coherent with scientific evidences: research is always more necessary to confirm the present and future sustainable farming benefits.”
