Organic diversity of wildlife = diversity of markets

Australia is currently experiencing a long and exhausting drought. Farmers are struggling. Many of them have been forced to sell their family farms. Those that remain face tough times ahead. During times of difficulty such as this, it’s often simpler to look for quick fix solutions rather than to focus on the more sustainable long-term options. Biological Farmers of Australia Standards Chairman, Dr. Andrew Monk warns against adopting quick fix solutions. Instead, he emphasises the importance of focusing on natural farming systems which emphasise biodiversity and encourage sustainable practices.

Dr. Monk says biodiversity can reduce the vulnerability, and boost returns of crops, particularly during trying seasons. “Biodiversity makes for less rigid and more robust environments and that translates into more profitable crops and livestock,” says Dr. Monk.

Dr Monk says diversity on the land, in soils, predators and wildlife, also leads to diversity at the market level.

“Organic farmers are not only producers of sheep or grains - they might produce timber, manufacture natural oil, or harvest native flowers. Organics reaps the benefits of biodiversity, something consumers understand and support,” Dr. Monk says.

Mr Greg Paynter, workshop conductor for the Federal Government’s Healthy Soils Program says there are also benefits in natural waste and water management systems. “Organic matter assists in the retention of moisture in soils. That has a direct impact on how quickly farming lands can rebound following dry periods,” he says.

He says biodiversity actively increases soil health level.

“Biodiversity in the Soil Food Web for building soil nutrition and producing stable humus is critical to help plants cope with moisture stress, soil diseases and insect attack. Humus holds 20 times its weight in water reducing the need for irrigation and reducing soil temperature fluctuations for optimising productive capacity”, says Mr Paynter.

Biodiversity management is a requirement for certified organic operations; using the ecosystem’s functions to replace the need for farm inputs.

Non-organically managed farms, by contrast, typically generate lower biodiversity levels due to a focus on singular or mono-culture production.

A major global study* comparing organic and conventional agriculture in the UK has found organic farming increased biodiversity throughout the food chain. Studies have shown that growing organic can:

• Increase species of flowering plants by 500%
• Increase active levels of invertebrates (pest predators) by 160%
• Increase levels of butterflies by 66%
• Provide an area that attracts twice as many birds

Australia is currently one of the world’s top 12 most ‘megadiverse’ countries but has a growing count of 623 threatened or endangered species.

The BFA has a vision for the organic industry in Australia - to grow organic food sales to 10 per cent of the food market in Australia by 2020. Biodiversity is one of 20 good reasons to buy organic and assist the organic industry to achieve its goal. More information is available at www.bfa.com.au.