Organic EprintsNahrung für alle? Biologische Landwirtschaft und Nahrungsmittelsicherheit in EntwicklungsländernMichaelHauserauthorThe global goal of ‘Food for All’, considered a fundamental human right by most of the countries, remains an unfinished item on the agenda of national governments and the international development community. In developing countries, household food insecurity is still widespread and its human and social consequences are most visible in rural areas. Poverty is one of the root causes for household food insecurity. Many poor people in rural areas directly or indirectly depend on small scale agriculture for their livelihood. At the same time, these people have limited access to livelihood securing assets that reduce their vulnerability to bio-physical, economic and social shocks. As the global interest in organic agriculture grows, an obvious question is to what extent the employment of organic agriculture principles and practices mitigate people’s vulnerability to food insecurity. The answer to this question is still contested, often political and influenced by the people’s beliefs and traditional position. For example, to agricultural experts and observers associated with conventional schools of thought, organic agriculture is associated with high labour cost and declining crop yields. According to this conventional proposition, organic agriculture results in temporal or permanent food shortages at household level. On the other side of the spectrum, agricultural experts and observers associated with alternative viewpoints on agricultural development argue that organic agriculture is a viable strategy that ensures household food security. Unfortunately both propositions are simplistic. By using examples from East Africa, the purpose of this presentation is to discuss the various linkages between organic agriculture and household food security. It seems that these linkages can be positive, neutral or negative. Based on the standard definition of household food security, which addresses three essential dimensions: the availability of food (i.e. sufficient agricultural production), access to food (i.e. the ability of obtain food for cash resources or in kind) and the proper utilisation of food (i.e. the ability to make use of available food for a balanced diet), a closer examination of the food security “equations” of organic agriculture is being conducted. This examination suggests that organic agriculture project philosophies and cultures have an impact on people’s availability, access and utilisation of food differently, hence food security “equations” vary across organic agriculture projects and schemes. Given the diverse food security implications of organic agriculture in developing countries, a fact that is hardly recognised by consumers in the industrialised countries, a plea for more research into the food security implications of organic agriculture is made. There is no doubt that organic agriculture in developing countries substantially contributes to the development of food security of small scale farmers. This household food security potential, however, is not always fully realised which may limit the contribution of organic agriculture towards the goal ‘Food for All’. Food security, food quality and human health Social aspects2006Conference paper, poster, etc.

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