Systemic sustainability characteristics of organic farming: a review

Summary in the original language of the document

Agriculture for food production has come to crossroads: while conventional agriculture needs to improve environmental and social performance, organic agriculture needs to increase the production volumes and to re-establish the connctedness between producers and consumers. Through re-localising the food production there is an increasing convergence of the farming practices towards sustainable agriculture acknowledging the prospects, advantages and limitations of the different production systems. The aim is to find combination of production methods that is optimal in given circumstances and to adapt the production system accordingly. Assessment of the environmental impacts should be integrated into assessment of the overall sustainability. Formulation of the management strategies requires evaluation and integration of reaseach results from many different disciplines, and the focus of the interdisciplinary research should be on food systems bioregions rather than on the level of farms or farming systems.
The present article is a review on today's discussion and research dealing with conventional, organic and local farming for food production. The future prospects of organic production to respond to the challenges of advancing global food security and to contribute to overall sustainable development are discussed. It seems that as a developing production mode organic agriculture has a role to play in the green global network of local food systems.