From organic principles to wider application and a resilient agriculture: a reflections paper

Planetary boundaries are exceeded in many ways and major transformations are needed in economic systems and lifestyles - in particular in the industrialized world. The declining resources of critical input factors and exceeding of the buffer capacity of natural systems will in particular affect contemporary industrialized, high-input-high-output agriculture. Can organic farming principles be applied more widely and help to make agricultural systems more resilient? How relevant are they to the challenges the agricultural sector faces today? If relevant and effective, why are they not more widely applied? In this paper contemporary challenges of conventional agriculture are related to organic farming principles and practices. In the concluding section reference is made to those factors that seem to limit a wide application of the particular principles and practices. Reference is made to policy and market failure, information deficits and the widespread misconceptions around 'modernization', innovation, valuation and efficiency that have caused many contemporary problems.