ORGANIC FARMING

INTRODUCTION

              We can grow healthful food without depending too much on toxic chemicals and chemical fertilizers with NATURAL ORGANIC AND BIOLOGICAL FARMING systems.  The knowledge and simple but practical technology in this manuscript can save your crops and help you earn more from your garden and farm. Let’s return to the “Natural” ways. The growing market demand is for safe organically grown fruits and vegetables.

 
It is not the intention of this paper to entirely eliminate the use of beneficial agricultural chemicals and fertilizers that help to suppress and control destructive pest and diseases and provide food nutrients to the plants. We also encourage the adoption of the latest improved technology and farming systems that are environmentally and ecologically friendly. We encourage farmers to adopt practical Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
 
This paper will attempt to help and teach interested farmers adopt natural and practical farming systems that will reduce the use of costly and toxic agricultural chemicals and replace them with organic preparations the farmers themselves can produce and use. This can result to producing healthful organic food at lower cost with higher productivity as the soil and environment improves. This may be debatable, but possible and attainable.
 
There is a worldwide shift for safe, chemical free food and a demand for organically grown food crops. The alarming increase in the use of toxic chemicals to control pests and diseases on both farm animals and plants has endangered the environment and reduce bio diversity as well as the health of consumers. We become too dependent like addicted people as the soil becomes poorer and insect pest become resistant to chemicals used.
 
The world that we have created is dominated by a disregard for Nature and a greed that destroys for profit the environment, the ecosystem and the capacity of the land to produce without artificial human interventions.
 
Useful insects and predators of pests are killed together with the insect pests with the wide and intensive use of toxic agricultural chemicals. The surviving pest finds no natural enemies, thus they increase rapidly resulting in more destructive infestation with more resistant pest to chemical control. We have to recognize the natural laws, governing and balance of nature, its biodiversity and life itself.
 
These simplified guides can help farmers reduce their production cost and become self reliant with renewable crop protection products they can grow and formulate in their own farms, together with their commercial crops and livestock. They can also make their own fertilizers and soil amendments that will turn their land into productive farms. This can make farmers self reliant and self sustaining
 
Through Natural Farming, we can feed the increasing population of the world with healthful food free from toxic chemical residue.
 
NATURAL FARMING
 
To understand natural farming we need to know the cycle of life and matter. Natural farming as we envision is learning nature’s laws, and using them with care. Take note: Natural Laws are the laws of God who created Nature.
 
Natural farming is a culture where plants are grown in 100% natural environment with the least human interference and no harmful chemicals or synthetic products used. It is practically leaving the crops grow and produce in their natural environment, and man comes enhances the natural conditions to improve productivity. Then, harvest or gather its products for man’s use. However, in the context of our discussion, we will be introducing farming systems that will employ and apply more and more organic and biological farm practices.
 
Dr. Saturnina Halos, an agricultural scientist says: “Strictly speaking, farming interferes with nature. There are a lot of human interventions in farming.” This is very true, and if we are not careful enough, we may totally lost natures’ resources and capacity to produce the food that our growing population needs. We seek to learn natural organic and biological farming to safeguard the environment and sustain its productive capability.
 
While there is a growing demand for organically grown fruits and vegetables, it is difficult and almost impossible not to use chemical products to increase the production per unit area in a shorter period of time to meet the growing food demand of the increasing population. Besides plant roots and leaves can only absorb nutrients in their chemical form. Organic materials have first to be broken down into its basic chemical component to be utilized by plants. Synthetic chemical products being used in Agriculture were processed and synthesized from organic and/or mineral materials.
 
 Before life was created, matter first existed. In the beginning we have water, rocks, gases, light, solar energy, the earth and atmosphere. There was yet no life. (Read the Holy Scriptures ‘The Holy Bible’ Genesis on Creation). When the environment became ready, life began to appear in many forms from single cell to the complex form of plants and animals. We learn that evolution is God’s continuing process of creation.
 
Matter on the other hand is never lost, it just change in form and substance from solid to liquid and gas and back to solid. From its mineral chemical form to organic compound and back to mineral and chemical. (Remember man that thou art dust and unto dust thou shall return.). Roots absorb nutrient in simple chemical form decomposed organic compounds have to be converted to chemical form and are absorbed by plants.
 
Evolution as science discovers, life started in the waters in single cell microorganisms in animal and plant form. In ages and millennium the seed of life developed into higher forms as we see them today. Together with life or biological progression, weathering of the environment prepared the development of ecological diversity. So even at our time, we witness the continuing process of creation and evolution of new varieties and forms of life.
 
Man with his God given intellect is an instrument in the development through the science of breeding and lately genetic engineering and cloning. Man’s technological advances are still following natural laws, which without that, it will be impossible.  
 
If we observe the growth and vegetation of natural forests, we will notice the healthy growth of trees, shrubs, grass and other forest vegetation. The soil is fertile, rich in organic humus and there is very limited pest and disease damage. Animal life, also abound from microorganisms like bacteria, fungus to worms, reptiles, birds and mammals.
 
The plants and animals have grown in their natural environment without interference of man. They may not be as productive as we wish them to be, but we can learn from their growth, survival and production in their natural habitat. Ecological and biological diversity can be observed existing and living in harmony.
 
·        The soil is kept fertile with the leaves, branches and other plant parts that mature and drop to the soil surface are decomposed with the aid of bacteria, fungi and other minute organisms that eat and digest them up with moisture (water). This results to the buildup of humus and organic fertilizer, which break down into simple chemical form rich in readily available plant nutrients for roots to absorb.
 
·        Beneficial microorganisms abound in the fertile organic rich soil that help both in the decomposition of organic materials and suppress or control the spread and multiplication of pests and diseases. Probiotics or beneficial microorganisms help suppress and control the growth of disease causing microbes (bacteria, fungus and virus) and even soil born pests like nematodes and insects.
 
·        Insect pests are kept down as both destructive and friendly insects are balancing their population in their natural habitat. This control the buildup of insect infestation is a continued process when left to their natural estate. Example of these are: the use of Trichogramma ostriniae against corn corer and Braconidae or Braconid Wasps which parasitize other arthropods. Braconid wasps can be endo- or ecto-parasite, solitary or living in groups as primary or secondary parasites. Different species may attack every stage of an insect development; there are braconids that are egg parasites, larval parasites, and parasites of pupae and adult insects. Many parasites are valuable as biological control of pests.
 
·        Big and tall trees protect the soil and other living organisms beneath from too much heat and inclement weather conditions. Soil erosion and depletion is minimized or totally prevented. Trees serve as umbrella in forest and natural habitat. Tree planting in certain sections of the farm is advisable and encouraged. Keep and grow spots of mini forest in your farm to preserve and protect the environment and eco system for the habitation of bio diversity.
 
·        The environment is preserved as bio-diversity is protected in natural forest vegetation where man has not set its foot on. All of creation and living things have a purpose and role. Herbal and medicinal plants have been destroyed and eliminated with the past century of clearing and cultivating lands for agriculture and crop production.
 
·        Zero tillage is propagating plants without the artificial means of cultivation. Plants and seeds are spread by growth of rhizomes, vines, carried by wind, water and birds. Modern natural farming systems can learn much from nature’s way of propagating and preserving its species even without the usual land clearing and land preparation involving digging, plowing and harrowing.
 
·        Following is a farming practice by ancient farmers up to the 50s where the land is made to rest for a year or two to allow nature to rejuvenate it and enrich the soil fertility and productive capacity. Resting the soil for one year after six years of crop production. Today, this is less practiced due to the limited farming areas. Farmlands are chopped down by CARP into small lots 3 hectares and smaller. Farmers need to make them produce continually without resting, so artificial methods are done to keep it producing using chemical and organic fertilizers.
 
To adopt natural farming system, we have to understand how the ecosystem responds to man’s interventions. The moment we clear the land, remove the protective trees and cultivate the soil, we have destroyed the natural environment and the existing eco-system and bio-diversity. The lesser we destroy or remove the natural environment; the closer we get into natural farming.
However, we can gradually return to natural ways by learning the natural laws governing plant and animal propagation, growth and production.
 
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