THE BIO-INTENSIVE URBAN GARDENING SERIES – EPISODE 18

Did you know that not every farmer that uses chicken manure or any form of animal manure to grow crops is practicing organic farming? This piece has been written to debunk the age-long myth. Last episode, we discussed an important topic, the Soil pH. Soil pH greatly affects the availability of nutrients, microbial activity and structure of the soil. Click here to read more.

To start with, the impression that the use of chicken manure or any form of animal manure automatically makes a farm organic is false. This is because the use of animal manure is only a practice and not the whole definition of organic farming.

Farmers who use weedicides/herbicides, which some call organic weedicides, are not organic farmers. Weedicides (chemicals sprayed over a field to get rid of weeds) are harmful and deadly because they contain glyphosate which is the number one enemy of organic farming. Glyphosate is toxic, carcinogenic and kills weed.

Farmers who utilise these chemicals and later use animal waste as manure cannot be termed organic farmers. Produce grown with weedicides are not organic and it should be noted that the first-time application of glyphosate takes a minimum of 3 years to leave the soil completely.

The foregoing means that Cashew and its juice harvested and converted to ethanol from farms that use weedicides to control weeds are not organic. Also, the use of bio-pesticides does not make the farm produce organic.

Therefore, Farmers who deceive consumers about their fake organic products to charge high prices are fraudulent.  Producers should endeavour to allow customers to know which produce is actually organic or not. This will help to boost confidence and integrity in the products put forward for sale.

Organic farm products are usually expensive due to cost of labour. Farmers are therefore encouraged to market the little their strength can carry and desist from selling non organic produce as organic. Organic farmers should also get their certifications i.e., Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) certification, before labelling produce as organic.

Thank you.