For most of its history, organic agriculture has been given short shrift, writes George Kuepper of the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture in Oklahoma, US.
Kuepper says conventional agricultural institutions treat organic farming as an “antiquated” and “unscientific” way of farming that is suitable for gardeners and hobbyists, but certainly not for the commercial farmer.
However, he explains that organic farming has significantly increased since 2000. According to Statista, in 2000, 17,16 million hectares were reportedly under organic production. However, this had increased to 76,4 million hectares in 2021. Statista also shows that the global sales of organic food increased between 2000 and 2021 from US$18 billion (about R345 billion) to $132,74 billion (R2,55 trillion).
HISTORY OF ORGANIC FARMING
Organic farming has a history that spans centuries, but the modern organic farming movement, as we know it today, emerged in the early 20th century. Traditional
