Organic agriculture, sustainability and policy

The significant growth in the organic sector, coupled with its potential contribution to sustainable development, has resulted in considerable interest from policy makers, including OECD Environment Ministers. While recognising that there is more than one agricultural system that has the potential to be sustainable, organic fanning can contribute to an economically viable, environmentally sound and socially acceptable agriculture sector. However the actual impact, particularly on the environment, depends a great deal on the management practices of the individual farmer. The OECD has identified five essential elements for creating a policy framework that would encourage the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices: reforming support policies, adopting an ecosystems approach, addressing externalities, enhancing the dissemination of information and devising appropriate structural adjustment policies. Implementing these elements would benefit organic farming systems.(2).