CNBC- the supposed productivity gaps between organic and conventional
farming may be a lot smaller than thought—and organic farming may be
especially competitive during droughts like the one currently crushing
California's massive agricultural sector.
A new analysis of more than 100 studies conducted
by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, concluded
organic farming created a unique mix of biodiversity in the soil and
surrounding environment that is difficult to mimic with synthetic
chemicals. The researchers analyzed what they say is the largest data
set ever compiled on organic and conventional methods across an index of
about 50 common crops.
The findings were published Tuesday in the journal the Proceedings of the Royal Society of London.
They did find a productivity gap—organic farms are
almost 20 percent less productive than conventional ones, a number
still lower than conclusions drawn by many previous studies.
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