New Zealand's online Business Scoop reports that farmers across the country are increasingly finding positive solutions to many on-farm challenges; proving that farming can provide both economic and ecological outcomes. For many years these farmers have been vocally dismissed by a faction that believes it is not possible to be profitable and to take care of New Zealand’s ‘clean green image’. The Association of Biological Farmers (ABF) has just completed a one year project showcasing some of the successful farmers and growers around the country who are bucking a trend of diminishing natural capital returns.
ABF has collated data from research from New Zealand and around the world supporting the ‘anecdotal’ on-farm experiences of these innovative and progressive farmers. This research shows that biological farming systems use significantly less agro-chemicals, are more energy efficient, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve soil qualities without reducing output and financial benefits; all in all resulting in a more ecologically, economically and socially more robust model compared to the conventional farming approach.
Read the full Scoop report here and the ABF's project report summary here.
