Economic implications of a shift to organic agriculture in Britain

Abstract

British agricultural policy, long under attack, is now no longer defensible. An attempt is made to present a set of objectives which would be widely acceptable. Organic farming is discussed in relation to these objectives. There is evidence that an extension of organic farming would, compared with conventional farming, offer some clear advantages: output would be lower, the environment would benefit, soil erosion would be reduced and some nutritional fears (particularly those associated with the use of pesticides) would be allayed. This does not imply that organic farming is a panacea for all our agricultural problems. It is suggested that in the past policies have, by default rather than by intention, discriminated against organic farming; proposals for correcting this are advanced.