ABSTRACT
Agriculture and forestry have been the largest contributors to climate damage over the past 200 years. According to a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2019), agriculture and forestry and other land use are responsible for nearly 24% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Conversely, this also means that sustainable agriculture, including such alternative as the “biodynamic” approach, offers solutions.
Nonetheless, there is a need for global major changes in agriculture, in order to provide enough food to feed the growing population, while minimizing its environmental impacts. Chemicals such as fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides are widely used in conventional agriculture, and residues remain in the planted crops. For more sustainable farming practices, organic farming is often proposed as a solution. Organic farming is better for the environment, as it reduces pollution, conserves water, reduces soil erosion, increases soil fertility, and uses less energy. Research on SEKEM fields has conclusively shown that biological, organically cultivated crops can be competitive with the conventionally cultivated ones in expenses and benefits, as organic produce contains fewer residues of pesticides.
The Carbon Footprint Center initiated its study “The Future of Agriculture in Egypt” to update the cost analysis of organic and conventional agriculture (Heliopolis University for Sustainable Development, 2019). This update has highlighted True Cost Accounting (TCA), in an attempt to document that organic agriculture offers a solution to the climate challenges caused by the sector. The study was conducted on five strategic crops, one of which is cotton.
