Under the direction of the Swiss Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), research organizations from Bolivia, India and Kenya have been investigating organic and conventional cultivation methods in the global long-term study SysCom (“Farming Systems Comparison in the Tropics”) since 2007. Biovision is financially supporting the sub-project in Kenya.
There, long-term comparisons are being carried out in trial fields, which are then repeated in the fields of 60 small farming families. The effects of the two cultivation methods on plant growth, crop yields, harvest quality and storage duration, and soil fertility are being compared.
Scientists regularly collect soil samples and plants from the trial fields for thorough laboratory analysis: What substances are in the soil and in what amounts? How fertile is the soil and how high is its moisture content? The plants and their roots are also measured precisely. The scientists additionally collect economic data, such as on workload, investment costs and sales revenues.
The long-term study pursues three main goals:
• Scientific findings on the contribution of organic farming to sustainable development in the tropics.
• Dissemination and utilization of the project results.
• Increased yields from organic farming.
In the current phase V, the main focus is on publicising the results and handing over the trials completely to the local project partners in the long term.
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This project is supported by SDC
The most important findings from SysCom’s laboratory and field trials are summarized in a report published in 2021:
- Yields from organic farming methods can match those from conventional farming, but it depends on the crop and type of management. Pests and diseases can greatly reduce yields in organic cultivation (e.g. for vegetables).
- While labour accounts for most of the production costs in organic cultivation systems, the costs of external inputs in conventional cultivation are often substantial. Organic methods are usually worthwhile for small farming families with limited resources, especially when organic products achieve a higher market price and because they have the potential to reduce labour and production costs over the long term.
The fifth project phase (2023–2026) focuses on five topics when comparing organic and conventional farming methods: (1) profitability and resilience, (2) soil fertility, (3) climate adaptation and water management, (4) roles as multipliers, and (5) institutional sustainability.
An additional study is intended to help improve composting of agricultural waste. Farmers have made insufficient use of this technique, which has significant ecological and financial implications. This is why we want to reduce nitrogen loss and greenhouse gas emissions during composting and produce high-quality compost for organic farming.
