Challenges and Opportunities for Organic Cotton Production Systems

摘要

Organic agriculture, based on the principles of holistic farming, is a production management system that promotes and enhances agro-ecosystem health, including biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil biological activity through the preferential useof management practices over off-farm inputs (taking into account that regional conditions require locally adapted systems). Organic production systems integrate agronomic, biological and mechanical methods, as opposed to using synthetic materials, to fulfill any specific function within the system (FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission, 1999). It embodies the philosophy of working in consonance with ecology and the environment to conserve biodiversity and to maintain ecological balance, thereby enhancing the sustainability of farm ecosystems and the environment.