Organic agriculture cannot rely on producers alone

In Jiangjiazhuang Village, Pingyi County, Shandong Province, Jiang Gaoming, a researcher at the Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, rented a 20-mu farm, growing corn, soybeans and wheat, and also raised more than 100 head of cattle. No chemical fertilizers or pesticides, and no agricultural film, additives or herbicides. After three years of cultivation, on the farm where ecological balance was gradually achieved, grain yields approached those of a "ton-grain field," and straw and grass in the fields became feed for the cattle. However, when the more than 100 head of cattle were raised to market weight, the cattle dealer who bought them did not care whether Jiang Gaoming's cattle were "green"; what he wanted more was cattle fed special feed that looked sturdy and strong. "With a slightly higher lean meat rate, each head of cattle can sell for 600 yuan more."

With high labor costs, slightly lower yields and greater risks, "organic agriculture," which takes ecological farming and breeding as its purpose, clearly has many advantages over conventional agriculture in food safety, and in taste and flavor it can also let people taste "the flavor of childhood." However, the imperceptibility of agricultural product quality often leaves organic products facing the market dilemma of "even the emperor's daughter worries about getting married": first, good quality without a good price; because chemical fertilizers and pesticides are not used, organic agricultural products do not look as "presentable" as ordinary agricultural products, and "they won't sell" has become the awkward situation organic agricultural products face in major stores. Second, weak currency drives out good currency; the practice in the market of passing off ordinary food as organic agricultural products not only discourages the enthusiasm of producers who conscientiously practice organic farming from the source, but also creates a trust crisis among consumers toward the public brand of "organic food."

Facing increasingly tight resource and environmental constraints, organic agriculture is undoubtedly an effective path for transforming the agricultural development model and taking a road of coordinated development between production and environmental protection. However, the restoration of the ecological environment, the use of organic fertilizers and large amounts of manual input require society to give this mode of production common support and attention.

The community-supported agriculture model spontaneously formed among the people has provided new ideas for the development of organic agriculture. Consumers pay for a year or half a year of vegetables in advance and receive vegetable deliveries twice a week; the farm promises not to use chemical products such as chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. Consumers share the risks of agricultural producers and obtain reassuring fruits and vegetables - this connection based on land has become a new way of linking urban and rural areas.

The organic farming model also needs correct government guidance, shaping consumers' trust in organic food under the premise of standardized management. Strict management of a tiny organic food certification certificate means that producers who adhere to safe farming methods can obtain the returns they deserve in the market, thereby carrying organic agriculture through to the end.