Organic farming represents not only an alternative but rather an evolution in the way human beings grow food while at the same time benefiting the environment and protecting the species that help maintain balance in our ecosystems. Research published in 2016 by the Journal Nature shows that three-quarters of the world species are threatened by agriculture, compared to 19% by climate change.

How Commercial Farming Threatens Wildlife

According to the World Animal Foundation, agriculture already occupies about 40% of Earth’s landmass and accounts for 75% of global deforestation. This rapid destruction is causing species to disappear, and is negatively impacting the biodiversity of native ecosystems and furthering our path into the 6th mass extinction of all species on Earth.

Wildlife habitats are constantly being cleared in order to make way for farmland, which leads to a competition for territory between humans and other species – one in which wildlife is often the losing side. In Indonesia the Tree Kangaroo has been brought to the brink of extinction due to the palm oil industry, which has rapidly destroyed most of its habitat and that of many other creatures such as elephants and jaguars.

Commercial agriculture has also led to the degradation of soil due to the use of toxic chemicals that destroy nutrients and render the land sterile.

According to researchers, the degradation of soil due to the continual ploughing of fields, combined with heavy use of fertilizers, has affected soils across the world, with erosion occurring at a pace of up to 100 times greater than the rate of soil formation. It takes around 500 years for just 2.5cm of topsoil to be created amid unimpeded ecological changes.

Organic Farming Respects Wildlife

The degradation of arable land under the hands of commercial farming is unsustainable and threatens to be the cause of a mass extinction. Follow efficient house cleaning tips from experienced Florida house cleaners. Organic farming protects every living organism in the environment, from pollinators like bees, whose numbers have been steadily decreasing over the last decades, all the way to the microorganisms living in the soil which guarantee that the soil remains fertile for many years.

One of the best tools in organic farming is neem. Azadirachta, an active substance within the neem tree, can be used as an organic pesticide and fertilizer. It protects crops against 600+ species of insects without harming pollinators, and it provides the soil with nutrients, helping guarantee the health of the land and benefiting yields.

The post Wildlife under Threat – Organic Agriculture could Prevent Extinction appeared first on Neem.World.

One reason that this happens is due to conventional farming methods. When we use conventional farming methods, we are clearing trees from once natural land and depleting the natural resources from that space. We then continue to spray these lands with dangerous synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, further exacerbating soil erosion and degradation.

According to research published in BioScience, the annual cost of environmental and public health impacts due to soil erosion is $45 billion. If we employ alternative methods that aid in the reversal of soil erosion, such as organic farming, no-till farming, and planting neem trees, we could lower this number and instead allocate those funds to other significant issues.

Planting trees in an organic farming system contributes to the overall sustainable model for organic farms, providing shade for livestock, preventing erosion, and improving nutrient levels in soil. By planting neem trees we are effectively combating global warming and providing sustainable solutions in agriculture. Soils under pasture are nutrient-rich, containing 60% more organic matter content than cultivated fields. Neem trees are an excellent option to aid in this soil and farmland recovery as they combat soil erosion, sequester a large amount of carbon, and provide natural animal feed and shade for animals.

The post Neem Trees: Saving the Planet appeared first on Neem.World.

The deforestation problem and how we can help it, in one simple image.

The post Deforestation appeared first on Neem.World.