Yields of organic and conventional agriculture have the same variability

Picture copyright Lesur-Dumoulin et al.

Organic agriculture seeks to reduce our reliance on non-renewable resources and to affect positively human health. However, its capacity to feed the growing world population is questioned. Scientists Lesur-Dumoulin et al. analysed an extensive dataset of yields from organic vs conventional horticulture and showed that in organic agriculture, yields are on average 10 to 32% lower than in conventional agriculture. Extreme yield reductions (>50%) are very unlikely and there is no evidence that organic agriculture gives more variable yields than conventional one.

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