COP21: Ecocert Group urges organic farming focus in climate change talks - FreshFruitPortal.com

COP21: Ecocert Group urges organic farming focus in climate change talks

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COP21: Ecocert Group urges organic farming focus in climate change talks

A France-based organic certifier has called on global leaders to address the issue of sustainable agricultural practices during the COP21 Paris talks on climate change. COP21 Paris

In a release, Groupe Ecocert said organic farming could bring practical participation in the fight against climate change, as a lever for reducing humankind's impact on the environment.

The leading organic certifier highlighted the practice worked through recycling organic matter, crop rotation and biological pest control, adding that cultivated soils sequestered more carbon.

"Organic farming, due to its lower use of fossil energy resources, helps to reduce the negative effects of greenhouse gas emissions," Ecocert said.

"Farmers and SMEs who practice or rely on this method of cultivation provide important services to the community and to society, especially as a result of a number of positive externalities: water savings, soil fertility, ecosystem conservation, job creation, structuring the territories, and more."

Ecocert's aim is to promote best practices, develop new initiatives and change behaviors.

"Today, we must design all the conditions for the sustainability of our ecosystem and our economic modes of production," said the group's president William Vidal.

"Water, carbon, biodiversity, and social factors are all essential indicators for ensuring our future. Humankind needs to draw on its ingenuity and to move forward.

"We must create growth that's compatible with our ecosystem's capacity for regeneration. This requires, among other things, the adoption of sustainable practices such as organic farming."

Ecocert vice president Michel Reynaud said the group's experts were involved with many players such as the European Commission, national governments, NGOs and professional organizations to support projects that have a positive environmental impact and to develop new regulations.

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