Woolworths has recently made public their pioneering of a new method of farming fresh produce. It's called 'farming for the future', and there's a lot of talk about improving the soil and plant health, preserving water, protecting biodiversity and being kinder to the environment.

The gist of the new farming for the future is that 'conventional farming methods are increasingly not sustainable' and that 'new methods improve soil and water quality and encourage biodiversity'. Woolworths mention that their 'agricultural experts' have spent three years developing the practices of this form of farming with their suppliers.

In a nutshell, farming for the future is a marriage of the 'best of conventional farming with the best of organic farming' – in other words, a hybrid. The company's CEO, Simon Susman says that they 'will continue to pursue organic farming but the yields can be inconsistent.'

Read Woolworths' full press release here

And here is where I begin to get uncomfortable. On the one hand this all sounds rather good; like a move in the right direction. One could take the view that this method of farming is promoting soil improvement, a reduction in the use of chemicals and follows a widescale move towards this kind of 'conventional' farming, which is certainly better than conventional farming.

As Ian Gilfillan from the Ethical Co-op says, 'this move would certainly make it easier to convert to organic in the future.'

But it is a highly contentious and complex issue, particularly if this new form of farming can be used to undermine organic farming. As David Wolstenholme, who is an advocate of the organic movement in South Africa and director of the Natural and Organic Product Exhibition, said in a Business Report article recently - this initiative continues to give suppliers a licence to use chemical insecticides, pesticides and fertilisers, whilst still looking green.

He also said that combining organic with conventional farming is “like trying to be half pregnant. You're either organic or you're not.”

I'm inclined to agree. There are several aspects that worry me about this method of farming, despite the obvious benefits to the soil, saving water and reducing the need for chemicals (although it is not clear just what quantities of chemicals the method allows for, it simply states that it will only use them 'when necessary').

One Where are the technical specifications of this method of farming, such as the levels of chemicals allowed in the soil. And just what constitutes 'healthy soil'. Will their standards be made public for all to view as is the case with organic certification?

Two Is it a good thing that Woolworths is not only the 'creator' of this method of farming, but essentially also the yardstick. Woolworths pays for an annual audit of farms by Enviroscientific, a body whose experience is biodiversity in the wine industry and the integrated production of wine in South Africa. The organic movement, by comparison, is subject to an independent body that deals specifically with organic farming worldwide – IFOAM.

Three The undermining of the organic movement. The 'best of organic farming' inadvertently implies that there is a 'worst of'.

Four This method of farming could be perceived as a diversionary tactic, an attempt to distract the public from the demand for organic fresh produce.

As Mark Botha of WWF, who support Woolworths' farming for the future, says: “It's quite shrewd, Woolworths are going to be massively reducing their risk in 10 years' time by having a supply base that's got far more sustainable farms that are less vulnerable to the vagaries of climate change and pest outbreaks.” [sunday times]

So, is the move to introduce a new set of goal posts in the form of a farming for the future revolutionary, or is it a diversion from the push for organic produce on shelves?

As Rob Small from Abalimi Bezekhaya says: “It's good if Woolworths genuinely push farmers to become more ecologically sustainable, but how does one prove that? Is it just a storm in a teacup and a distraction from the real issues, which are ethical?”

The jury is out. At the end of the day it's up to us as consumers to make that decision for ourselves. Woolworths is already placing a farming for the future logo on some fresh produce from this month.

Farms that are only 50% - 74% percent compliant will carry an 'in conversion' label (which could be misconstrued as organically in conversion), whilst farms that are at least 75% compliant with farming for the future criteria (which we have yet to see), will carry the full label.

pic: discovery.com