4.4. Environmental Impact (Implications for Widespread Adoption)
The widespread introduction of organic production systems in apples and kiwifruit has implications for the respective industry infrastructure and resources, the production system itself and the environment. These implications are discussed below.
4.5.1. Infrastructure and resources
Participants at the workshops saw that the widespread adoption of organic production systems in apples and kiwifruit would have implications for the service industry including post harvest service providers, resource availability, regional authorities, the requirement for labour and for the marketers of fruit.
The widespread adoption of organic production systems in the areas growing apples and kiwifruit would lead to a significant change in the organisations servicing those industries.
Traditional firms supplying inputs such as chemicals or fertilisers would need to change their product mix or be forced out of the market. A new breed of service provider is likely to emerge.
Nutritional products supplied by input providers would need to change significantly. The volume of composts, for example, required to sustain a large area of organic orchards would be significant and possibly exceed supply. This would have the impact of driving up the cost of an already expensive input. The impact of this on the large fertiliser works may be minimal as their products are sold mainly to pastoral farmers.
Other specialist products, such as certified organic straw for understorey management, would become more difficult to obtain due to demand outstripping supply.
Input suppliers would also need to obtain organic certification for their products in addition to any statutory requirements. For a product to get organic certification often the manufacturer needs to disclose more about the product than is normally required. The unwillingness of manufacturers to disclose this intellectual property may mean that the product cannot gain organic registration. An example of this is the fruit size-enhancing product Benefit PZ used on kiwifruit, which is made from a plant extract but does not have organic registration because of the manufacturer's reluctance to disclose technical detail on how the product is made.
Packhouses and coolstores are required to provide dedicated facilities for the packing and storing of organic fruit or have in place a management plan to ensure that all equipment is cleaned following the packing and storing of conventional fruit to avoid contamination. It is most likely that service providers would provide dedicated facilities for packing and storing organic fruit.
The reduction in yield experienced by organic apple and kiwifruit growers would reduce the requirement for post harvest service provision. Truckers, packhouses, coolstores, stevedores, ports and shipping companies would be faced with a reduced volume (down approximately 20 percent) of fruit to handle.
Growers comment that a more supportive regional council is required to facilitate the widespread adoption of organic production systems. Examples raised by growers include the need for regional councils to work with organic producers to ensure that their weed control strategies for drains and road frontages do not impinge on the organic status of the property. The smelly nature of some fungicides is also likely to result in more complaints to the regional councils regarding spray drift. Growers also comment on what they consider the unnecessary bureaucracy required to allow for the on-orchard production of compost. The rules around composting operations are in place to reduce the risk of nutrient rich leachate contaminating ground water.
Support from regional councils desired by the participants in the apple workshops went as far as funding of operational research. Growers felt that because organic production had beneficial environmental outcomes, the regional councils should facilitate its adoption by providing research funding.
Growers in both industries comment that there would be an increased requirement of skilled labour to work on the increased number of organic properties.
If there were an increase in supply of organic kiwifruit due to the widespread adoption of organic production systems, there would be a requirement for Zespri to develop more markets to take this fruit. Zespri have indicated that their preferred market mix is for organic volumes to be no higher than 5 percent of the total crop (approximately 4 million trays).
4.5.2. Production systems
The significant changes that are likely to occur with widespread adoption of organic production are an increased orchard biodiversity and a reduction in the health of apple trees.
Both apple growers and kiwifruit growers commented that the widespread adoption of organic production systems would lead to greater biodiversity in the orcharding area. There is likely to be an increased diversity in the understorey species grown. It is thought that the move to organic kiwifruit production has already led to an increase in the fungal diversity of the organic orchard.
Of concern to apple growers is the risk that the widespread adoption of organic production systems, given the heavy reliance on debilitating fungicides, would lead to the ultimate degradation of the production base.
4.5.3. Environment
The energy cost to produce the volumes of compost required for a large area of organic production would be significant. It is estimated that it requires 1.1 Megajoule of energy to produce 1 kilogram of compost. A report into the energy use on a BOP kiwifruit orchard concluded that for this particular orchard, if the compost they used had been produced off-site it would have been the largest single indirect energy input into the orchard (Barber and Scarrow, 2001).
There is a misconception that widespread adoption of organic production systems in apples would lead to an increase in the residues of copper in the soil. This is not the case. Organic apple growers typically use less copper than their conventional counterparts. Widespread adoption of organics in apples would lead to a reduced risk of copper build up in the soil.
The nature of the organic sprays being applied, though smelly, would be likely to generate less spray drift issues when neighbours are aware that the products being used are organic.
The increased use of composts and the maintenance of an understorey in orchards would result in increased levels of organic matter in the soil.
Contact for Enquiries
Kay Brown
Sector Performance Policy
MAF Policy
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
PO Box 2526
Wellington
NEW ZEALAND
Phone: +64 4 894 0695
Fax: +64 4 4 894 0746
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