The question considered in this paper is how to evaluate the feasibility of organic agriculture1 and its impact on farm sustainability, and hence its role in food security. FAO (1996a) defines food security as "...a situation in which all households have both physical and economic access to adequate food for all members, and where households are not at risk of losing such access _ There are three dimensions implicit in this definition: availability, stability and access. Adequate food availability means that, on average, sufficient food supplies should be available to meet consumption needs. Stability refers to minimizing the probability that, in difficult years or seasons, food consumption might fall below consumption requirements. Access draws attention to the fact that, even with bountiful supplies, many people still go hungry because they do not have the resources to produce or purchase the food they need. In addition, if food needs are met through exploitation of non-renewable natural resources or degradation of the environment, there is no guarantee of food security in the long term".
The concept of food security involves a number of issues, such as population growth, resource availability (e.g., land, minerals and capital), infrastructure (e.g., transport), institutions (e.g., land-tenure, agricultural support systems, marketing systems, social relationships, legal systems) and international trade (FAO 1994). Many argue that those, indeed, are the major factors inhibiting food security, and that the actual agricultural system is only of secondary importance in solving the problems of food security. When the focus is on the agricultural system, as in this paper, the question is therefore not whether a particular farm management system can secure food as defined above, but whether certain systems are more appropriate for moving towards a situation of food security.
Sustainable food security entails producing and consuming food in a manner that conserves the regenerative capacity of the natural resource base and maintains biodiversity for present and future generations. The feasibility of any alternative to present agricultural production systems must, therefore, include considerations which are related to sustainability. Such considerations were crystallized during the FAO/Netherlands Conference on Agriculture and the Environment in 1991: "In evolving towards more sustainable production systems, agriculture and rural development efforts should ensure the attainment of three essential goals: food security by ensuring an appropriate and sustainable balance between self-sufficiency and self-reliance; employment and income generation in rural areas, particularly to eradicate poverty; and natural resource conservation and environmental protection." (FAO, 1991).
In this paper, the organic agriculture system comes under scrutiny, with particular attention being given to developing countries. The quest for a better management system entails increased availability of food, production stability and access to food. The conditions determining whether organic agriculture can offer a feasible agricultural system are discussed.
1. The term "agriculture" includes agriculture, aquaculture and forestry systems. Although most cases reviewed for this study cover agricultural systems in the strict sense, this paper's issues and considerations apply to the agricultural sector in its broadest sense.
