QUESTIONS

1. Explain why Sikkim is considered a role model to follow in the field of organic
farming

- S​ikkim is considered a role model in the field of organic agriculture due to its design
embedding in socio-economic aspects such as consumption and market expansion,
cultural aspects also such as health, education, rural development and sustainable
tourism.

2. When did the journey towards 100% organic farming start in Sikkim? How long
did it take them to reach their 100% organic farming?

- It all started with a momentous statement by Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar
Chamling in 2003, stating that Sikkim would return to natural and organic cultivation
methods. The state would avoid fertilizers and chemical pesticides in agriculture.

- Twelve years later, at the end of 2015, all Sikkim farms were certified organic by an
independent certification body. On January 18, 2016, at the Sikkim Organic Festival, the
Prime Minister of India declared that the state was completely organic.

3. Review the historical 2003 declaration (Fig. 4(a)) read by Sikkam’s Chief
Minister at the State Legislative Assembly and answer the following questions:

a. What are the main reasons the Chief Minister gives to start implementing the
100% organic plan?

- First, the hills of Darjeeling, the world-famous tea producer, needed to return to organic
farming methods because they were losing demand abroad because Darjeeling tea was
being produced using chemical-based methods.

- Second, it is a known fact that people are increasingly moving away from chemicals.

- Finally, an organic-based food increases its prices four to six times more than
chemical-based products.

b. The Chief minister gives an example of how chemical pesticides end up killing
animals higher up in the trophic chain. Could the example be considered
bioaccumulation? Please explain.

- Yes, because bioaccumulation is the accumulation of substances which in this case are
the fertilizers, travelling from the environment which in this example is in the field with
crops, into an organism which could be the birds or rats.
c. Why does the chief minister think that it will not be very difficult to turn the
state into an organic state?

- He believes that it will not be difficult as traditionally their farmers used to practice
organic farming as he says in the text: “Honorable members will agree with me that
traditionally our farmers practiced organic farming and hence the possibility of reverting
back to this age-old practice is not difficult.”

4. Each year, the world’s best laws and policies promoting agroecology are
awarded the Future Policy Awards. The “100% organic state” Sikkim, in India,
was the 2018 winner of this “Oscar for best policies”, beating 51 nominated
policies from 25 countries. The award was co-organised by the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Future Council
(WFC) and IFOAM – Organics International. Review the World Future Council
brochure (attached) and answer the following questions:

a. What is agroecology?

- Agroecology is agriculture that is specified in food production and this makes the best
use of nature’s goods and services without damaging them.

b. What three projects won the silver award? Write a brief paragraph
describing each of those three policies.

- The Participatory Urban Agriculture Program of Quito led to the growth of more than
3600 urban gardens on 32 hectares.

- More than 21,000 people received training under the program. Brazil's National
Agroecology and Organic Production Policy helped 5300 municipalities to invest 30% or
more of their school feeding budgets on organic and agro-ecological products purchased
from family farmers.

- The Danish Organic Action Plan has helped Denmark to have the largest market share
of organic products in the world, with almost 80% of Danes buying organic food.

c. What is FAO’s main goal? (go to their website: ​www.fao.org​)

- FAO’s main goal is work to achieve a world without hunger, malnutrition and poverty and
do so in a sustainable way.

d. When was FAO founded?

- It was founded in October 16, 1945, in Quebec, Canada.

e. Each year, FAO releases a World Food of Agriculture statistics pocketbook.
This publication presents, at a glance, selected key indicators on
agriculture and food security, and is meant as an easy-access quick
reference. Use the pocketbook as a reference to complete the following:

• List the 10 countries with the lowest life expectancy at birth. What do
they all have in common?

- Sierra Leone, Central African Republic, Chad, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Lesotho, Somalia,
South Sudan, Guinea-Bissau, Burundi.

- They are all african countries.

• List the top 5 countries with the highest rates of use of nitrogen
fertilizers, then list the top 5 countries with the highest rates of use of
phosphate fertilizers. What do these two lists have in common?

- China, India, Brazil, United States of America and Pakistan (phosphate fertilizers).

- China, India, United States of America, Brazil and Pakistan (nitrogen fertilizers).

- The same top 5 countries appear on both of the lists, and China is top 1 in use of both.

• Calculate the total population of the 5 countries listed in the previous

question. What percentage of the world’s population does that
number represent?

- China = 1.386.000.000
- India = 1.339.200.000
- Brazil = 209.288.300
- United States of America = 325.719.200
- Pakistan = 197.016.000
- Total = 3.457.223.500
- Percentage = 3.457.223.500/7.511.000.000 * 100 = 46%

• Define undernourishment

- Not having enough food or substances for good health and condition (poorly nourished).
• List the 20 countries with the highest number of undernourished
population. Group those countries by continent. In what continent can
you find most of the countries listed?

- Africa: Ethiopia, NIgeria, United Republic of Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Madagascar,

Sudan, Yemen, Mozambique, Zimbabwe

- Asia: India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines, Republic of Korea,

Afghanistan, Iraq, Viet Nam,

• How many African countries are in the top 20 list of countries with the
highest rate of children under 5 who are stunted? Please name them.

- Burundi, Eritrea, Timor-leste, Papua New Guinea, Madagascar, Guatemala, Yemen,

Pakistan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Nigeria, Mozambique, Democratic
Republic of Congo, Niger, Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Zambia, Chad,
Ethiopia, India, Sudan.

• How many million tons of fish came from aquaculture (fish farming) in
2016? What percentage of those tons was produced in China?

- Global aquaculture production (including aquatic plants) in 2016 was 110.2 million
tonnes. 59% of those tons were produced in China.

• List the top 5 countries with the highest greenhouse gas emissions in
agriculture.

- China, India, Brazil, United States of America, Indonesia.

 • Complete the following table for 2016:

____ ​ = WORLD
____ ​ = AFRICA
____ ​ = EUROPE

1995 2016 change 1995 2016 change 1995 2016 change

% % %

population 5751.5 7550.3 31.28 7222.9 1.256.3 73.80 728.1 742.1 1.90
(millions)

Rural 3173.8 3373.5 6.30 479.6 580.8 21.10 215.4 193.2 -10.30
Population
(millions)

GDP per 8225 15080 85.6 3.033 4.635 52.82 21.602 31.765 47.04
Capita
(US$)

Stunting x 22.7 x x 30.3 x x x x

children
under five
(%)