The crop yield gap between organic and conventional agriculture

• Published in: Agricultural systems Vol. 108; pp. 1 - 9
• Main Authors: de Ponti, Tomek, Rijk, Bert, van Ittersum, Martin K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.04.2012
• Subjects: animal manures; Conventional agriculture; crop rotation; crop yield; Farming system design; farming-systems; farms; food security; foods; input; legumes; management; nitrogen; nutrient availability; Organic agriculture; organic production; pests; phosphorus; Potential production; productivity; quality; rice intensification; world; World food security; Yield gap; Conventional agriculture; Yield gap; Organic agriculture; Potential production; World food security; Farming system design

► We analyzed 362 published organic–conventional comparative crop yields. ► The organic yield gap is 20%, but differs somewhat between crops and regions. ► We found a weak indication of an increasing yield gap as conventional yields increase. ► We hypothesize that when upscaling to farm/regional lev...