Ecological organic farming provides many benefits for health, the environment and societal welfare, but is generally perceived as not productive enough to meet growing food demands. However, research has demonstrated that farm productivity on well-managed organic farms can match that of conventional – this requires active, holistic management practices, e.g., crop diversification via crop rotations, intercropping, agroforestry, effective pest and disease control, water management amoung other practices.

This factsheet discusses some best organic practices for good yields in ecological organic systems, the role of diversity, and highlights some opportunities and challenges with selected crops in organic production. The information is based on long-term experiments and on-farm research conducted in the scope of three projects across different countries in Africa, as well as Bolivia and India. Further products in the series, e.g., posters, videos and more, are linked in the 'Further information' section on the last page of this factsheet.