ISSN No. (Print): 0975-1130 ISSN No. (Online): 2249-3239 The Role of Organic Farming in Improving Food Security in Fars Province Laleh Morshedi, Farhad Lashgarara, Seyed Jamal F Hosseini and Maryam Omidi Najafabadi Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran (Corresponding author: Laleh Morshedi) (Received 09 June, 2015, Accepted 03 August, 2015) (Published by Research Trend, Website: www.researchtrend.net) ABSTRACT: The present investigation was undertaken to study the role of organic farming in improving food security in Fars province. Out of a total of 187 samples collected. A questionnaire was developed to collect data. The validity of the questionnaire confirmed by experts and reliability was measured using Cronbach Alpha coefficient and 98% was estimated by the SPSS16 software. Evaluation showed that rate of food security among majority of respondents was in moderate level. The results indicated that reliance on locally available production assets were determined as the most important capability of capacity building in enhancing food security. Based on the results of the study, it is recommended to use organic farming to improve Food security. INTRODUCTION Access to desirable, sufficient, safe and nutritious food is a basic component of development and health of a society. Thus, when developing country goals and priorities, food security is of utmost importance (Lashgarara et al., 2009). Food insecurity is one of the most pressing challenges, particularly in developing countries (WHO, 2013). There is a general movement in the agricultural sector aimed at developing sustainable agriculture as a means of improving peoples' livelihoods. Many NGOs, CBOs and the government promoted an approach to agriculture which would allow for the safeguarding of food security, help to provide income, maintain soil fertility and control pests. From here, it was only a small step towards embracing organic agriculture, which, with its emphasis on nature, was found to be palatable (Taylor, 2006). However, hunger, poverty and environmental degradation persist even as concerns about global human security issues continue to increase. Moreover, the last decades provide uncompromising evidence of diminishing returns on grains despite the rapid increases of chemical pesticide and fertilizer applications, resulting in lower confidence that these high input technologies will provide for equitable household and national food security in the next decades. Overall, global cereal output is declining, mainly among the major producing and exporting countries (Scialabba, 2007). According to WHO (2013), food security is achieved when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life. Food security can also be considered as a function of food availability, food accessibility, food stability and food utilization (WHO, 2013). Food security can be summarized according to three factors: food availability, food accessibility and food utilization. Food availability is achieved when a sufficient amount of food is constantly available for all members of society. This kind of food can be obtained through household production, local production, imports or food aids. Food accessibility is obtained when households and individuals have sufficient sources to consume a suitable diet. In other words, food accessibility is possible if the household income allows for the preparation and purchase of enough food (Bakhtiari & Haghi 2003). Organic agriculture as a holistic production management system that avoids use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and genetically modified organisms, minimizes pollution of air, soil and water, and optimizes the health and productivity of interdependent communities of plants, animals and people. Finally, "organic agriculture" is not just about production. It includes the entire food supply chain, from production and handling, through quality control and certification, to marketing and trade (Scialabba, 2007). Organic farming seems to be a viable option to improve food security of smallholding farms by increasing income/decreasing input cost; producing more for home consumption, and adopting ecologically sustainable practices with locally available resources but, improvement is needed further for all dimensions of food security (Panneerselvam et al., 2011). Biological Forum – An International Journal 7(2): 426-429(2015)