Food for the future, Organic farming takes root in post-bomb Bali

At the same time, somewhat less spectacularly, the agriculture sector has begun to transform itself, from the production of rice and subsidiary crops for subsistence, to a growing emphasis on cash crops. While some of the problems of Balinese agriculture have been exacerbated by tourism-driven prosperity and cultural modernisation, tourism has also provided new opportunities for agriculture, including a growing range of niche markets for premium and healthy foods for hotels, restaurants and the expatriate community.

Organic (or at least chemical-free) production has a potential double advantage: reducing the cash production costs for fertilizers and pesticides, plus producing a higher-cost product for this premium market. Several expatriate land-owners began growing organic food for their own families, but also as examples they hoped their neighbouring farmers might follow. Market gardeners in the mountains were quick to see these opportunities and many of them have converted to more or less organic production methods, to lower production costs as well as increasing the value of their crops.

http://blog.baliwww.com/environment-nature/1231/