3Producing enough food to meet the needs of a growing population has always been the greatest 4 concern of food policy-makers around the world. Given the increasing attention to organic 5 farming (OF), we conducted this study to investigate the main opportunities and challenges of 6 the food production system of small-scale farmers in developing countries with an emphasis on 7 their livelihoods. The study showed that the most significant advantages of OF are 8 environmental protection and a higher resilience to environmental changes, increasing farmers' 9 income and reducing external input cost, enhancing social capacity and increasing employment 10 opportunities. A s well as enhancing food security primarily by increasing the food purchasing 11 power of local people. However, the main challenges of this food production system include 12 lower yields in comparison to conventional systems, difficulties with soil nutrient management, 13 certification and market barriers, and the educational and research needs of small-holders. The 14 paper concludes that even though OF might present some significant challenges to small-scale 15 farmers, it could/should still be considered as a part of the solution and means of improving 16 their livelihoods.

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