Organic Farming Milestones

Milestones In Organic Farming

The organic movement began as a reaction of a few scientists and farmers against the commercialization of agriculture using excessive chemical inputs. Advances in biochemistry that led to using of urea as a source for nitrogen and development in engineering that led to the discovery of the internal combustion engine in the early 20th century made profound changes in farming. Ammonium nitrate, used in ammunitions, became an abundantly cheap source of nitrogen. DDT, originally developed by the military to control disease-carrying insects affecting troops, was applied to crops, launching the era of widespread pesticide use. Innovation in all aspects of agriculture, like advances in large-scale irrigation, fertilization, and the use of hybrid seeds, pushed up the agricultural output to grow in size. The cropping became more efficient with the widespread use of chemicals and machinery resulting in reaping bumper harvests. Many of us were happy with these modern farming methods that led to the Green Revolution.

However, there were a few farmers and scientists who were very cautious about these rapid changes. They started critically examining the changes happening in the soil, environment, plants, and food that is produced and the health of the people. They also suggested alternative farming strategies to protect the environment as well as the health of the people. These initiatives formed the basis for the organic farming movement. It will be interesting to review these initiatives here.

The first initiative was in Germany, by Rudolf Steiner and his book Spiritual Foundations For The Renewal Of Agriculture, published in 1924. It led to the popularization of the unique farming concept called Biodynamic Agriculture. This was probably the first comprehensive alternate farming system that came up against the chemical method. The labeling of the produce from biodynamic farms as ‘Demeter‘ certified came into use.

The British Botanist, Sir Albert Howard studied traditional farming practices in Bengal, India. He regarded such practices as superior to modern agricultural practices and recorded them in his 1940 book, An Agricultural Testament. The term “Organic Farming” was coined by Lord Northbourne in his book “Look To The Earth“, from his conception of the farm as an organism.

Lady Eve Balfour, author of the organics classic The Living Soil, established the pioneering Haughley Experiment in organic farming on her Suffolk Farm, UK in 1939. In the US, J. I. Rodale popularized organic gardening among consumers during the 1940s and published the first issue of Organic Farming and Gardening.

In 1962, Rachel Carson, a prominent scientist, and naturalist published Silent Spring, chronicling the effects of DDT and other pesticides on the environment. It was a truly significant event in the history of organic farming. The book and the author are often credited with launching the worldwide environmental movement.

In the early 1970s, David Holmgren and Bill Mollison started to develop ideas that they hoped could be used to create stable agricultural systems or permanent agriculture. A design approach called permaculture emerged with the publication of Permaculture One in 1978.

In 1972, the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements [ IFOAM ] was founded in Versailles, France. IFOAM was dedicated to the diffusion of information on the principles and practices of organic agriculture across national and linguistic boundaries. In the 1980s, various farming and consumer groups worldwide began pressing for government regulation of organic production. This led to the emergence of legislation and certification standards beginning in the 1990s. Since the early 1990s, the retail market for organic farming in developed countries has grown about 20 percent annually. Small independent producers and consumers initially drove the rise of organic farming. However, the volume and variety of “organic” products expanded with large commercial farms.

 

• Milestones In Organic Farming Movement

1924 Demeter biodynamic label founded.
1940 Sir Albert Howard publishes An Agricultural Testament.
1942 J.I. Rodale publishes the first issue of Organic Farming and Gardening.
1943 Lady Eve Balfour publishes The Living Soil.
1946 Soil Association was founded in the UK.
1967 Soil Association publishes the first Organic Standards.
1972 Founding of IFOAM.
1974 Oregon State [ US ] adopts Organic Legislation.
1979 First California Organic Foods Act adopted.
1980 IFOAM Basic Standards published.
1985 France adopts organic legislation.
1990 Organic Foods Production Act passed in the United States.
1991 EU Regulation 2092/91 adopted.
1992 Establishment of the IFOAM Accreditation Program.
1999 Codex Alimentarius guidelines adopted.
1999 EU organic livestock regulation published.
2000 Japanese organic regulation published.
2002 NPOP [ National Program for Organic Production ].

The global organic area is around 31 million hectares at present. There are about 61 organic standards and 395 certification bodies undertaking organic certification. The world organic market is worth 26 billion US$. The organic farming area in India is about 2.5 million hectares. This includes the certified forest areas also. India has developed National Standard under the NPOP program. The National Centre of Organic Farming located at Ghaziabad, U.P. [ Ministry of Agriculture ] is promoting organic farming as a facilitator across the country and providing various assistance to organic entrepreneurs and farmers.

 

Present Status

Organic farming is developing rapidly. Its share of agricultural land and farms continues to grow in many countries. Furthermore, it can reasonably be assumed that uncertified organic farming is practiced in several countries. According to the latest survey of organic farming worldwide, the 31 million hectares of organic farming area are currently managed by around 633,891 farmers. This constitutes 0.7 percent of the agricultural land of the countries covered by a recent survey. In total, Oceania holds 39 percent of the world’s organic land, followed by Europe [ 23 percent ] and Latin America [ 19 percent ].

In India, the formally certified area under organic cultivation is about 1.74 lakh hectares. The number of organic farms and proportion of organic production to that of conventionally managed land, however, is highest in Europe. There has been major growth in organic land in North America and in Europe. In North America, this constitutes an increase of almost 30 percent. In most countries organic farming is on the rise, however, there has been decreasing in organic land [ Extensive Pastoral Land ] in China, Chile, and Australia.

The global survey on organic agriculture also contains information on the main land uses and the importance of some crops in a global context. For 90 percent of the organic land, at least some information on its uses was available. Some of the recent trends show that the number one country for organic citrus fruit production is Italy; Mexico is the biggest organic coffee producer and the Dominican Republic is a major producer of organic cocoa. The leaders in organic grape production are Italy, Spain, and France. Tunisia has the largest areas of organic olives.

 

Global Market

Global sales of organic food and drink have increased by 43 percent from 23 billion US$  [ 17.8 billion Euros ] in 2002 with sales reaching 33 billion US$ [ 25.5 billion Euros ] in 2005. The Organic Monitor expects sales to reach 100 billion US$ by 2010. Although organic agriculture is now present in most parts of the globe, demand remains concentrated in Europe and North America. The two regions are experiencing under supply because production is not enough to meet the demand. Thus, large volumes of imports are coming in from other regions.

 

Standards And Regulations

The development of a legal framework for organic production at the international level was a major activity. Many countries have passed legislation and others have elaborated drafts or revised existing legislation. The revision process of EU regulation 2092/91 on organic agriculture, however, received the most international attention in 2006. The process began at the end of 2005 and was almost finalized in December 2006 when the European Agriculture and Fisheries Council agreed on the outline of the new organic regulation. More than 60 countries already have a regulation for organic products. India has developed its organic standards and regulation under the name of the National Program for Organic Production [ NPOP ].

 

Certifications And Accreditation

Currently, 395 organizations worldwide offer organic certification services. Most certification bodies are in Europe [160], followed by Asia [93] and North America [80]. The countries with the most certification bodies are the US, Japan, China, and Germany. Some certification organizations also operate outside their home country. Forty percent of the certification bodies are approved by the European Union, 32 percent have IS0 65 accreditation, and 28 percent are accredited under the US National Organic Program.

Lack of acceptance and recognition between the different certification and accreditation systems contradicts the objective of enhancing trade, market development, and fostering confidence. An important initiative for international harmonization is the IFOAM Accreditation Program, which assesses certification bodies against the IFOAM norms.

Currently, 32 certification bodies operating in over 70 countries around the world have voluntarily submitted themselves to the IFOAM accreditation process. A recent development is the International Task Force on Harmonization and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture (ITF) aiming at a general consensus on harmonizing the private players with the government and government standards/regulations.

Australia is the country with the most organic land. Number two is Argentina, which had an area of 300,000 hectares, followed by China. Major increases in organic land in the United States have made this country number four, followed by Italy. The top 10 countries have 23.7 million hectares together, thus constituting more than three-quarters of the world’s organic land.