Organic Directions:The World, Australia & WA

Summary

Organic agriculture in Australia is a success story. Certified organic agriculture in Australia accounts for 35.6 million hectares which is 8.8% of Australia’s agricultural land. The rate of growth of organics in Australia has been16.5% per annum for the past two decades. Based on certified hectares, Australia is now the world leader in organics, and now accounts for more than fifty percent of the world’s certified organic hectares.
The development of organic agriculture throughout Australia has been somewhat uneven. The map of organic agriculture in Australia, reveals that South Australia and Queensland are the standout leaders based on certified hectares. Western Australia is underperforming on this metric (as are also Victoria and Tasmania). The map of organic producers reveals good prospects for growth in organics hectares for Victoria and Tasmania (and the opportunity for growth in WA).
The prospects for organics are very favourable, with most adults agreeing with the proposition that it is unsafe to eat food grown with pesticides. Globally, substantial numbers of shoppers seek organic foods and avoid genetically modified (GM) foods.
Western Australia has 4.70 million hectares of certified organic land. This compares to 0.96 million hectares of GM crops (canola and cotton). There is a price premium for organic. In contrast, GM canola sells at a discount of about 10% compared to non-GM canola.
Western Australia has a long history of engagement with organics dating from 1928 when members of the Genoni family, including those who farmed near Broomehill and Kojonup, took up Rudolf Steiner’s biodynamic farming ideas.
The state of Sikkim in India has recently achieved the distinction of becoming the world’s first state to be 100% organic, with all farmers and all agricultural land now certified. Other states in India are following Sikkim’s lead. The Dominican Republic has taken an alternative path to growing organics, and it accounts for 55% of the world’s organic bananas.
The prospects for the growth of organics in WA are good. A new dedicated organics advocacy entity with a passion, a mission, a plan and a view to succession could well serve the cause of organics in WA, grow the sector, and enhance the perception of WA as a source of premium food and crops.