The current status of organic farming in the world - focus on developing countries

Summary

It is generally acknowledged that organic agriculture can contribute to socio-economic and ecologically sustainable development, especially in poorer countries. The market for organic products is growing and offers producers and exporters in the South opportunities to improve their incomes and living conditions. But what role does organic farming play in the poorer countries?
Some current data are presented in this paper, based on the global survey on organic farming carried out annually by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL and the Foundation Ecology and Agriculture SOEL in co-operation with the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements IFOAM.
Organic agriculture is developing rapidly and is now practiced in more than 120 countries of the world. Its share of agricultural land and farms continues to grow in many countries.
According to the latest survey (Willer/Yussefi 2007), almost 31 million hectares of agricultural land are managed organically (data as of end 2005). This constitutes 0.7% of the agricultural land of the countries (123) covered by the survey. In total, Oceania holds 39% of the world’s organic land, followed by Europe (23%) and Latin America (19%). Currently, the country with the largest organic area is Australia (11.8 million hectares). The proportion of organically compared to conventionally managed land, however, is highest in Europe. In the European Union almost 4% of the land is under organic management.