ORGANIC HORTICULTURE
Background on organic agriculture in AGPC
FAO expert group workshop on the preparation of technical guidelines on the
organic cultivation of tropical and subtropical fruits. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - 22-26 July 2002
Background on organic agriculture in AGPC
In the past 15-20 years, the organic market, while remaining a niche sector, has
grown to a share of 1 to 1.5% of total spending on food in some countries, most
notably in the EU. Among these products, organic fruit and vegetables have been
expanding the fastest. Demand for organically produced meat and dairy products is
also rising rapidly, with a corresponding increase in the need for organically grown
forage and feed crops. Consumer demand is growing and in some countries it is
expected that organic food sales will reach 5 - 10 % of the market share by the year
2005. The market for organically produced crops and commodities has become more
structured as more and more countries have adopted uniform standards for organic
food production and for organic certification and labelling, and as the mainstream
supermarket trade has committed itself to developing organic food ranges. Whereas
both the production and the marketing of the organic cultivation of temperate crops
has evolved mostly in developed countries, the emergence of markets for tropical
and subtropical crops offers prospects, although still limited, for developing country
farmers to become involved.
Production of both pastures and tropical and sub-tropical crops under a certifiable
organic management regime may represent a window of opportunity for some
specialised producers when viewed from the viewpoint of added value. It is important
that potential organic producers are not only aware of the market opportunities but
are also able to make informed decisions about the suitability of organic systems.
Adaptation of efficient management practices for sustained organic production of
these crops is an area in which much still needs to be done, and one to which good
science can contribute much.
It is in response to the latter need that AGPC is working with research and
development organisations in a number of countries to build up the capability for
technical support to farmers who have decided to embark upon organic cultivation.
The main aim is to improve availability of and access to producers' technical
guidelines on organic agricultural production.
Initial progress achieved in this new thrust area includes:
- through participation in the FAO Interdepartmental Working Group on Organic
Agriculture, contributions towards developing FAO's policy and strategy on
organic agriculture
- the Horticultural Crops Group supported a workshop on organic greenhouse
production in Morocco where it was recommended that the FAO Network on
Greenhouse Production in North Africa and Near East include organic
greenhouse production in its activities
- a symposium on Organic Grassland Farming was supported, leading to FAO-
sponsored publication of the Proceedings
- the organisation of an expert meeting in 2002 for the formation of a dedicated
editorial group and the establishment of a calendar of work for preparing
guidelines on organic cultivation of fruit crops
- active participation in inter-organisational consultations to develop viable
strategies for overcoming the shortage of organically produced seed and planting
material as prescribe inputs for organic agriculture
- provision of technical advice to member countries for the development of
commercial organic agriculture
FAO expert group workshop on the preparation of technical guidelines on the
organic cultivation of tropical and subtropical fruits
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - 22-26 July 2002
Summary
In July 2002, the International Tropical Fruits Network
(TFNET), with financial and technical support from the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, convened an
international workshop on on technical guidelines for organic
cultivation of tropical and sub-tropical fruits. The workshop was
attended by participants from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh (BRAC), Cuba
(IIFT), Malaysia (TFNET, DOA, MARDI, private growers and NGO),
AGRECOL, IFOAM and FAO.
To briefly summarise the overall conclusions of the
workshop:
- It was recognised that farmers have difficulty finding
practical information about the organic cultivation of specific
fruit crops in the tropics and subtropics and that there is scope
for collaboration among fruit crop specialists and the organic
agriculture community in order to generate and disseminate
production guidelines that will help farmers meet certification
requirements and get returns.
- It is important to recognise that the principles of organic
agriculture imply a completely different approach to developing
crop management systems; nonetheless, crop science in all its
derivations offers much knowledge that can be adapted and used in
this pursuit.
- The mechanism of informal, flexible work groups, based on
voluntary collaboration and sharing of information, was found to
be appropriate for activating both editorial initiatives and
research/technology generation to meet the specific needs of
organic tropical fruit growers. It will be important to find ways
of integrating the experience of pioneering organic farmers in
the method of work adopted.
- The joint sponsorship by FAO, IFOAM, and TFNET of these
initiatives should be a significant message to potential
collaborators, as well as sponsors and donors, and will help to
impress upon the scientific, organic and trade communities the
importance of collaboration for mainstreaming organic
agriculture.
The meeting agreed to workplans for the compilations technical
guidelines on the organic cultivation of citrus, mango, papaya
and pineapple. The informal working groups all work with a
lead/coordination writer who is to ensure the timetable and who
is to unify the contributions of the different authors.
After finalizing the drafts, the documents will be reviewed to
IFOAM, FAO, TFNET and the Directorate of Agriculture
(Horticulture Department), Malaysia. After editing the documents
will be published, initially in electronic form on the
internet.
Read the workshop report
