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QUALITY MARKERS OF ORGANIC AGRICULTURE PRODUCTS

G. QUAGLIA, G. BONAFACCIA, E. FINOTTI AND F.M.BUCARELLI


INTRODUCTION

The fundamental role played by agriculture in a global social system and the negative environmental aspects of conventional agriculture have oriented the whole system towards new forms of agriculture. During the past few years we observed a constant trend of positive growth trend of organic agriculture. In the last decade organic agriculture has been able to extend its own dimension to become a significant landmark for agriculture.

ORGANIC AGRICULTURE (ITALY)

In Table 1 the amount of farms and organically cultured areas in different Italian regions are reported. The Mediterranean regions are the leaders in Italian organic farming. The first is Sardinia with 135 797 hectares, followed by Sicily with 125 903 hectares; other significant regions are Tuscany with 22 784 hectares, Emilia Romagna with 46 473 hectares, Puglia with 94 875 hectares and Latium with 25 885 hectares.

We must underline the fast development in these regions; Puglia and Calabria, for example, in one year, have doubled the number of farms involved in organic agriculture.

Table 1. Italian situation as of 31 September 1998 (data from the Ministry of Agriculture)

Regions

Farms

OA
Hectares

CA
Hectares

OA+CA
Total hectares

OA/CA
%

Piemonte

1 016

262

16 913

17.175

1.53

Valle d'Aosta

6

1

331

332

0.34

Liguria

105

20

1 273

1 293

1.59

Lombardia

553

97

10 151

10 248

0.95

Trentino A.A.

168

2

997

999

0.25

Veneto

662

41

5 998

6 039

0.69

Friuli V.G.

116

2

730

732

0.29

Emilia R.

2 212

1 784

46 689

48 473

3.84

Toscana

616

542

22 242

22 784

2.38

Marche

1 254

932

21 539

22 471

4.15

Umbria

382

207

8 941

9 148

2.27

Lazio

1 993

838

25 047

25 885

3.24

Abruzzo

412

47

4 857

4 904

0.97

Molise

255

45

3 270

3 315

1.38

Campania

486

60

6 114

6 174

0.97

Puglia

4 275

6 347

88 528

94 875

6.69

Basilicata

183

46

5 178

5 224

0.89

Calabria

1 672

990

24 151

25 141

3.94

Sicilia

8 270

10 324

115 579

125 903

8.20

Sardegna

4 754

13 620

122 177

135 797

10.03

Total

29 390

21 636

543 277

564 913

3.83

OA= organic agriculture, CA= conventional agriculture in conversion phase

Cereals are the most widespread cultures in Italy, however, economically, horticulture and fruit growing are the most important sectors followed by viticulture and olive culture.

In Italy there are 29 390 organic farms and 820 transformation companies. The total area interested in organic agriculture is 564 913 hectares of which 543 277 is in conversion. On the whole, organic and conversion agriculture areas are 3.83 percent of the total cultured areas in Italy with particular high values in Sardinia (10.03 percent) and Sicily (8.20 percent).

Today the market appears well prepared in this field. A wide variety of foods using products from organic agriculture is available: yoghurt, milk, fruit juices, jam, bakery products, oils, wines, honey, flour, etc. Part of the Italian production is exported to EU countries, particularly Italian pasta.

For these reasons and in order to better characterize organic products and distinguish them from others and in order to satisfy market demand, the Italian Ministry of Agriculture funded the following scientific project.

DEFINITION AND EVALUATION OF ORGANIC PRODUCTS

The research project principally uses two approaches (agronomic and dietary) and is subdivided into four sub-projects. The tested products included for experimental production were:

and for commercial production:

The agronomic approach is used to evaluate how organic agronomic techniques, without use of synthetic chemical compounds, can influence the chemical composition of the products as compared with those from conventional production techniques.

The dietary approach evaluates the influence of a total organic food diet or a partial organic food diet on human nutrition and the relative nutrient contribution.

Sub-project n° 1: Experimental Production for Trade

Sub-project n°2: Nutritional, Chemical-physic and Sensory Quality in Organic Agriculture Products

Sub-project n° 3: Safety

Sub-project n°4: Nutritional Surveillance and Consumer Choice

Results from the Whole Project

Among others, the following benefits/results are expected from the project:

Follow-up

REFERENCES

Altieri, M.A., Letourneau, D.K.. and Davis, J.R. (1983): "Developing sustainable agro-ecosystems", BioScience, 33: 45 p.

Campigli, E. and Caporali, F. (1995): "Comparison of different soil coverage techniques in special orchards in Alto Lazio", Rivista di Frutticultura e di Ortofloricoltura, 57: 57 p.

Campiglia, E. and Caporali, F. (1996): "Management of a subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L) sward to be used as a cover crop in specialist orchards", Rivista di Agronomia, 30: 43 p.

Jijkli, M. and Lepoivre, P. (1995): "Use of biological pesticides for the protection of apples in storage", Fruit Belge, 63: 83-88 pp.

Stirzaker, R.J. and Bunn, D.G. (1996): "Phytotoxicity of ryegrass and clover cover crops and a lucerne alley crop for no-till vegetable production", Biol. Agric. and Hortic., 13: 83 p.

Walsh, B.D. Salmins, S., Buszard, D.J. and MacKenzie, A.F. (1996): "Impact of soil management system on organic dwarf apple orchards and soil aggregate stability, bulk density, temperature and water content", Canadian J. of Soil Science, 76: 203 p.

Wani, S.P., Lee, K.K. and Thampan, P.K. (1995): "Microorganisms as biological inputs for sustainable agriculture", Organic Agriculture, 39: 76 p.

Worsham, A.D. (1991): "Allelopathic cover crops to reduce herbicide input", Proceedings of the 44th Annual Meeting of the Southern Weed Science Society, 58 p.

Anonymous (1998): Bio Fax, 16-30 Settembre 1998, n°17 anno V.

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