Press release number: IFAD 35/05

Adelaide, 20-23 September 2005 – The advantages of organic agriculture, which excludes the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, genetically modified organisms and pharmaceuticals, will be discussed at the Organic World Congress in Adelaide, Australia from 20 to 23 September.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will participate in the congress, along with the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM). The congress will be hosted by the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia (NASAA).

Participants will debate and discuss the important role that organic systems play in ensuring long-term sustainability, in line with the congress theme “Shaping Sustainable Systems”.

The results of two recent IFAD thematic evaluations of experiences with organic agriculture in Asia and Latin America will be presented during a workshop led by rural development expert Daniele P. Giovannucci. His presentation will draw primarily from the work of nine researchers on 14 case studies in China and India.

In China and India, organic production is growing steadily. The value of Chinese exports grew from less than US$1 million in the mid-1990s to about US$142 million in 2003 and were expected to reach US$200 million in 2004, with more than 1,000 companies and farms certified.

In India, there has also been remarkable growth, with about 2.5 million hectares under organic farming and 332 new certifications issued during 2004. Organic farming also leads to job creation, because it is labour intensive. Creating more jobs in areas with high unemployment can increase revenues in rural areas and reduce migration.

“Marginal and small farmers in China, India, Latin America and most probably in other developing countries, have a comparative advantage in shifting to organic agriculture, as the technologies they use are often very close to organic practices,” said Paolo Silveri, a senior evaluation officer at IFAD. “Still, many will face a number of obstacles to becoming certified organic producers, including lack of technical knowledge, inadequate market information, limited storage and processing facilities and complex certification processes.”

“This is where IFAD, the World Bank and other donors can step in to help,” said Silveri.

IFAD has found that organic agriculture can be particularly useful in environments where resources are scarce and cultivation is problematic.

The emerging market opportunities for organics appear to be conducive for the adoption of organic agriculture among small-scale farmers in India and China.

In China and India, where domestic markets for organic products are limited and the primary orientation is toward export sales, a surprising number of producers are focused on the local benefits of organic production. The reasons cited for using organic methods included lower production costs, improved soils, fewer toxic chemicals, self-reliance in inputs and harmony with nature.

Currently more than 26 million hectares of farmland are under organic management worldwide. Global organic sales have achieved double-digit annual growth for more than a decade. In 2003, the market value of organic products worldwide reached US$25 billion, with the largest share of organic products being marketed in Europe and North America.

Through its holistic nature, organic farming integrates wild biodiversity, agro-biodiversity and soil conservation, and takes low-intensity, extensive farming one step further by eliminating the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and genetically modified organisms (GMOs), which is not only an improvement for human health, but also for the fauna and flora associated with the farm environment.

Organic farming also offers more employment opportunities precisely because it is more labour intensive. In Karnataka, India, for example, the demand for women workers for crops such as tea and spices has increased by 40 per cent. In 2003, India’s organic exports stood at US$15.5 million and had about 2.5 million hectares under organic farming.

Recently IFAD has approved a grant to IFOAM in support of a regional programme to promote organic agriculture in the Pacific island countries. The programme will be executed by IFOAM and implemented in collaboration with local partner agencies in Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Timor Leste. The programme will help producers get certification for their harvests at an affordable cost, build the capacity of private institutions or government to certify organic agricultural products, and develop a set of region-wide standards for certification. It will also carry out a market analysis of current organic agriculture and fair trade producers in Pacific Island countries. IFAD will contribute US$200,000 towards the total cost of US$250,000. IFOAM and governments of Pacific Island countries will contribute the remainder of the funding. “This programme is the beginning of a long term engagement by IFAD in organic agriculture in the Pacific” said Mattia Prayer Galletti, Country Programme Manager, Asia & the Pacific division.

“Still the children are here”, a documentary about ancient methods of rice production used by indigenous people in India will be screened on Thursday 22 September at 12.30 pm. The documentary was produced for IFAD by Mira Nair.

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IFAD is a specialized agency of the United Nations dedicated to eradicating rural poverty in developing countries. Seventy-five per cent of the world's poorest people - 800 million women, children and men - live in rural areas and depend on agriculture and related activities for their livelihoods. Through low-interest loans and grants, IFAD works with governments to develop and finance programmes and projects that enable rural poor people to overcome poverty themselves.

There are 192 ongoing IFAD-supported rural poverty eradication programmes and projects, totalling US$6.5 billion. IFAD has invested about US$2.8 billion in these initiatives. Cofinancing has been provided by governments, beneficiaries, multilateral and bilateral donors and other partners. At full development, these programmes will help more than 100 million rural poor women and men to achieve better lives for themselves and their families. Since starting operations in 1978, IFAD has invested almost US$8.7 billion in 690 projects and programmes that have helped more than 250 million poor rural men and women achieve better lives for themselves and their families. Governments and other financing sources in the recipient countries, including project beneficiaries, have contributed about US$8.4 billion, and multilateral, bilateral and other donors have provided about US$6.9 billion in cofinancing.