28/1/2005
Organic Farming May Help Reduce Rural Poverty

Chinese and Indian farmers who have switched from synthetic fertilizers to traditional forms of organic farming have earned more and achieved a higher standard of living, even though small farmers are often excluded from supportive government reform programmes, the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) said this week.

A report presented this week by IFAD says that organic production is growing steadily In China and India. The value of Chinese exports grew from less than $1 million in the mid-1990s to about $142 million in 2003, with more than 1,000 companies and farms certified, it says. In India, there has also been remarkable growth, with about 2.5 million hectares under organic farming and 332 new certifications issued during 2004.

In addition to bringing higher produce prices, lower unemployment and less rural emigration, the report concludes that organic farming reduces health risks posed by use of toxic chemicals, as well as saving on the high costs of chemical pesticides and fertilizers. The environment benefits from improved soil management and less-polluting techniques as well.

Farmers already producing for export have been benefiting from the boom in both countries, it says. Small farmers, however, are often denied government assistance in storing, processing, certifying and exporting their produce, while domestic markets for organic produce are very limited in China and even scarcer in India.

IFAD conducted a similar study in six Latin American countries in 2001 drawing similar conclusions. At that time, it pointed out that for small farmers to want to make the soil improvements that organic farming brings, they needed security of tenure, access to family labour and support organisations to help then with training, loans and collective marketing.