the world of organic agriculture - Organic Eprints

16 Organic Farming in Latin America
in the European and US-American import markets.
Meat exporting began ten years ago with beef, and recently Patagonian lamb became the
predominant export for international markets. In 2005 there were 656’000 sheep and 112’870
heads of cattle certified in Argentina.
All the products mentioned have been exported for years, many of them since 1992.
The domestic market has been working in the big cities since 1990, through home deliveries,
supermarkets and specialized shops, but had a downward trend during the economic crisis
in 2001 and 2002. Some important companies disappeared from the market (Sol de Acuario)
and others diminished their participation in the supermarket shelves. Home deliveries, with a
more direct relation with the consumers, were able to survive and are now in the upward trend
again (El Rincón Orgánico). Some deliveries carry more than 200 different products, especially
vegetables, fruits, oils, teas, breads, eggs and jams. There is also a big company (La Serenisima)
with a massive production of organic milk on more than 10’000 hectares and many associated
farms.
Argentina was the first Third World Country to have a national regulation adapted to the European
Union (1992) and the first to enter the third country list. There are 12 national certifiers, some
of them with a strong international presence (Argencert and OIA), and two are steadily growing
(Letis and Food Safety). There is no important activity of foreign certifiers.
Argentina has a strong umbrella organization, Movimento Argentino Para La Produccion
Organica (MAPO), which organizes programs, capacity building, research projects, conferences
and meetings. MAPO organized the 12th IFOAM Scientific Conference in Mar del Plata, 1998.
There is also a new Trade Chamber, Cámara Argentina de Productores Organicos Certificados
(CAPOC), a certifier’s chamber, CACERT, and many local and regional networks. Recently, all
these organizations gathered into an umbrella organization, S.O.A., the Argentine Organic
Sector.
Universities are quite active in organic issues, especially the National Buenos Aires University
UBA, the Catholic University and the Salvador University. The National Agrarian Research
Institute INTA has a whole area on organic farming, co-coordinated by a former IFOAM World
Board Member, Pedro Gomez. INTA also carries the biggest organic family garden project in the
world, PRO HUERTA, that reached almost one million families doing home organic farming in
the 1990´s, suffered a financial crisis, and has been back in action since 2003.
16.7.2 Bolivia
Bolivia has grown from 31’025 certified hectares in 2000 to 364’100 in 2002. In the same period,
the number of farms has gone from 5’240 to 6’500.
The most important products from Bolivia are coffee, quinoa, chestnut, cocoa, vegetables, tea,
herbs and lesser volumes of amaranth, dehydrated fruits and beans.
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