the world of organic agriculture - Organic Eprints

6 Crop Statistics and Information on four Main Crops
• The collected plants need to be naturally grown;
• The collection area needs to be clearly defined;
• The collection area has not been treated with any prohibited inputs (according to the
organic regulation) and is free of major sources of contamination;
• The collection is sustainable;
• Full traceability of the product flow: It needs to be possible to track the products back
to the area where they were grown.
• All parties involved in the collection are bound by contract to following the rules of
organic collection
There is no conversion period for wild collection projects as long as the requirements for organic
wild collection are met at the first inspection.
According to IFOAM, there is significant trade in “organic” wild products, including products
for direct consumption, such as berries, mushrooms and a wide variety of herbs. There is
also a growing interest in organic wild products by the body care medicinal herb sectors. At a
conference, to take place May 3 and 4, 2006 in Bosnia, a wide range of issues related to organic
wild collection 5 will be addressed.
Table 8: Certified organic agricultural land and area with wild collection by continent
continent total land under
organic management
(ha)
forest and wild
collection
total area: certified
agr.land and
wild collection
Africa 1’025’898 6’752’630 7’778’528
Asia 4‘063‘999 6’420’251 10‘484‘250
Europe 6‘500‘365 550’461 7‘050‘826
Latin America 6‘362‘891 5’950’968 12‘313‘860
North America 1‘377‘800 1’377’799
Oceania 12‘171‘833 12‘171‘833
Total area covered by the
FiBL survey 2005/2006 31’502’786 19’674’311 51‘177’097
6.1.2 Arable Land by Continent and Crop Category
On a global level, arable land accounts for one quarter of the organic agricultural land for which
information was available. Most of the world’s organic arable land is in Europe, followed by North
America and Asia. Details are not available for about one third of the arable land. Most is used for
cereals, followed by field fodder crops and vegetables.
5 The 1st IFOAM Conference on Organic Wild Production. May 3-4, 2006 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, see http://www.
ifoam.org/events/ifoam_conferences/IFOAM_Wild_Conference.html
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