the world of organic agriculture - Organic Eprints

11 The Contribution of Organic Farming to Sustainable Development
Organic farms produce more
Organic agriculture is based on a combination
of traditional, indigenous knowledge and
insights of modern agro-ecological research.
In traditional farming systems organic
agriculture often enables a direct increase
in production. In the long run this is even
possible for the conversion of high-input
farming systems. Additionally, organic farms
harvest more products on the same area, thus
providing more food for the farmers’ families
and reducing the dependency on one product
in the market.
Picture 3: The farmers of the organic coconut cooperative
in Baracoa (Cuba) produce more than just
coconut: intercropping of different fruit (coconut,
mango, citrus, banana, avocado etc.) and vegetables
(beans, maize, lettuce, yams, sweet potatoes etc.) enables them to harvest more products on the same rea and to
sell organic products on the local and international market at the same time. Photograph Lukas Kilcher, FiBL
Organic products provide market access and create added value
Certified organic products provide access to attractive local and international markets for
developing countries, while the producers generate higher incomes. In addition, thanks to longterm
contracts, income is generated more continuously than in conventional trade. In order
to guarantee a fair share of the international organic trade to those contributing most to the
production of food, trade must include social regulations. For this reason, numerous organic
products in developing countries also embrace social standards according to fair trade labels such
as “Max Havelaar” or “Transfair”.
Picture 4: Packing organic cherries for sales in Beirut.
In the northern part of Lebanon mountain farmers
produce high quality “baladi” (local) cherries and
apples. These products find ready markets in Lebanon
and contribute significantly to the farmers’ income.
With increasing demand from abroad, organic
certification becomes an important issue. The Swiss
State Secretary of Economic Affairs (SECO) funds a
FiBL-project to set up organic certification structures
in Lebanon and to improve market opportunities for
Lebanese organic products. Photograph: Paul van den
Berge, FiBL
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