Annex 4: Case study “Organic Farming” - ITAS

(88'439 hectares) and South Africa (50'000 hectares). The highest shares of organic land are
found in Sao Tome and Prince (5.2 percent), Tunisia (1.6 percent) and Uganda (0.7 percent).
It should be noted that some of the organic land in Africa that was previously classified as
‘agricultural land’ turned out to be certified wild collection, which plays a major role in
Africa (more than eight million hectares). Important wild collection products are honey and
gum Arabic.”
It can be stated that in most countries Organic Farming is not undertaken by average farms,
but by (in an African context) relatively large farms. In Western Uganda for example, the
average farm has less than one hectare [Okech et al. 2004], whereas the average Ugandan
organic farm has 3.6 hectares. In Kenya, farm sizes are at average 2 to 3 hectares [Qaim
1999], whereas the “organic” average in Kenya lies slightly above 6 hectares.
African organic market
Organic food production in Africa, which is also the majority of certified organic produce, is
destined for export markets, with the large majority being exported to the European Union.
Middle-Eastern cities like Dubai, Riyadh and Kuwait City are becoming important consumers
of organic products. Reason is the increasing health consciousness among the high societies
that take up residence in such fast developing centres.
The African market for organic products is still small. Certified organic products are currently
only recognized in a few domestic markets, including Egypt, South Africa, Uganda, Kenya
and Tanzania.
The access of small-scale farmers to specific organic markets is generally limited by the costs
of certification [Bues 2007, p.30]. According to Bues [2007, p.22ff] such certification is a
prerequisite for the access of most national outlets and always for the entry to the flourishing
export market. Lack of certification bodies, on the other hand, is not a primary obstacle. Bues
[2007, p.30] actually mentions five international and two national certification bodies
operating in Kenya and concludes the cost of certification to be the principal barrier for
smallholder involvement.
State support, standards, and regulations
For exports most African countries rely on foreign standards. To date, the majority of certified
organic production in Africa has been certified according to the EU regulation for organic
24