Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 2
Analysis of Production and Consumption of Organic
Products in South Africa
Maggie Kisaka-Lwayo and Ajuruchukwu Obi
Additional information is available at the end of the chapter
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/58356
1. Introduction
Food and nutritional security remain an issue of global concern especially in developing
countries. The practice of organic agriculture has been identified as a pathway to sustainable
development and enhancing food security. Arguably, the most sustainable choice for agricul‐
tural development and food security is to increase total farm productivity
in situ
, in developing
countries particularly sub-Saharan Africa. Attention must focus on the following: (i) the extent
to which farmers can improve food production and raise incomes with low-cost, locally-
available technologies and inputs (this is particularly important at times of very high fuel and
agro-chemical prices); (ii) whether they can do this without causing further environmental
damage; and (iii) the extent of farmers' ability to access markets [1]. Organic farming is one of
the sustainable approaches to farming that can contribute to food and nutritional security [2].
Driven by increasing demand globally, organic agriculture has grown rapidly in the past
decade [3]. Policy makers at the primary end of the food chains must wrestle with the dual
objective of reducing poverty and increasing the flow of ecosystem services from rural areas
occupied by small scale farmers and/or family farms [4].
Expectedly, a paradigm shift towards this realization of organic agriculture's role in food and
nutritional security is emerging [5]. The United Nations Environmental Programme-United
Nations Conference on Trade and Development, UNEP-UNCTAD [6] indicates that organic
agriculture offers developing countries a wide range of economic, environmental, social and
cultural benefits. On the development side, organic production is particularly well-suited for
smallholder farmers, who make up the majority of the worlds' poor. Resource poor farmers
are less dependent on external resources, experience higher yields on their farms and enjoy
enhanced food security [7]. Organic agriculture in developing countries builds on and keeps
alive their rich heritage of traditional knowledge and traditional land races. It has been
