Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
observed to strengthen communities and give youth incentive to keep farming, thus reducing
rural-urban migration. Farmers and their families and employees are no longer exposed to
hazardous agro-chemicals, which is one of the leading causes of occupational injury and death
in the world [7].
As organic production increases, so does the interest in organic market dynamics and studies
are being carried out in order to analyse the future potential for organic agriculture. Figure 1
shows the global markets for certified organic products. In 2009, the global market for certified
organic food and drink was estimated to be 54. 9 billion US dollars [8]. This represents a 37%
growth from 2006 sales estimated at 40. 2billionUS dollars and a 207% increase from year 2000
sales estimated at17. 9 billion US dollars. In Africa, most of the organic farms are small family
smallholdings [9] and certified organic production is mostly geared to products destined for
export beyond Africa's shores. However, local markets for certified organic products are
growing, especially in Egypt, South Africa, Uganda and Kenya [10]. Figure2 shows the ten
countries in Africa with the largest proportion of land allocated to organic agriculture. South
Africa has the third largest area under organic farming with 50, 000 hectares (ha), trailing
Tunisia which has the largest area of 154, 793ha and Uganda with 88, 439ha [11]. Approxi‐
mately 20% of the total area under certified organic farming in Africa is in South Africa, with
250 certified commercial farms [12]. With a few exceptions, notably Uganda, most African
countries do not have data collection systems for organic farming and certified organic farming
is relatively underdeveloped, even in comparison to other low-income continents. Some expert
opinions suggest that this is due to lack of awareness, low-income levels, lack of local organic
standards and other infrastructure for local market certification [13].
60
50
54.9
40
40.2
30
25.5
20
17.9
10
0
2000
2003
2006
2009
Year
Figure 1: Development of the global market for organic products
Figure 1.
Development of the global market for organic products
