JOELLE KATTO-ANDRIGHETTO1
In the past few years, there has been a worldwide trend of emergence of diverse policy support for organic agriculture. In 2016, IFOAM - Organics International conducted a global study on policies implemented by various levels of governments (local and national governments) to promote organic agriculture. In this chapter, we present a few of the latest pro-organic policy developments of 2016.
Sri Lanka: Support for organic agriculture comes from the highest political level whereby the country’s president is pushing for eliminating the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. The president launched the “Toxin Free Nation Program” in March 2016, a 3-year plan adopted by the Ministry of Agriculture, which lays down ten areas of action to phase out toxic chemicals from Sri Lankan agriculture through a step-by-step process. As part of the plan, Sri Lanka started in 2016 with subsidizing organic fertilizers to the same extent as chemical ones. The program also foresees the establishment of full facilities required to conduct research into indigenous natural (organic) agriculture systems. It commits to increase state interventions and investments to expand the use of traditional seeds and to prevent the subjugation of the monopoly in seeds to corporations.
India: In 2016 both the federal and state governments have taken unprecedented initiatives to support organic agriculture. The federal government launched the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana, a program that packages several types of support measures to organic agriculture, with a budget of around 40 million euros. Despite the uncertainties about the inclusion of Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) in the upcoming organic regulation for the domestic market, the Ministry of Agriculture continues to support PGS and has opened, in its office in New Delhi, the first government-run organic shop selling only PGS-certified products from the country.
Third-party certification is also supported; for the first time, the federal government has extended financial support ranging from 27’000 euros to 234’000 euros to the State Governments of eight North Eastern states for setting up public organic certification bodies and obtaining accreditation. Last year, the State of Gujarat announced that it will set up India’s first university exclusively dedicated to organic farming and research.
Peru: PGS also progresses in other countries, despite regulatory challenges. In 2016, the regional government of Hancavelica in Peru approved a regional policy recognizing PGS as alternative tool to achieve sustainable development and to foster organic agriculture in the region among small-scale farmers. This happened in a context where the national government continues to exclude PGS in its national organic regulation.
1 Joelle Katto-Andrighetto, Organic Policy & Guarantee Manager, IFOAM - Organics International, Bonn, Germany, http://www.ifoam.bio/en/what-we-do/organic-policy-guarantee
Armenia: The government requested a development cooperation project with the European Union to develop organic agriculture in the country. The Organic Agriculture Support Initiative project funded by the European Union started in 2015 and is implemented by the Austrian Development Agency. It combines a range of support measures to boost national capacities and policies in favour of organic agriculture.
China: Capacity development is on the agenda in China. The government, in its 5-year plan 2016 to 2020, is planning to invest around 187 million euros in new farmers training. The training will be for farmers and farm managers with a preference for young graduates from college interested in agriculture. The program has a focus on organic, ecological, and sustainable agriculture with the aim to have one million qualified farmers with international market access by 2020.
United States: In 2016, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) eliminated most inequalities with regard to the compensations between organic and conventional crops in its crop insurance program and made the application process easier and more affordable for diversified small farms. At the state level, the first tax credit for organic farmers was created in June 2016 with the approval of a Hawaii (House) Bill that allocates 2 million US dollars for tax credits to offset the 25 percent organic certification cost not covered by the federal certification cost share program and to subsidize organic farming equipment, materials, and supplies.
Canada: The Quebec Ministry of Agriculture announced a support of 600’000 Canadian dollars to the Quebec organic umbrella association for the implementation of an organic consumer awareness-raising campaign.
Argentina: In 2016, the government announced an innovative form of support in order to promote organic exports, the complete removal of export taxes on organic products of plant origin.
Brazil: The year 2016 has had very mixed outcomes. On the positive side, in April, the city of Sao Paolo passed a decree that set a target for turning 100 percent of the school meals organic by 2026. There are two million school meals offered in the city every year.
At the national level, the PLANAPO, the main plan for the development of agroecology and organic agriculture, was in full swing. It contained many important measures to support organic development, including ambitious public procurement targets. On the negative side, after the removal of Brazil’s president in 2016, agroecological family agriculture has experienced significant setbacks. The new government abolished the Ministry of Agrarian Development, which had been coordinating important rural development projects with an agroecological and family farming focus. The PLANAPO has been greatly cut back, going from a broad cross-ministerial resource with support from 11 ministries to only two ministries now.
More information on policies and programs implemented by various governments to support organic agriculture can be found on the IFOAM - Organics International website, in the form of a Global Toolkit available for free download at www.ifoam.bio/en/global-policy-toolkit-public-support-organic-agriculture-0.
Africa
Map 2: Organic agricultural land in the countries of Africa 2015
Source: FiBL survey 2017, based on information from the private sector, certifiers, governments, and for North Africa, the Mediterranean Organic Agriculture Network (MOAN).
For detailed data sources see annex, page 316