Organic research contributes to sector development and good organic policy: the Danish, Swiss, American and African case studies.

Abstract

Abstract Research in ten countries (in Africa, America and Europe) has shown that organic research promotes evidence-based policy development. A seven countries study by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) (2008) on how governments can assist organic sectors, provided guidelines about: (i) regulation; (ii) special support for small-scale farmers; and (iii) underpinning the emergence of a market for organic produce without distorting this market. Eight years later, UNCTAD published a further report on financing organic agriculture (OA) in Africa, which concluded that lack of finance hinders the development of OA in Africa. These reports emphasize the need for OA research and this chapter analyses three long-term research projects. The Swiss long-term research trials showed many benefits of organic farming, but also limitations, with yields 20% lower than conventional farming; they cite many researchers around the world who show the benefits of OA, and argue for the establishment of a global platform for organic farming research, innovation and technology transfer. Long-term research has had a major impact on production, processing, marketing and consumption of organic produce worldwide, as shown by Danish research through four research programmes at Aarhus University (which contributed to sales of organic produce increasing from US$80 million in 1996 to US$821 million in 2010), and this assisted many Danish farmers to expand production and understand the needs of the market. Danish policy makers took note and formulated more supportive organic farming policies. In the USA, the Rodale Institute in Pennsylvania carried out long-term research trials to show that OA can be economically competitive, while benefiting the environment and the health of consumers; they showed that in dry years, organic crops outyield conventional crops. All three studies had close links with agricultural policy, but the Danish and Swiss studies were more sympathetically received and resulted directly in positive changes to agricultural policies in those countries.