A new study concludes that the number of organic farms worldwide has grown 10% from last year to 26 million hectares.
The study, “The World of Organic Agriculture Statistics and Emerging Trends 2005” was conducted by The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), the Swiss Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL, and the Foundation Ecology & Farming (SL), Germany.
Australia leads with 11.3 million hectares, followed by Argentina (2.8 million hectares) and Italy with more than one million hectares.
Regarding the share of organic farmland in comparison with the total agricultural area, Austria, Switzerland and Scandinavian countries lead the way. In Switzerland, for example, more than ten percent of the agricultural land is managed organically.
In 2003, the market value of organic products worldwide reached US$25 billion, the largest share of organic products being marketed in Europe and North America.
In upcoming years, Bernward Geier of IFOAM expects ongoing growth of the market and organic land area, also due to an increased support of governments and development organisations.
The study can be downloaded at a cost of 8 Euros: http://shop.fibl.org, order number 1365
Chapter 2 of the study, Current Status of Organic Farming World-Wide, summarizing the main results and the global organic statistics can be downloaded free of charge at:
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