The Organic Trade Association (OTA) is working to strengthen and support organic agriculture by incorporating new provisions in the 2007 Farm Bill. Although retail sales of organic products now total $15 billion annually, the organic sector receives only a tiny fraction of the U.S. Department of Agriculture budget.
“Today, OTA is releasing an ambitious and comprehensive plan to advance organic agriculture. We need to ensure that organic farmers have access to all resources available to farmers through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA),” said Caren Wilcox, Executive Director of OTA, whose members represent all segments of organic production, distribution and sales. “In many cases, organic is not receiving a fair share of current dollars appropriated for research, for conservation, for risk management-all current programs that benefit other aspects of agriculture. We ask Congress for equality for organic farmers.”
For example, there currently is little federal data or market research available about organic farms. “Our farmers need access to the same resources USDA provides to conventional farmers-research, market data, risk management tools, and import/export information,” Wilcox said. “When conventional farmers decide what to plant for the upcoming season, they have reams of cost, production and market data to influence their actions. Organic farmers have none of these critical resources. As a result, they farm at a distinct disadvantage.”
Specifically, OTA’s recommends that Congress provide USDA with funds to: 1) Foster transition to organic agriculture and trade by providing technical assistance to aid in the conversion of farmland from conventional to organic.
2) Eliminate hurdles to organic agriculture and trade by creating appropriate risk management tools and developing an organic export policy and strategy.
3) Initiate and fund organic agriculture and economic research as privately funded research is limited, and there is much to be learned about the fundamentals of organic production.
4) Maintain and enhance current agency programs so that the National Organic Program (NOP) and other parts of USDA can keep pace with the growing organic sector. Credibility of the organic standard is critical to organic farmers, handlers, and all others in the organic trade, and that credibility is tied to the capabilities and funding of NOP.
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