Organic Agriculture in Asia

In 2010, the total organic agricultural area in Asia is nearly 2.8 million hectares. This constitutes seven percent of the world’s organic agricultural land. There were almost 0.5 million producers reported, 0.4 million in India.

The leading countries by agricultural area are China (1.4 million hectares) and India (0.8 million hectares); Timor-Leste has the most organic agricultural area as a proportion of total agricultural land (almost seven percent). Compared with 2009, there has been a decrease of organic land, due to declines in China and India.

Interestingly, the decline in land has not affected trade. Reports on the Chinese domestic market paint a picture of robust growth. India's export volume increased by 20 percent over the previous year. Export destination figures indicate growing trade in the region. Thirteen percent of export by volume was to Asia.

Organic labeling is regulated to require third party certification in China, India (for export), Japan, Philippines, South Korea, and Taiwan. India and Japan have established third country recognition with the European Union as well as recognition of their accreditation system by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Most exports elsewhere are certified by international certification bodies working in the regions accredited by international and EU-based accreditation bodies or directly by the USDA.

The 17th Organic World Congress (OWC) of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), held in Gyeonggi Paldang, South Korea in autumn 2011 was a big success. It attracted close to 2000 participants from 76 countries. The conference was hosted by the Gyeonggi Province, Namyangju City and the Korean Federation for Sustainable Agriculture (KFSA).

Source

FiBL and IFOAM (2012): The World of Organic Agriculture 2012. Frick and Bonn

Articles about organic farming in Asia in "The World of Organic Agriculture 2012"

• Organic Asia 2012 by Ong Kung Wai
• Organic Agriculture in Azerbaijan by Vugar Babayev
• Organic Food & Farming in Iran by Paul Rye Kledal, Hossein Mahmuodi and Majid Mahdavi Damghani
• Overview of Thai Organic Agriculture by Vitoon R. Panyakul