Organics in the UK

The organic movement started as a long-term and holistic activity centred on the health of the land. It was the antidote to conventional agriculture that viewed soil as a production medium solely to be fed with nutrients to generate the quickest return. Organic food production consists of a more principled use of the land as a resource combining certified production to re-assure consumers of authenticity and standards with agriculture free of chemical fertiliser and pesticides. Much needs to be done to strengthen this part of the organic message.

Organic markets in the UK are booming. Growth is at 50% in many sectors. Major supermarket chains are falling over each other to be 'the best organic supplier'. Even familiar household brands (at least in the UK) such as Nestle and Mars are entering the fray! Offers to attend very expensive grocery business conferences come tumbling through our letterbox every few weeks. It's now big business!

UK consumers have jumped for organic to provide food security against a background of major food scares that compromised their perception of cheap, safe, easily available and nutritious food. High levels of salmonella bacteria (the cause of most food poisoning) were found in eggs followed by cooked foods. Listeria bacteria in cheese is a cause of miscarriages and birth defects and finally BSE, an incurable brain disease was traced to cattle that had been fed animal feed containing the un-sterilised remains of dead cattle.

Unfortunately, a holistic system is incomplete without allowing for farmers. Is organics an opportunity or a threat for the target of Fair Trade...the marginalised farmers?

Fair Trade an alternative approach?

Analysis of the circumstances of marginalised producers suggested that permanent changes to their lives required changes both to the system of trade and to the way trade was carried out. An alternative approach to find an empowered and long-term relationship which is both farmer centred and meets high consumer standards of quality was needed.

Fair Trade works primarily with marginalised small-scale farmers who have organised themselves into groups to gain advantages of scale. Economic and social empowerment of these groups enables these farmers to control more aspects of their lives. Most Fair Trade companies such as those who are members of IFAT work closely with producers to develop trading capacity.

So isn't organics a big opportunity for small-scale and marginalised farmers? On the face of it many small-scale farmers are organic by default - they cannot afford to buy the chemical fertiliser and pesticide inputs used by richer counterparts. However, they face many problems of entering the market on their own due to the trade barriers created by us consumers requiring certification.

• New agricultural techniques need to be learnt for improvement of the land. Efficient composting and weed control are required. Often pest control has to be learnt from first principles to fit the climate and environment of the locality rather than continuing the passive no input approach that is not sustainable.
• Farmers need new brokerage contacts in unfamiliar markets. Traditional contacts whether local or international may not be able to sell organic products.
• There is still considerable variation between certification bodies especially between the USA and Europe. Europe recently banned a USA organic certificate for over a year. As a result farmers could not sell sesame with an organic premium through no fault of their own.
• It is very expensive to certify and annually inspect many small-scale farmers, but cheap to certify and inspect one large agribusiness.
• Low levels of local expertise force certifiers to fly in inspectors at great expense from Europe or the USA.

Without support the most marginalised farmers (who Fair Trade seeks to benefit) will lose out yet again to more powerful traders.

The solution?

Fairtrade standards are a large step towards protecting consumers against unscrupulous ethical claims, allowing any company whatever their values to sell Fairtrade marked products in much the same way as organic certificated products. However, marginalised farmers will not benefit from organic certification unless they have Fair Trade support, providing good quality long term advice and development too. Equal Exchange is committed to raising these important issues on behalf of small-scale and marginalised farmers.