PANOS-ID21 Feature | June 30, 1999 | By Lezak Shallat
SANTIAGO - Organic farmers in Chile are finding that a high demand for their products in health-conscious European countries doesn't necessarily mean a guaranteed - let alone a growing - market.
And it's not Chile alone. Across the developing world, farmers hoping for a boom-time for their organic products are having second thoughts - courtesy of "insensitive" European Union laws, researchers say.
Organic farming in Chile is at an all-time high, fueled by a growing demand from European and American consumers for pesticide-free foods. But a major obstacle to exporting their goods is Europe's certification system which forces farmers to pay for consultants - usually based in Europe - to certify their farms as organic.
"Getting the certification needed for entry into European markets can be costly and bureaucratic for small farmers in the South," says Nick Robins of the London-based International Institute for Environment and Development and co-author of Changing Consumption and Production Patterns: Unlocking Trade Opportunities.
"Some organic producers accuse the European Union of `bio-colonialism' because of the insensitivity of organic regulations to developing country conditions and the need to use expensive foreign consultants," Robins adds.
The label of `bio-colonialism' threatens to stick. Many citrus farmers in South Africa may not be able to `go organic' because of an EU regulation which says that fields must be separated by strips of uncultivated land - a luxury poor farmers just cannot afford.
And bee keepers producing organic honey in southern Mexico found that few EU inspectors were qualified in honey production. In addition, none of the certification materials were available in Spanish until a fair trade organisation stepped in to provide translations and cover the fees of the international consultants.
A further challenge facing developing country farmers is an upcoming EU measure designed to bring organic certification systems worldwide in line with EU regulations. In Chile, the need to adjust in time for a deadline of June 30 has thrown both certifiers and producers into turmoil.
"This is a drama for Chile," says Patricio Parra, one of a handful of local experts who issue the certificates that currently keep European doors open to Chilean kiwi, raspberries, apples and other organic produce. The EU deadline raises "an important trade barrier since accreditation is necessary to survive," he explains.
Chilean exports of organic produce jumped from 25 tonnes in 1992 to more than 1,000 tonnes in 1995, according to IIED.
In 1998 they were worth US$ 2.5 million - more than double the 1997 sales. At the same time the amount of land certified for organic production also doubled.
Some local certifying agencies believe the imposition of the EU deadline is "arrogant", given the speed at which the sector has grown and the short time Chile had to introduce national regulations.
Chile's first national regulation for organic produce is currently pending Ministry of Agriculture approval, and the final draft of national regulation to accredit organic certifiers was presented to the ministry in April.
"This deadline could have a great influence on many people's lives," said David Crucefix, International Manager of the Soil Association, Britain's largest organic certifying body. "Unofficially there is some belief that it might be extended but, if it is upheld by the EU, there is potentially no European market for Chilean produce."
"On the other hand standardised regulations are a good principle to work towards," he added.
Until the EU introduced regulations in the early 1990s, exporters to Europe could label their food as `organic', and consumers had no guarantee they were buying the real thing.
However, the EU is not the only body to set stringent regulations. There is a bewildering array of overlapping and sometimes contradictory standards imposed by the governments of Japan, the United States, Australia and by international regulatory bodies like the International Standards Organisation, the United Nations' Codex Alimentarius Commission and the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements.
These different regulations mean that Chilean organic kiwi, while welcomed by Japan, needs to be fumigated in the US - a process that ends up destroying not only white spiders but also the fruit's organic status.
Whatever the irony of such laws, researchers say regulations are key to gaining consumer confidence in the West and access to a world market worth $11 billion.
Since the 1980s, a growing number of Chilean producers have converted farms, or parts of farms, to organic production. According to Parra, most are motivated by personal commitment, but a growing segment is `going organic' for profit. "Whatever their reasons, they're still doing the environment a favour," he notes.
But the small local demand for organic produce means that most producers are dependent on consumer appetites abroad. For those who export, the costly and complex process of international certification is well worth the effort, providing "an ethical and commercial guarantee that consumers at the other end of the world can rely on," says Parra.
"It's a commercial world and if you want to be in it you don't have any choice but to comply," says Crucefix.PANOS-ID21 Feature:
