Latin America and the Caribbean are committed to organic farming
Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) agglutinate 15% of the global organic area, with 6.8 million hectares under organic production. Currently, worldwide 43.7 million hectares certified for organic production are recognized, representing 1% of the land suitable for global production.
These figures were announced at the international seminar “Organic production as a strategy for adding value in agribusiness”, organized by the Ministry of Agro Industry of Argentina in the framework of the Eighth Regular Meeting of the Inter-American Commission for Organic Agriculture (CIAO) and in which more than 600 people participated.
Argentina, the host country of this international meeting, increased by 15% its exports of organic products in the last year and has 1,200 producers
The Secretary of Added Value of the Ministry of Agro Industry, Nestor Roulet, highlighted as “Argentina is the second largest exporter of organic in the world, with three million hectares certified organic, and natural potential such as quinoa, chia, wine and red fruits that give us many possibilities for high quality food. “
Also, the Undersecretary of Food and Beverage, Mercedes Nimo, stressed the importance of organic farming to add value and differentiate productions, contributing to the development of domestic markets and satisfy the most demanding consumers, “who are now looking for products that have some support in the preservation of the environment. ”
The seminar thematic panels on institutional strengthening, organic agriculture in the world (figures and trends), institutional strategies for its development and promotion policies and experiences and innovation applied to organic were developed.
Assembly CIAO
The Eighth Regular Meeting of the Inter-American Commission for Organic Agriculture (CIAO) convened representatives from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Dominican Republic, Paraguay, Spain and the United States.
This event gave the opportunity to 17 producers across the country to have an exhibition space food such as honey, pecans, herbs, noodles, rice, raisins, jams and wine. The meeting also served to representatives of twelve countries to enter into work plans for 2016-2017.
Gino Buzzetti, representative of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) in Argentina, highlighted the critical role that CIAO played when promoting agreements between member countries on the rules of organic farming and assured that approximates a ” building phase will allow the increase of organic production in the hemisphere. “IICA operates the Executive Secretariat of the CIAO since 2008.
Source: IICA
