Growth of organic production faces key obstacles

Significance

The organic production system is based on a set of cultivation and production practices that prioritise sustainability throughout the supply chain while guaranteeing fair working conditions. To ensure that organic food reaches the largest number of consumers and is financially attractive to industries, increased attention is being paid to certification of organic products.

Impacts

• A decline in artificial and chemical inputs by the agrarian economy would help reduce the sector’s sizeable carbon footprint.
• Wealthier consumers will switch to organic foods as the COVID-19 pandemic increases their focus on health and immunity.
• Government subsidies for supporting the cost of certification are especially useful to small farmers.
• Digital technologies for agriculture such as product labelling will remove some of the barriers to increasing organic consumption.