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World gets more organic
WSU article details global horticulture growth
Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2011
By Kathy Barnard, College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences
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| Kirby | Granatstein |
WENATCHEE - Organic horticulture is growing in countries around the world, according to an article co-authored by WSU Extension educator David Granatstein and Elizabeth Kirby. Granatstein is a sustainable agriculture specialist in WSU’s Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resource Sciences; Kirby is a CSANR research associate.
"Organic Horticulture Expands Globally” was published by the International Society of Horticultural Science in the December 2010 edition of Chronica Horticulturae. One of the most detailed of its kind, the article characterizes the extent of organic horticulture production around the world. The findings reflect dramatic increases in the global industry and outline what countries are growing what horticultural crops organically.
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| Organic cocoa in Ghana. (David Granatstein photo) |
“The data availability and detail improves every year," Granatstein said. "But we still have major organic producers such as China and India that provide no details on their crops. If they did report, our numbers might change considerably in some cases.”
For example, Mexico has the largest reported area of organic horticulture in the world, followed by Italy, Spain and the United States. According to the Research Institute for Organic Agriculture and the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements, about 2.15 million hectares of land around the globe were devoted to the organic production of fruits, olives, nuts, vegetables and melons, root crops, cocoa beans, coffee, tea and mate, flowers and ornamentals, medicinal and aromatic crops, coconuts, hops, nurseries and mushrooms.
The article notes that organic horticulture accounts for approximately 1 percent of all horticultural land worldwide and 6 percent of all organically managed agricultural land. The leading organic horticulture crops, in terms of reported area, are fruits, coffee and olives, followed by vegetables, nuts and cocoa beans. The U.S. is the leading vegetable producer.
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