The health crisis linked to the Covid-19 pandemic has reinforced the global trend in favor of an increasingly organic or environmentally friendly mode of consumption.
The organic market is therefore a booming market and promises to experience more and more growth, especially in these times when unbalanced food is pointed out with an accusing finger for its harmful effects on health. The Pangolin episode, accused at the start of the pandemic, of being the cause of the devastating new virus, has revived the feeling of fear of junk food. Faced with the lack of an effective cure for Covid-19, doctors called on consumers to strengthen their immune system by opting for a balanced and healthy diet.
Organic products, especially those from organic farming, have thus constituted a voice of recourse for consumers who no longer want to risk their health because of the overconsumption of products from supermarkets with questionable content. The market for organic products has grown significantly over the past ten years and especially during the past year.
It represents more than 100 billion euros, whether food, cosmetics or cleaning products, the trend is organic for the greater good of the planet and consumers. The concept of eco-citizenship is not just a fad, it is first and foremost a collective awareness that emanates from the concern to preserve human health, but also the planet too heavily exhausted by operating systems. large-scale resources.
The craze for organic products is also explained by consumers on the basis of four main reasons, firstly health, the environment, food safety and product quality. The misdeeds of intensive agriculture are still there and the promotion of organic or ecological agriculture will open a way of relief in order to preserve wealth and natural resources for future generations. A study by the Institute for Research on Organic Agriculture in the World reports 71.5 million hectares managed organically at the end of 2018, an increase of 2 million hectares compared to 2017.
The number of farmers involved in organic production is 2.8 million worldwide. India leads the country with the largest number of producers, with just over one million farmers, followed by Uganda and Ethiopia.
In terms of area, Australia comes first with 35.7 million hectares of organic farmland, followed by Argentina with 3.6 million hectares, and China with 3.1 million hectares. The European continent has 15 million hectares under cultivation (2.9% of its agricultural area), followed by Latin America with 8 million hectares.
In terms of the market, the United States are in first position with 40 billion euros, followed by Germany with 10.9 billion euros and France with 9.1 billion euros.
Since 2019, more and more countries, nearly 100, have developed new regulations to encourage investment in organic farming.
In Africa and the Maghreb, Tunisia presents itself as a model for promoting organic farming and which already in 1999 had drawn up the first law of its kind in the Arab world and in Africa establishing a legal framework for this type of farming. ‘Agriculture.
Specific specifications were prepared through the training of agricultural engineers specializing in organic farming, and subsidies were granted to producers to help them obtain certifications. This is what enabled Tunisian olive oil in particular to experience the boom that we are seeing today on international markets.
Of the thirty or so countries classified as the best exporters of organic products, Tunisia is in 23rd position. Other African countries followed by promoting the export of organic products, notably Benin, Mali and Senegal.
Extremely toxic products in pesticides
A study, the results of which were delivered in October 2020, and signed by Professors Gilles-Eric Séralini and Gérald Jungers, reports the presence of products of extreme toxicity in 14 pesticides sold freely in supermarkets. These products contain in particular arsenic, heavy metals and other carcinogenic substances belonging to the PAH family. Many farmers in Europe have developed forms of cancer from the use of pesticides. In a letter addressed to the European authority responsible for risk assessment in the field of foodstuffs and pesticides, a coalition of associations underlines that the development of organic farming, for almost sixty years, can be very productive. Contrary to popular belief. “Richer in labor and knowledge, it is more sustainable and sustainable than conventional agriculture, which relies on old economies of scale and the use of polluting inputs. And as several international reports show, it can meet the needs of the planet. It also offers new opportunities for decent employment in rural areas, allows soils to function as carbon sinks, and maintains agrobiodiversity. It is the only form of agriculture capable of meeting the challenges of the 21st century and beyond. ” N. B.
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