Vanilla Planifolia - Organic Agriculture

Vanilla Planifolia - Organic Agricutlure 

So you have conventional and organic Vanilla production.

But what are the big differences, and what is important to know about the vanilla plant if you want to become an organic Vanilla producer? Also, how far is Madagascar in the Organic production sector?  That is what I hope to give you an answer about in this next blog.

In Madagascar, no Government support exists for organic agriculture. However, during the 1990s, some international organizations and foreign agencies have provided technical support to enhance the organic production capacity and promote export. This section describes the main providers of assistance and lists some of their activities in the country.

The organic sector in Madagascar is small, and exports are limited. Organic agricultural production has predominately been done by small-scale farmers. Certification is paid by the commercial companies. Le Syndicat Professionnel PROMABIO is the only association of entrepreneurs commercially active in the organic sector. There are no farmers’ organizations and no Government agencies active in this sector. Five international agencies are currently supporting organic agriculture. No standards or regulations and laws of organic agriculture exist. Certification is solely done for exporting. The only certifiers operating are ECOCERT International, which is doing more than 90 percent, and LACON.(FAO/ITC/CTA 2001)

With the relatively young and small organic sector, many constraints were faced, limiting growth of the production and export sector. The most important constraints, among many others, include:
  • Lack of information and knowledge on principles and methods of organic agriculture;
  • Lack of knowledge on the EC Regulation and requirements for export of organic products into the EC;
  • Lack of information on procedures of certification and required documentation;
  • The first systems of organizing production, collection, transport and processing of agricultural production did not allow a clear, transparent product flow. This made control difficult and called certification into question;
  • Lack of market information, such as products demanded, required qualities, prices, potential importers and market size;
  • Lack of national standards and regulations on organic agriculture
    (FAO/ITC/CTA 2001)
If we have a look at the Vanilla organic sector in Madagascar, you can not find that much information/numbers on this subject. 
For the export market of organic vanilla, you can see their was a big growth going on inbetween 1999 and 2000. 
In 1999: 8460 kg of Organic Vanilla was exported.
In 2000: 14890 kg of Organic Vanilla was exported. 

Main organic exports from Madagascar include cocoa, sugar, coffee, palm oil, processed fruits, pepper and vanilla. In addition, Malagasy farmers grow a variety of organic spices and herbs on a small scale such as cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, cloves, chillies, nutmeg and essential oils (IFOAM 2003).
Madagascar's organic sector remains very small. Only about 129 hectares are under organic cultivation, which accounts for less than 0.005 % of the total agricultural area (IFOAM & FiBL 2006)

References

Chathamhouse. (2015). ResourchTradeEarth. Retrieved from https://resourcetrade.earth/data?year=2015&exporter=450&category=928&units=value
FAO/ITC/CTA. ( 2001). Madagascar. Retrieved from CASE STUDIES OF COUNTRIES PRODUCING AND EXPORTING ORGANIC FRUIT AND VEGETABLES: http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/y1669e/y1669e0l.htm#bm21

ITC. (n.d.). Country Profile Madagascar. Retrieved from intracen: http://www.intracen.org/exporters/organic-products/country-focus/Country-Profile-Madagascar/



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