Physiologiki - Organic Products Certification Organization

The History of Organic Agriculture
PHYSIOLOGIKI - Organic Products Certification Organization - Alexandria

Organic farming, as we know it today, is the result of the development and synthesis of various alternative methods of agricultural production (different from "conventional agriculture") that began at the beginning of the last century, mainly in Central and Northern Europe. Among these methods, we can mention as the most important, biodynamic agriculture, organic agriculture, but also organic agriculture in its primitive form. It is important to emphasize that, beyond their small differences, all these production methods considered the link between agriculture and nature as very essential, as well as the respect for natural balances.

Important milestones in the development of organic agriculture, as an alternative and rational method of agricultural production, are briefly the following:

1924: Rudolf Steiner, with his lectures in Germany, lays the foundations of Biodynamic Agriculture
1940: Sir Albert Howard's "Agricultural Testament" is published in England, which lays the foundations of Organic Agriculture
1940: Development of organic agriculture in Switzerland by Hans Peter Rusch and Hans Muller
1943: Lady Eve Balfour in England publishes her book "The Living Soil" while later in 1946, she is one of the co-founders and the first President of the Soil Association
1947: J.I. Rodale in the USA, establishes the eponymous Institute for research into organic farming, inspired by the studies of Sir Albert Howard and Lady Eve Balfour
1972: Foundation of IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements)
1991: Regulation (EEC) 2092/91 "on organic production of agricultural products and indications referring thereto on agricultural products and foodstuffs" is passed and organic farming is institutionally regulated for the first time at a European level.
Since 1991, the landscape has changed for organic farming, initially at a European level and then globally. The institutionalization of the sector with the introduction of rules concerning production, marketing and the Control System, significantly strengthened consumer confidence, protected producers and created the basis for the rapid, as it evolved, development of the Organic Products Market.
1999: Extension of the original Regulation to animal products (EC Regulation 1804/1999).
2004: Publication of the “European Action Plan for Organic Agriculture”. This was a milestone as Organic Agriculture was fully supported at a political level while at the same time actions were initiated to highlight the nutritional value of organic products and the social and environmental contribution of organic agriculture.
2009: Replacement of the original Regulation 2092/1991 with the new Regulations 834/2007 &889/2008
2009: Extension of the Regulations to aquaculture products with Regulation 710/2009 (fish farming products and seaweed)
2010: Publication of the New EU Logo for Organic Products.
In particular, after 2000, many countries around the world adopted rules for the production, marketing and control of organic products, including the USA, Japan, Canada, Australia, South Korea, etc.

Today the World Market for Organic Products represents a significant part of the Food Market with a turnover that exceeded 46 billion dollars in 2007. Europe appears as the most powerful market representing 54% of the total turnover and in absolute numbers, 25 billion dollars. The total cultivated area exceeds 322 million acres while the integrated producers exceed 1.2 million (Source: World of Organic Agriculture, IFOAM 2009). In Greece, respectively, the total cultivated area exceeded 1.5 million acres in 2007 (without counting the integrated pastures) and the organic farmers are 24,000. Olive trees occupy 34% of organic crops (a total of 519,227 hectares) and with cereals as a second crop, 26% (a total of 400,208 hectares)
(Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Tourism, 2009).




	The principles of organic farming as stated by N. Lampkin are: To produce foods of high nutritional quality in sufficient quantities To coexist with natural ecosystems and not dominate them To make biological cycles function more correctly within an agroecosystem with the simultaneous participation of microorganisms, soil fauna and flora, plants and animals. To maintain soil fertility in the long term To use renewable resources that come from the agroecosystems themselves as much as possible. To be practiced as much as possible within a closed system, taking into account the conservation of organic matter and nutrients. To offer all farm animals living conditions that are consistent with the psychological needs of these animals and with ethical principles. To avoid all forms of pollution that may arise from agricultural techniques To achieve genetic diversity in the agroecosystem and its surrounding area, taking into account the protection of plant and animal species. To allow agricultural producers a decent income and satisfaction from their work. To consider that the agroecosystem has a wider social and ecological impact