Options for Enabling Policies and Regulatory Environments | 461

lenging, but attractive rural development pathway for smallscale producers and for policy makers wishing to support the production of global public goods. Organic agriculture can help develop an alternative global market that improves agricultural performance through better access to food, relevant technologies, and environmental quality and social equity (FAO, 2007).

     COA is value-added agriculture, which is accessible to small farmers who cannot purchase off-farm synthetic inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides (Egelyng and Høgh-Jensen, 2006) and the knowledge intensive methods practiced in COA are particularly compatible with traditional and local knowledge capacity for innovation. COA may provide a way out of poverty for developing country farmers. Widening adoption is therefore a clear policy option; several governments now have targets for the expansion of certified or compliance assessed organic production. To this end, the FAO/IFOAM/UNCTAD International Task Force on Harmonization and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture has generated international organic guarantee tools, adoption of which would help support further development of organic market.

      Policy options generated by the FAO International Conference on Organic Agriculture and Food Security (Rome, 3-5 May 2007) include increased advocacy and training on organics, investing in organic awareness in agricultural and environmental education, building organic knowledge in university and research institutions, transitional crop insurance, providing organic training to extension officers, and supporting investments that facilitate the transition of small-scale producers to organic agriculture. Some of these have been incorporated into developing countries, national policies and legal frameworks (FAO, 2007).

     A number of Latin American countries have also adopted policies and legal frameworks to promote organic agriculture. For example, Costa Rica adopted a national law to develop organic agriculture which sets out a series of mechanisms and incentives to support the organic sector (Asamblea Legislativa de Costa Rica, 2006). These policy tools include incentives to promote increased professional education on organic production, organic certification options for the national and international market, crop insurance for farmers transitioning to organic production, special credit lines for small and medium scale organic producers, and tax exemptions on inputs for organic production as well as on profits from the sale of organic products.

     Mark of Origin or Appellation is an approach that has been widely used in France as a means of locking in added value via protection of specific spatial areas, such as a defined geographic area known to produce a high quality brand, or an area that has traditionally developed a specific type of food processing. The classic examples of this are the wine denominations that allow buyers to purchase products based on geographic location, grape variety and year. Whereas this has proven to be very effective in areas that respect such legal definitions, the products are generally based on long-term consumer loyalty and cultural standards. As such this system is unlikely to be applied to mainstream products unless this strategy is used in combination with other standards such as air-miles and or carbon footprints.

 

Certification is another approach to locking in access to higher value markets is to join a certification scheme such as those offered for organic production and rainforest production. All of these movements aim to capture a premium price for producers who can provide evidence that they are meeting and have been monitored to prove their compliance with specific ethical and environmental standards. While the area of certification is gaining appeal, the system is extremely expensive and unless charges can be passed onto consumers the ability of poor producers to comply with such regulations will be doubtful.

      An Agricultural Market Analysis Unit could be established and supported in developing countries. This unit would be concerned with coordinating and developing policy on the development of market-oriented strategy in agriculture and setting policy guidelines for agricultural research. The Unit would also coordinate its activities with relevant regional bodies and work closely with the private sector and, especially, with those private-sector support groups working to stimulate production for growth markets.

      Many actors in the agricultural sectors in poor developing countries are still not familiar with the idea of competitive markets. A National Market Education Programme could be established targeted, primarily at farmers, traders and agricultural product processors. Such a programme needs to be linked to the Agricultural Market Analysis Unit (see above). Market Information Services (see below) and run in conjunction with other stakeholders including Ministries of Agriculture, Education and Trade, farmers' and traders' associations and other private sector actors and with extension services.

      The program needs to set targets for training farmers to understand how competitive markets work, to take advantage of market information and to inform them of the difficulties and opportunities associated with market conditions. Issues addressed need to include the stimulation of collective activity to improve economies of scale, linking supply variety and quality to market needs, negotiation of sales and inputs and the use of credit and business management. The program should have a limited duration and should be administered efficiently as a separate unit within a national agricultural development reform program.

      Many small- and medium-scale farmers, traders and processors in poor developing countries have limited access to information about prices and market conditions of the commodities they produce. Farmers find themselves in a weak bargaining position with traders which results in lower-than-market farm-gate prices, high transaction costs and wastage. Market Information Services need to be established at local, national, and regional levels to collect, process, and disseminate market information in the appropriate language of intended recipients. Such services need to be fully coordinated with each other and involve full participation of stakeholders.

      To assist developing countries to compete successfully in the world economy research and extension institutions need to develop or acquire new skills and expertise in market analysis and market linkage. Producers need to ensure that there are viable markets for any existing or new products. They need to ensure that the quality and packaging of