Enhancing plant growth using organic inputs
15-Oct-09 The Hindu
Organic farmers and those practising conventional farming are mostly at loggerheads regarding cultivation practices, and are in mutual disapproval.
The battle now seems to have entered within a family at Theni, Tamil Nadu as the father Mr. S. Pandiaraj practises conventional methods, while his son Jeya Prakash, who has an MSc in Bio technology, seems to favour organic methods.
“Several farmers in Uthamapalayam (Ambasamuthuram) Theni district, Tamil Nadu, grow vegetables in conventional way using chemicals.
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Farm Fresh
20-Oct-09 The Times of India
India's Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), working under the commerce and industry ministry, has said
exports of organic products could grow by leaps and bounds in future. That's good news for a country catering to a healthy world demand. The catch is, it also entails conserving the 'made in India' brand. In this context, India can't afford doubts commonly voiced about the genuineness and safety of items labelled organic. Only recently, APEDA received complaints about certain accredited certifying agencies certifying farms without inspecting them. This undermines its own credibility. As a nodal agency, APEDA has to ensure product quality meets global standards.
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Nature at a price
26-Oct-09 The Australian
THE organic food and beverage industry knew it really had a problem when a brand of bottled water labelled itself organic. Chief executive of Standards Australia John Tucker called the organic water claim an absurdity.
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Organic certification cost-share assistance offered
19-Oct-09 Farm Press
Organic growers in North Carolina can apply for partial reimbursement of the cost of becoming certified or re-certified producers through a program offered by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
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19-Oct-09 Organic food buyers expect more than they're promised
A wide gap is developing between organic production standards and consumers' expectations, according to a report by Exeter University.
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The virtues of the next best thing to organic food
30-Sep-09 Telegraph.co.uk
I was driving along a lane in Cornwall this summer when I switched on the radio and caught the news headlines. A new study claimed that organic food was no more nutritious than conventional. That, I thought, was a blow the organic sector did not need.
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Organic food firm adopts wool packaging
30-Sep-09 Packaging News
Organic food delivery firm Abel & Cole has bolstered its environmental credentials by replacing its polystyrene-insulated packaging with an award-winning sheep's wool packaging called Woolcool.
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Tesco welcomes organic food back on the shelves
30-Sep-09 Supermarket.co.za
This week UK major retailer Tesco turns enthusiastically back to organics with a new organic brand manager that will review the range, price, quality and communication for organic food in Tesco stores in all UK.
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Organic Food Marketing Report
1-Oct-09 Natural Products
WASHINGTON—A new report from USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS), “Marketing U.S. Organic Foods: Recent Trends From Farms to Consumers,” analyzes recent data on each level of the organic supply chain.
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Coming soon, system to trace all Indian organic food to source farms
5-Oct-09 Express India
In a few months, a consumer in the European Union should be able to trace an item of organic food on his table to the specific bit of farmland in India that produced it.
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Natural and Organic Agriculture Policy Being Planned
17-Oct-09 Jamaica Information Service
Head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries' Agro-Investment Corporation, Dr. David Lowe, has said that there is scope for the development and growth of natural and organic agriculture in Jamaica, through a national policy framework for the sector.
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USA: OrganicNation.tv
22-Oct-09 Organic-market.info
OrganicNation.tv is an exploration of the American sustainable food landscape, focusing on the people, places and products that are shaping a new green economy and lifestyle. From farmers to urban gardeners, and from teachers to restaurant owners, they are traveling the country to document how sustainable food systems are being created.
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Italy: Coldiretti speaks up for Italian organic logo
21-Oct-09 Organic-market.info
With 146 school canteens, serving 125,000 meals a day, Emilia Romagna is the leader for organic school canteens in Italy, where 791 organic school canteens are serving 983,243 meals a day altogether, Greenplanet reports. But a decline in companies producing organics is reported. Among the reasons, according to Coldiretti Emilia Romagna, are imports of raw materials from third countries that may not meet the standards. According to Coldiretti, based on data of Sinab (National Information System on Organic Agriculture), there are 3525 organic farms in Emilia Romagna now - 7.3 % less than last year, a decline which is higher than recorded for the national level (46,654 companies, a decrease of 1, 2 %).
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Natural cosmetics – An uninterrupted trend
25-Sep-09 Organic-market.info
According to the British market research institute Organic Monitor, worldwide sales are growing by 1 billion US $ a year and are currently estimated at some 7 billion US $. As in the case of organic food, the demand is concentrated on Europe and North America. The European market accounts for some 1 billion US $ and the American market for 4.5 billion US $. Customers in Germany spent about 672 million EUR on natural cosmetics in 2008, which represents just under 10 % growth over 2007, according to naturkosmetik konzepte of Dortmund, Germany. German manufacturers also expect steady future growth rates in Germany and abroad of approx. 5 and 8.5 % respectively. (picture: Beauty and wellness are still mega-trends)
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Dennree:Holistic approach brings many advantages
11-Sep-09 Organic-market.info
Dennree, founded in 1974, has been instrumental in shaping the history of wholefoods over the last 35 years. “Shaping the organic industry together” is the watchword that encapsulates this market leader’s commitment to the future. The company has created the BioMarkt-Verbundgruppe, a network of over 200 independent retailers that will play an important role in this endeavour. This explains why Dennree sees itself today not only as a wholesaler but also as a retailer. With numerous exclusive brands in both food and non-food, Dennree is challenging the conventional food trade. Denree, the organic company with the highest turnover in Germany, concentrates exclusively on the specialist trade, and from its headquarters in Töpen it does business with around 1,500 retailers in Germany, Austria, South Tyrol and Luxembourg. Organic Market.Info visited the company.
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Perpignan: New store concept being planned
2009-10-27 Organic-market.info
They are keeping their cards close to their chest, but at the end of 2010 a new store concept that will become a model for a franchise chain is being launched in the big city of Perpignan in the south of France. With approximately 1,500 m², it will demonstrate what could eventually be achieved on a larger scale in stores including a restaurant and measuring 2,800 m² of retail space. It seems that finance for implementing the new building project has already been found.
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Soil Association: Obsession with high yield crops has stunted food nutrition
07-Oct-09 Organic-market.info
Basic foods from modern crops contain significantly less vital nutrients – a problem which poses a heightened risk for public health, a BBC programme has recently warned. Expert contributors to Radio 4's Costing the Earth – The Great Mineral Heist said there has been an "obsession with high yield crops" and that there has been a "systematic decline" in food nutrition. The programme weakens the judgement of scientists working for the Food Standards Agency, who claim that some higher levels of nutrients in organic food are “not important.”
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Asian companies turning to natural & organic cosmetic standards
14-Oct-09 Organic Monitor
New research by Organic Monitor finds a growing number of Asian companies are taking the certification route, with most opting for European standards. The Ecocert standard is the most widely adopted, with companies in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Australia adopting this standard. Natural & organic standards are increasingly becoming a point-of-difference for these brands. In Malaysia, the Buds Cherished Organics brand is reporting a sales surge since the Ecocert-certified range was launched earlier this year. Produced by the Malaysian company I-Green, it is the first Asian brand of certified organic baby care products. The company believes organic certification is responsible for its large take-up rate. The success of the Buds Cherished Organics brand is leading the Malaysian company to start exporting to neighbouring Asian countries and Europe. It is also looking to start certification of its other brands.
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European project LowInputBreeds begins
17-Oct-09 Organic-market.info
A large-scale project which aims to improve animal health and product quality in European organic and ‘low input’ livestock production systems has just begun. The LowInputBreeds project unites 21 partners from Europe and further afield and will develop integrated breeding and management strategies to tackle the issue of improved animal health and food quality. It will run until 2014 and is co-funded by the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development. “Recent studies have shown that livestock breeds developed for ‘high input’ production systems lack sufficient focus on traits like robustness, which are required for organic and ‘low input’ systems,” said Professor Carlo Leifert of Newcastle University, who is coordinating the project.
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GM free Ireland
19-Oct-09 Organic-market.info
The Irish Government will ban the cultivation of all GM crops and introduce a voluntary GM-free label for food, including meat, poultry, eggs, fish, crustaceans, and dairy produce made without the use of GM animal feed. The policy was adopted as part of the Renewed Programme for Government agreed between the two coalition partners, the centre-right Fianna Faíl and the Green Party, after the latter have voted to support it, GM-Free Ireland reports. The agreement specifies that the Government will declare the Republic of Ireland a GM-Free Zone, free from the cultivation of all GM plants. The official text also states to optimise Ireland’s competitive advantage as a GM-Free country, a voluntary GM-Free logo will be introduced for use in all relevant product labelling and advertising, similar to a scheme recently introduced in Germany.
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Organic Valley launches online calculator
3-Oct-09 Organic-market.info
Organic Valley, America's largest cooperative of organic farmers and one of the leading organic brands in the USA, has launched the first online calculator that shows consumers the toxic burden prevented by their choices of organic vs. non-organic and "natural" foods. The calculator is available here. The Organic Valley calculator invites visitors to put their favourite Organic Valley dairy products into a simulated shopping basket to weigh the positive impact of their organic food choices. As each food product is placed in the basket, the calculator automatically adds up and displays the amounts of pesticides and synthetic nitrogen fertilizers avoided by that product, as opposed to a comparable conventional product. The numbers are derived from a calculation of USDA conventional agriculture data compared with twenty years of parallel data from Organic Valley member-farms.
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Sikkim's farmers demand fertiliser subsidy reforms
26-Oct-09 Samaylive
Gangtok: The farmers' community and the Sikkim government on Monday demanded fertiliser subsidy reforms, saying the state, which has adopted organic agriculture policy, is not benefiting from the central government's policy of providing subsidy for chemical fertilisers.
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Hi-tech dairy to become a reality soon
04-Oct-09 The Hindu
Setting ground for a new innings aimed at a true white revolution in a systematic manner in Idukki district and thereby to meet a substantial portion of the milk requirements of the state in future, 150 acres of land in Kolahalamedu in the Vagamon hills near here, was formally handed over to the Kerala Livestock Development Board (KLDB) on Tuesday.
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Cultivating ‘profits’ from organic farm
27-Oct-09 The Hindu
Bangalore, Oct. 26 At a time when there is a perception that farming is not remunerative, this enterprising woman from Gowripura village of Hassan district in Karnataka has not only showed that farming can be as profitable as any other commercial venture, but also inspired several educated women to take up farming.
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Punjab CM asks youth to opt for traditional food
28-Oct-09 Punjab Newsline
CHANDIGARH: Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal called upon the younger generation to opt for traditional food over the western diet, as the former is more nutritious.
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DSSS to give new thrust to campaign against use of chemical fertilisers
18-Oct-09 The Imphal Free Press
Imphal, Oct 18: Diocesan Social Service Society (DSSS) Imphal, an organisation certified by Oncert Asia for promotion of organic farming in the rural areas, is once again rededicating its objectives and mission to combat the manace of farmers trapped in the vicious circle of using chemical fertilizers and pesticide in farming by organising a unique four days mega fair in Lamlongei, Mantripukhri, Imphal yesterday.
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Nagaland inks MoU to tap organic market
7-Oct-09 The Morung Express
The prospect of organic farming in Nagaland is apparently heading towards a brighter side as the state’s Agriculture department and Bangalore-based International Competence Centre for Organic Agriculture (ICCOA) finally joined hands to expand and promote organic agriculture in Nagaland.
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India is emerging as the top organic cotton-producing country, Dr Daniel
01-Oct-09 fibre2fashion.com
Dr Selvam Daniel, Managing Director, ECOCERT India, an affiliate of the eponymous French global certification MNC, has said Indian textile companies would corner a sizeable share in the global organic textile industry with India emerging as the top organic cotton-producing country. He was speaking at a convention on organic textiles at the Taj President in Mumbai.
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