ww

w.f

ibl.

org

Experiences with 9 years of global data collection

Helga Willer, FiBL, CH

Presentation at the Workshop on global data collection at the IFOAM Organic World Congress, June 18, 2008, Modena, Italy

Archived at http://orgprints.org/7256/

ww

w.f

ibl.

org

Programme

6.30 - 6.35 pmIntroductionLukas Kilcher, FiBL. Frick, Switzerland6.35-6.40 pm Introduction: Experiences with 9 years of global data collectionHelga Willer, FiBL6.40-6.50 pmCollection of the African data: Experiences of the 2008 surveyHervé Bouagnimbeck, IFOAM 6.50-7.00 pm Data based on information from operators: Opportunities and challenges Munshimbwe Chitalu, Organic Producers and Processors Association of Zambia (OPPAZ), Coordinator/Chief Executive Officer 7.00-7.10 pmData based on information from inspection bodies: Opportunities and challenges Anne Macey, Canadian Organic Growers7.10-7.20 pmOptions for increased cooperation with inspection/certification bodiesMichel Reynaud, EcocertDiscussion

ww

w.f

ibl.

org

The World of Organic Agriculture 2000-2008

ww

w.f

ibl.

org

2000: First survey by SOEL, Data from 40 countries: Land area and number of farms, share of total agricultural land, supported by BioFach (until today)2006: 117 countries, land use details, database built; Continual work on historical data and corrections2008: 135 countries: Large increase of countries because more data from Africa and from Oceania / Pacific Islands were made available, Support from SECO and ITC

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

19981999

20002001

20022003

20042005

2006

2007 (pro

v)La

nd

are

a (m

illi

on h

ecta

res)

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

Cou

ntr

ies

Million hectares Number of countries

ww

w.f

ibl.

org

Information currently available

Currently available Totals by country and continent global

Shares by country

Farms

Land use by country

Crop information

www.organic-world.net

ww

w.f

ibl.

org

Global Organic Farming 2006

30.4 million hectares of agricultural land are managed organically

12.3 million hectares are in Australia

Almost 30 % of the agricultural land in Liechtenstein are organic

During 2006: Growth in all continents

ww

w.f

ibl.

org

ww

w.f

ibl.

org

Development of organic farming in the continents 2000-2007 (2007:provisional, survey in progress)

ww

w.f

ibl.

org

Organic and in-conversion land area: The 10 leading countries

Source: FiBL Survey, June 2008

ww

w.f

ibl.

org

ww

w.f

ibl.

org

Use of organic/in-conversion land world-wide 2006

ww

w.f

ibl.

org

ww

w.f

ibl.

org

Coffee

ww

w.f

ibl.

org

How do we collect the data

Originally all kinds of sources were used.

2008: Either experts from the country (government or private), or

official organic farming statistics (USDA, Eurostat)

If no country experts are available we try to get the data from the certifiers ourselves: But: we do not have an overview which certifiers are active in the country, so these are uncomplete data

ww

w.f

ibl.

org

Situation by continent: Africa

Most African countries do not have government support for data collection; exception: Tunisia and Ruanda

In some countries the private sector provides good data (e.g East African countries)

In many countries data availability remains a problem

ww

w.f

ibl.

org

Asia

In some countries the government collects and provides the data: India, China, Israel

In many countries data are collected by the private sector from the inspection bodies, often with good results: Indonesia, Nepal, Bhutan

In many countries, data collection remains problematic

ww

w.f

ibl.

org

Europe

In most countries of the European Union the data are provided by the private sector or the governments and the data are regularly published on the web (land use, sometimes production, sometimes market data)Additionally Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, publishes the land use & animal data at its homepageIn the countries outside the EU data are mostly provided by the private sector

ww

w.f

ibl.

org

South America

In most South American countries the data are now provided by the goverments: Land use, production, export values

In some countries data availability remains a problem, e.g. Venezuela

ww

w.f

ibl.

org

Central America and Caribbean

Data are often collected by private bodies, often in the framework of development cooperation projects; the problem is often the continuity of data supply/suppliers

ww

w.f

ibl.

org

North America

USA: Data collected by USDA, with good land use data. But: The data are released only every 2 years

Canada: Data collected by Canadian Organic Growers – not always easy

ww

w.f

ibl.

org

Oceania

Australia: Land area and farms available from Aquis, but no land use details

New Zealand, good on export volumes, land use details difficult

Pacific Islands: Area and operators available

ww

w.f

ibl.

org

Data availability by continent and data type

Continent Land area /farms Crop/crop group details, share of organic area

Production

Africa 55 % 53.4 % X

Asia 61 % 6.2 % x

Europe 93 % 86.6 % x

North America 100 % 81.5 % ?

Latin America 70 % 54.2 % x

Oceania 61 % 0.5 % ?

ww

w.f

ibl.

org

In 2006 land use / crop data were collected for the first timeAt that time a classifcation system was developed according to the data received, inspired by the Eurostat classification and the FAO systemMajor revision now in cooperation with the ZMP, German market data collection bodyImportant for international classification or any classification: Do not aggregate data but provide lowest possible level.Outlook: Develop a classification system for processed foods/final products in order to process data on volumes and market values

Classification of land use data

ww

w.f

ibl.

org

Outlook

Improve cooperation and information exchange with data suppliers

Develop classification system further, particularly for processed/final products

Improve database, make data better accessible via the internet and other channels

Expand scope of data collectedFull organic – in conversion status

Production data, i.e. volumes

Exports / imports; volumes, values

Market values of crops