As people throughout the globe are becoming increasingly health conscious there has been a noted shift towards the consumption of organic food and as such its market is gradually growing.

The growth of the organic foods industry in the United States has been dramatic in the past two decades. It is estimated that organic sales have increased by nearly 20% annually since1990, with consumer sales reaching $13.8 billion in 2005.

While initial organic food production primarily involved small farms and local distribution of fresh produce, today’s organic food system is a complex combination of small and large food producers, local and global distribution networks, and a wide variety of products, including fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy, and processed foods(This rapid growth may be traced to increased consumer confidence in organic foods as well as to concern about possible health risks and environmental impacts of conventional food production methods. Recent food crises such as mad cow disease and foot and mouth disease have lessened consumer confidence in foods in general and especially in conventionally produced foods that may use pesticides, antibiotics, and other chemicals in food production(Deepens and others 2005; Severer and others 2005). Surveys indicate that many consumers purchase organic foods because of the perceived health and nutrition benefits of organic products. In one survey, the main reasons consumers purchased organic foods were for the avoidance of pesticides (70%), for freshness (68%), for health and nutrition (67%), and to avoid genetically modified foods (55%)

(Whole Foods Market 2005). Such consumers appear to be willing to pay the typical 10% to 40% price premium that organic products command. (Carl K. Winter and Sarah F. Davis)

According to the experts organic production can be defined as an ecological production

Management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil biological activity. It is based on minimal use of off-farm inputs and on management practices that restore, maintain, and enhance ecological harmony. U.S. regulations

require that organic foods are grown without synthetic pesticides, growth hormones, antibiotics, modern genetic engineering techniques (including genetically modified crops), chemical fertilisers or sewage sludge.

Scientific studies carried out so far are showing that organically produced food have higher nutritional content.

A team headed by Professor Carlo Leifert from the University of Newcastle UK, which is running the Quality Low Input Food (QLIF) project with a budget of 18 million Euro of the EU funding in five years has found that organic milk contains higher amounts of vitamin E, and fruits and vegetables have higher levels of vitamin C, minerals and antioxidants as found in non-organic ones [.

According to Carl K. Winter and Sarah F. Favis some small studies were held on organic peaches showed they had a 4.8 higher polyphenol content at harvest in 2004, whereas the same phenomenon was not observed in 2005]. Total phenols, vitamin C, total flavones and anti-oxidant capacity of organic apple pure was found to be higher than that of preserves prepared from conventional apples. However, after pasteurization, the content of vitamin C, total phenols and flavones and anti-oxidant properties decreased in the apple pure from both agricultural systems (organic and conventional).

So from all indications it is clear that organic agriculture would gain increasing significance and relevance and therefore it would be wise for farmers to diversify in this direction of agricultural production.

And in this regard it is good to note that Guyana which began production of organic cocoa several years ago in Region 1 which is exported to Europe has embarked into another similar venture-this time organic coffee.

North West Organics (NWO) introduced a new variety of coffee on the local market Wednesday, in keeping with its objectives to develop and sell fine Guyanese organic food products.

Speaking on the occasion at Cara Lodge, Quamina Street, Georgetown, NWO founder, Mrs. Annette Arjoon said the introduction meshes with today’s demand for organically produced foods and dovetails with President Bharrat Jagdeo’s low carbon development strategy.

She told the gathering, mostly of Region One (Barima/Waini) farmers, that the production processes involved are carbon neutral and, on the whole, contribute to income generation in impoverished communities.

The beans from which the coffee is made are grown by farmers at Hosororo and Bunbury and sold to Blue Flame Women’s Group, also in Region One, which does the processing,

NWO then packages and distributes the processed coffee.

Ms. Arjoon said limited consumer testing has established that the coffee has a distinctive flavour, probably attributable to the fertile lateritic soil and environmental conditions of North West District, known as the organic area of Guyana.

: Coffee is the world’s second most valuable traded commodity, behind only petroleum. There are approximately 25 million farmers and coffee workers in over 50 countries involved in producing coffee around the world. Coffee was traditionally developed as a colonial cash crop, planted by serfs or wage laborers in tropical climates on large plantations of landowners for sale in colonial countries. Coffee producers, like most agricultural workers around the world, are kept in a cycle of poverty and debt by the current global economy designed to exploit cheap labor and keep consumer prices low. An estimated 11 million hectares of the world’s farmland are dedicated to coffee cultivation. The largest producer and exporter is Brazil, followed by Colombia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Mexico. Around the globe, the annual consumption of coffee has expanded to 12 billion pounds.

So this venture by the farmers of Region 1 is yet another step in the right direction for the agriculture sector and put another nail in the coffin of the cynics who never sees any positives happening in this country.