WILLAGRI
The African continent is the region in the world with the highest growth in areas devoted to organic farming, with 24.4% more in 2023 compared to a global average of 2.6%. This is according to the 26th edition of “The World of Organic Agriculture“, published last February by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL). According to the benchmark report, which is based on data collected in 188 countries, Africa has added an additional 668,000 hectares to its total organic area of 3.4 million hectares.
With such an area devoted to organic farming, Africa has outpaced North America to become the 5th most important area for this type of agriculture behind Oceania, Europe, Latin America and Asia. According to FiBL, the positive result in 2023 is the culmination of a decade of remarkable growth in the organic farming segment on the continent. The area devoted to organic farming in Africa has more than doubled from an initial level of 1.2 million hectares in 2013.
Currently, the continent is home to the second largest number of organic producers in the world after Asia, with nearly one million people. Uganda is the undisputed leader with an area of (505,308 hectares) and 404,246 farmers, only supplanted by India, the world champion with 2.3 million people employed by organic farming. In Africa, Uganda is followed by Ethiopia, Togo, Burkina Faso and Tanzania, which form the top five continental organic champions.
On the continent, the most widely grown organic products are oilseeds (694,363 hectares), coffee (461,511 hectares), nuts (344,000 hectares), textile plants (339,000 hectares) and cocoa (316,000 hectares). The main exporters of organic agricultural products to the European Union and the USA are Togo, Ghana, Tunisia, Ethiopia and Côte d’Ivoire.
As a reminder, the global market for organic products is valued at $136.4 billion in 2023, with Switzerland having the highest global consumption of organic food products per capita (468 euros on average per year).
Source : Agence Ecofin