With the negative effects of synthetic chemical agricultural inputs being felt, the search for an alternative system to the conventional farming method began at the beginning of our century. Albert Howard's "Agricultural Testament" in 1910, Dr. Within the scope of Rudolf Steiner's “Biodynamic Agriculture Method” studies, sensitive producers and consumers came together in many European countries and started ecological agriculture studies. Established by 5 founding organizations from 3 continents, IFOAM aims to gather ecological agriculture movements all over the world under one roof, to guide the development of the movement in a healthy way, to prepare the necessary standards and regulations, and to convey all developments to its members and all relevant sectors. .
World organic product trade developed in the 1980s, and in the late 1990s, there was a serious increase in consumer demand for organic products due to concerns and reactions to issues such as mad cow, dioxin and GMO, and organic agriculture entered the agenda of many international organizations.
The first large-scale regulation on organic agriculture in the world was published by the EU in 1991, and then many changes were made and the section on animal products was added in 1999. After the Codex Alimentarius, prepared by Switzerland in 1999 and the Codex Alimentarius, prepared by Switzerland and the USA, which came into force. Organic farming standards, called NOP in , and JAS in Japan, have affected the global market movements all over the world.
Organic agriculture has shown a rapid development worldwide, especially in the last 5-6 years. Today, organic agriculture is carried out in approximately 31.5 million hectares of land and 622,782 agricultural enterprises in 120 countries around the world. The countries with the largest organic agricultural land in the world are Australia(11). 0.8 million ha), Argentina (3.1 million ha), China (2.3 million ha) and the USA (1.6 million ha). These countries are followed by Italy, Brazil, Spain, Germany, Uruguay, and England, respectively. .
If we examine the organic farming areas in the world according to the continents;
10 million ha in Europe
11 million ha in America
1.1 million ha in Africa
2.8 million ha in Asia
12.1 million ha in Australia
organic farming is practiced in the area.
The largest natural collection areas are in Europe and Africa. In terms of collection amount, the most important products are bamboo shoots, berries and nuts.
The countries where some products are grown most organically are as follows;
Organic citrus: Italy
Organic coffee: Mexico, Paraguay
Organic cocoa: Dominican Republic
Organic grapes: Italy, Spain, France
Organic olives: Italy, Spain, Tunisia
Organic cotton: Türkiye, USA
Organic grain: Italy, USA
Organic rice: Thailand, Philippines