Certification Archives - EA Journals
Small Organic Farming: The Case of Pepper (Piper Nigrum L.) Value Chain in São Tomé and Príncipe (Published)
Article Author: Cristino Mandinga Bonfim Fonseca, José Castro Coelho, Fernando Brito Soares and Augusto Manuel Nogueira Gomes Correia
Organic agriculture, in addition to supporting environmental sustainability, has been a meaningful way to protect and develop small farming in developing regions. The changes that have occurred within the value chain, such as increases in global standards and the effect of globalisation, have created an increase in both opportunities and risks for smallholders. In the developing countries, mainly on African continent organic agriculture beyond being less researched than in the developed ones, there are constraints related to scale, certification policies, strategies, and the fact that most farmers remain in informal circuits. This paper presents a study of the pepper value chain in São Tomé e Príncipe, which is divided into two categories: certified organic producers, affiliated (Aff) to the Cooperative of Pepper and Vanilla Export (CEPIBA) and non-certified organic pepper, non-affiliated farmers (Naf). The study presents the strategy to promote organic farming through the value chain and a brief comparison among certified and non-certified organic producers. The results showed that Aff perform better than Naf because they have financial stability and apply sustainable practices that are more productive and provide better income, while Naf generally practice subsistence farming with the exception of some medium enterprises.
Keywords: Certification, Environmental, Organic farming, Pepper, Smallholder, Value Chains
Challenges of Organic Farming Faced By Nepalese Farmers (Published)
Article Author: Raj Kumar Banjara
Organic farming can directly contribute in the better health and environment. It may the better alternative for the problem of climate change and environmental degradation. Promotion of organic farming is necessary so the study is going to explore the challenges of organic farming faced by the Nepalese farmers. . The study was conducted in four districts: Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktpur and Dhading. Altogether, 578 organic farmers were selected purposively. Mixed method was used to collect the data. Statistical analysis was done for quantitative data and logical interpretation was done for qualitative data. The study explored the various challenges of organic farming: high investment and price of goods, low production, less selling because of the lack of knowledge among the consumers, limited market, no provision of compensation if production damaged, and lack of certification. Farmers requested to address all these problem of organic farmers to encourage the involvement for coming generation. Nepal government can study on the possible way of solution with the close interaction of organic farmers.
Keywords: Certification, Challenges, Farmers, Nepal, Organic farming