A national campaign to promote organic products began June 23 in Brazil, where at least 20,000 farmers, mostly running small operations, are dedicated to growing agrochemical-free crops on a total of 6.5 million hectares. The initiative, lasting through the end of the month, is headed by four government ministries, the Brazilian supermarket association ABRAS, and farmer and consumer organizations.

“Our objective is to inform the population about the environmental and health advantages of organic products, in order to stimulate production of scale and achieve lower prices,” ABRAS president Joao Carlos de Oliveira, told Tierramérica.

Organic farming moves an estimated 100 million dollars a year in this country, and is growing at a pace of about 50 percent annually — more than twice the world average.

The campaign includes seminars, demonstrations, food fairs and the distribution of information through a wide variety of activities.