Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Organic Produce Consumption on the Rise

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 1 2011 (IPS) - The consumption of organic produce is growing by between 20 and 30 percent a year in Brazil, according to the Ministry of Agrarian Development (MDA). Organic fruits and vegetables are grown primarily on family farms, which supply 70 percent of the food eaten by Brazilians. "In addition to demonstrating more conscientious behavior on the part of consumers, these figures are also economically positive," Rogério Dias, coordinator of the agro-ecology division of the Ministry of Agriculture, told Tierramérica.

"The cultivation of organic produce does not require inputs like chemical fertilizers and pesticides that are used in traditional agriculture and are largely imported," he noted.

The expansion of organic agriculture is also partly the result of incentives offered by the MDA, which provides technical assistance and lines of credit for organic family farming. "We teach how to produce food without chemical pesticides and fertilizers and offer financial conditions to encourage farmers to do so," explained Dias.