São Paulo – Similar to the way Brazil became a development model for tropical agriculture, the country should soon become a global reference in the system of organic production in tropical countries. This statement was by the agro-ecological director at the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, Rogério Dias.
One example is the technique for organic production of milk that is being transferred to Haiti by Brazilian technicians, in an attempt to provide humanitarian help, offered by the government of Brazil for the reconstruction of the country, devastated by an earthquake in January this year.
"Brazil has been cooperating with Haiti to reduce local poverty since well before the earthquake. Organic agriculture is a model for development without the dependence on external inputs, as the system is fully developed on the property itself and is perfect for tropical countries," said the coordinator at the Ministry of Agriculture. Apart from the better quality of milk, this kind of production prioritises the well-being of animals and generates environmental and social benefits, as it requires that farmers observe these criteria for production.
According to him, great concerns with climate changes and conservation of biodiversity have been providing incentives to organic agricultural production anchored to something that now needs to be worked in agriculture as a whole. "Today, national organic production supplies mainly the domestic market and needs greater volume to reach the foreign market, but there is potential for such," he pointed out.
In the case of organic milk and its products, explained Dias, these are items greatly consumed in the United States, in countries of the European Union and in Japan. According to the coordinator at the Ministry of Agriculture, Brazil became a greater reference in standardization of nomenclature and definition of norms for production of organic products in the late 1980s and early 1990s. And it was mainly over the last decade that the demand for organic products grew significantly on the domestic market.
According to Dias, production of organic milk in the country is still small and the lack of organic production figures in Brazil has its days counted. "The law regulating organic products in the country defined December 31st, 2010, as the deadline for producers to register. After that date we will know exactly how many producers there are, where they are, and what kind of products they make," explained Dias.
"Vegetable production has grown more than animal production, but production of organic milk and its products has also grown. Some properties have been producing organic milk and its products for over 20 years," said Dias.
That is the case with São José Farm, in Santo Antônio de Posse, a city 150 kilometres away from São Paulo, which started organic production of milk 20 years ago. Today, the brothers who own the farm, Roberto and Eduardo Machado, produce 250 litres a day for processing in the agroindustry on the farm, making cheese, curds, butter, mozzarella, yoghourt and cream cheese.
The products are sold directly to consumers at organic fairs in Campinas and São Paulo and also to supermarkets. Despite production being small, farmers believe that it is possible to reach the foreign market. "There is growing consumption of organic products worldwide. It is not a short-term plan, but I believe it will be possible to increase exports and seek clients on the foreign market," said Eduardo Machado.
Production
Organic milk is basically milk produced without pesticides and chemical fertilizers in the production of animal feed. Apart from that, cows cannot receive hormones for greater production nor medication common in conventional production.
*Translated by Mark Ament