Is there any marketing outlet in the area for organic produce? That seems
to be one of the main factors in deciding whether organic farming is
economic or not. If there is, could there be some kind of consumers'
association that could certify produce as organic"? Or could they set up
a direct marking system from organic farmers to consumers? They're doing
this kind of thing in Japan, where they've got lots of organic farmers,
and lots of people wanting to buy organic produce, but I don't think any
national registration system.
Another point- if there aren't any market outlets for organic farming, is
it going to give a profit to the farmers? Is it going to give a higher
profit than ordinary farming with chemicals? I think this has to be worked
out in advance,because if not, perhaps they should drop the idea.
Especially in the tropics, pests are very damaging. There's a high rate of
crop loss, and the produce generally looks very tatty, with lots of
blemishes. It's difficult to sell it on the ordinary market place, where
it's competing with cheaper, better looking vegetables which have been
protected with pesticides.