Organic agriculture is a system directed at improvement and promotion of agriculture production, which considers soil improvement as a key factor for producing high quality and ecologically clean food.
Organic agriculture is a system that eliminates the use of toxic inputs, synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. These are replaced with organic fertilizers (mostly manure) and pest and disease control is exercised only by herbal infusions and in organic food production artificial substances and irradiation are not used.
In organic food nutrient content is 3 times more than in the crops grown in conventional agriculture that uses chemical and mineral fertilizers. The biggest value of organic food is that it is safe for health, contains more vitamins, mineral salts and other nutrients, is free from chemical substances that are used in products derived from industrial agriculture as additives and preservatives. In addition, organic food ensures normal weight, has favorable influence on people’s health and especially is healthy for children as does not contain chemicals and additives. The use of organic food diminishes the possibility of catching diseases as contains less hazardous microorganisms.
The development of organic agriculture is of utmost importance for production of ecologically clean food, which is also boosted by growth of demand.
Organic agriculture became very popular worldwide and International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements that expands its activities in more than 100 countries promotes and supports the development of organic agriculture all over the world. Armenia has great potential for organic agriculture development and several local and international organizations such as Ecoglobe, Agribusiness and Rural Develeopmen Center, Green Lane, Armenian Woman for Health and Healthy Environment are intensively working in this direction. In particular, Ecoglobe LLC is organic certification body with international recognition that makes certification of soil, plant and animal products, wild berries, as well as certification in bee-keeping and wine production spheres for different markets – Armenia, EU, Switzerland, USA and Canada. Setting the goal to promote sustainable agricultural development in Armenia, the “Green lane” NGO cooperates with the RA Ministries of Agriculture and Nature Protection and implements numerous projects and initiatives prioritizing and supporting the production of ecologically clean agricultural products.
It should be mentioned that legislative environment in this regard is fully regulated. The RA Government adopted the law on Organic Agriculture approved by the RA National Assembly on May 5, 2008 and enacted on May 14, 2009.
According to statistic data, the number of organic food producers and consumers are increasing worldwide.
Project of Creating Organic Gardens Proposed by “Tamara Fruit” CJSC
