evaluation of organic agriculture development place in rural areass, case study: producers of intransition and certified products

Abstract
Since the beginning of the 21st century, the development of organic farming worldwide has showed a strong growth. According to the latest survey on certified organic agriculture worldwide, statistical information on organic agriculture is now available from 160 countries, an increase of six counties since the last survey. There are 37.2 million hectares of organic agricultural land and Iran has 913 hectares organic agriculture land. In this paper, it is aimed to review the place of organic agriculture and produce of healthy food and food chain in sustainable development and role of extension in development of required education for transferring from convenient agriculture to organic agriculture. This data of paper has been taken from producers of organic products. That has been participating in third Iranian natural and organic food products expo 2011. This has been used SPSS for analyzing data. The results show that by using organic farming, there is 31% of yield in each hectare and the amount of chemical fertilizer usage is reduced 96.4 % and the amount of pesticides usage is reduced 83% in contrast to convenient farming. In total 75% of all producers obtained organic certification from European companies and 25% that lack of this certification. With focus on transaction steps of organic farming familiarity of farmers regarding these steps taken under serious consideration in Iran. Also agricultural an education extension will have significant role in this area.
The aim of this article examining the place of organic agricultural production and healthy food in Iran, time line of organic agriculture development, farmers attitude, farmers’ acceptance of their satisfaction, the amount of clarity and effectiveness of the organic cultivation and finally examining obstacles and challenges facing organic cultivation in Iran. This article from the questionnaire producers of organic products in the third festival in the year 2012 Products Company has been using the results show that organic cultivation in the average rate of performance in hectares and the amount of chemical fertilizers and use pesticide consumption decrease compared to the conventional cultivation there. The aim of this article is examining the place of organic agricultural production and healthy food in Iran, time line of organic agriculture development, farmers’ attitude, farmers’ acceptance of their satisfaction, the amount of clarity and effectiveness of organic farming and finally examining obstacles and challenges facing organic farming in Iran. The data of paper has been taken from producers of organic products in provinces of Qom, Tehran, mazandaran, khorasan, markazi, fars, sistan and balochestan.
Organic agriculture can be found in 11 out of Iran’s 31 provinces. More than half of the organic agricultural land is placed in the fertile Northern provinces, but only five percent (144) of the organic farms are located there. This means that the average farm size in this part of the country is 30 to 40 hectares. The remaining 95 percent of the organic farms (2’870) are concentrated in the Southern provinces, but with an average farm size of only 1.2 hectares. Hence, the organic sector of Iran resembles the conventional farm sector, but with a much higher concentration of very small farms.
Main products are wild pistachio, herbs, and licorice. As in many developing countries, the domestic market for organic products in Iran is still relatively small. However, local demand for organic products has been growing parallel with rising incomes and consumer awareness as well as concerns related to a number of food safety issues. It is typical for developing countries that the domestic organic market starts in the capital city with smaller outlets/health shops. These shops are usually located in residential areas that are inhabited by upper-middle class citizens (Sirieix et al. 2011; Kledal et al. 2009 & 2010). The same goes for Iran, where a number of organic products such as rice, honey, and olive oil are now occasionally available in a few outlets in some high-end residential areas in the northern part of Tehran. The market is not stable, however, and lacks a consistent supply of products. Also, quality and packaging need to be improved in order to lower both distribution costs and secure a growing consumer interest.

More than 95 percent of the organic production in Iran is being exported. However, official statistics about export volumes and value are non-existent, and the private firms are very reluctant to inform or hand out information on these issues. Thirty-five companies are involved with exporting. They are all conventional, but they have started an organic product line. A majority of the companies are private intermediaries purchasing products from the farmers. There are also a few large farm enterprises specialized in pistachio, fully vertically integrated from production to export. The main importing countries of Iranian organic products are Germany, France, the UK, and The Netherlands.
Organic agriculture combines modern scientific research with traditional farming techniques in a sustainable, efficient farming system. By working with natural processes and making use of locally available possessions, poor smallholder farmers can build up the fertility and productivity of their farms while avoiding dependence on expensive external inputs. Growing markets for certified produce mean that organic agriculture offers an important opportunity for the rural poor in developing countries to benefit from international trade. On the other hand, there is an increasing public concern about food safety, but only a few people really know about organic farming. A recent survey indicated that there is lack of information on organic farming. The organic industry still has a long way to go in Iran.