ABSTRACT
Over the past few decades, organic farming has undergone a substantial and sustained growth in many parts of the world. It has developed from a small niche market to a globally significant player in agribusiness. At the global level, the area under organic management (or in conversion) has increased from 11 million ha in 1999 to nearly 51 million ha of agricultural land in 2015 (Willer and Lernoud, 2016). Simultaneously, the number of organic producers has increased from 0.2 million in 1999 by a factor of 12, to 2.4 million in 2015. Even though the most recent figures show organic agriculture to account for only 1.1% of total agricultural land at the global level, there is no doubt that the organic movement has tremendous relevance for the entire agricultural sector. This is not only because consumer demand for organic products continues to increase, but also because the innovations developed by organic farming are being increasingly taken up by non-organic producers as well.
