Ong Kung Wai the renowned national organic consultant, felt that the abundance of fertile land and coupled with the hot and humid weather all year round would ensure the success of organic farming in the state. Farmers and livestock breeder must be brave to venture into organic farming in view of the good market potential locally and globally.
Ong Kung Wai said “if you are a good organic farmer to begin with, the switch over will be quicker and you can match productivity as can be seen in the Cameron Highlands where the farmers are making good money.”
Ong also said organic farming was more on intensive farming technology where the farmers needed to know a little bit more about the soil, weather, insect pests, dynamics and nutrient science. Ong is a board member of International Federation of Organic Movement or IFOAM and chairperson of Organic Alliance Movement or OAM. He said the awareness on using organic products was on the increase among Malaysians who insisted on eating food free of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
He said “this can be seen in Peninsular Malaysia especially in the bigger towns and cities where many supermarkets allocate spaces for organic products and the market for them is quite good.” He advised the consumers to check the origin and quality of the products to avoid buying fake products.
The four principles of organic farming were health, ecology, fairness and care. The benefits of organic farming were improved crop and animal health and better nature resource management, lower use of non-renewable resources, safer food and safer working environment.

Ph.D. Pam G. Marrone is reports a development of a new “green” pesticide obtained from an extract of the giant knotweed, in a report scheduled for presentation at the 236th national meeting of the American Chemical Society. The booming consumption of organic foods creates a pressing need for natural insecticides and herbicides that can be used on crops certified as “organic”.
Founder and CEO of Marrone Organic Innovations Inc., Marrone said, “the product is safe to humans, animals, and the environment.” The new biopesticide have an active compound that alerts plant defenses to a range of diseases, including powdery mildew, gray mold and bacterial blight that affect fruits and vegetables. Marja Koivunen, Ph.D., director of research and development for Marrone Organic Innovations said that the product will be available this coming October for conventional growers and a new formulation has also develop for organic farmers and will be available in 2009.
Biopesticides are derived from plants, microbes, and other natural materials and are proven to be safer for humans and the environment. The Marrone Organic Innovations or MOI R&D team is working on an organic rice herbicide based on an extract from a marine microorganism, and also on insecticides and nematocides to kill insect pests and soil inhabiting, like parasitic roundworms that affect plants and animals.
The synthetic pesticides sales dominate the $30 billion pesticide market and the use of biopesticides is increasing. Marrone Organic Innovations officials estimate that global sales will hit $1 billion by 2010 and grow 10 percent a year on average and the biopesticide could make up 4.25 percent of the global pesticide business in 2010, up from 2.5 percent in 2005

Organic food production is still hampered by concerns raised by consumers about the authenticity of organic produce, and although organic produce has secured market recognition in Malaysia. Attempts by the private sector and the government to address the issue however have not been so fruitful to date. This issue has been raised at public seminars, newspaper articles as well as internet chat sites.
Self claimed organic products can similarly retail alongside certified products at up to 300 percent more than conventional produce. The organic producers are burdened by the additional documentation, expenses, fees and control procedures which do not facilitate any additional market margin. NGO and public demands, the Malaysian government published the National Organic Standards (MS1529) in 2001. The Department of Agriculture established an organic certification program, Malaysian Organic Scheme (Skim Organik Malaysia-SOM), for the domestic market in December 2003.
The scope of the certification program, presently limited to crop production, is offered free of charge to farmers. Over 70 farmers have reportedly applied since 2004 but only 17 are certified so far. Certification of imported final products is clearly marked as such on their respective product labels. Importing from all over the world, the Malaysian market are with numerous certification marks, which wholesale and retail staff are not always able to explain correctly.
OAM or Organic Alliance Movement, comprising chief executive officers of major organic importers and wholesalers setup in 2002 has mixed results in establishing a local certification program; one of OAM’s founding objectives. Processors of imported certified bulk items often claim their repacked items are certified organic although their repacking operations are not certified. Processors of multi ingredients from different countries and certification systems face difficulty in the choice of certification body unless they simplify their supply sources.
Organic Alliance Movement or OAM is currently working on domestic organic assurance program, promoting Malaysia common market mark and in alliance with certification bodies in Europe and Asia to offer certification service for organic exporters.

Representatives of the organic community meet with the US department of Agriculture or USDA Farm Bill Implementation Team to discuss the implementation of organic provisions within the 2008 Farm Bill. The USDA Farm Bill Implementation Team was charged with crafting 70 implementation rules by 90 days after the 18 June enactment of the Bill.
It was arranged by The Organic Trade Association or OTA, was an opportunity to present information on the significance of organic provisions to the team charged with implementing the Farm Bill. Mark Lipson, senior policy analyst for the Organic Farming Research Foundation said “This meeting was very important as we shift from legislative advocacy to the hard work of implementation.” “Our wins in the Farm Bill must be integrated into each agency’s work plan as directed by the USDA leadership, but it won’t happen automatically.”
OTA spokesperson and other participants stressed the importance of National Organic Program funding, organic production and market data, research needs, organic crop insurance provisions, the national cost share certification program, and provisions for organic agriculture in conservation programs. OTA led group include representatives of the Organic Farming Research Foundation or OFRF, National Organic Coalition, Center for Food Safety, National Centre for Appropriate Technology, Rodale Institute, Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, Food and Water Watch and Florida Organic Growers.

With more people interested in buying organic food, a tucked away on the Canandaigua shoreline sits 50 acres of what Wegmans family calls their great experiment.  Wegmans developed a farm that is used as a testing ground to learn more about organic growing and pass on that knowledge to local growers.  Wegmans says his stores have seen an increased demand for organic produce in recent years, despite the fact that it’s usually more expensive.

Anne Grover, the organic farm’s garden manager said “I believe in bringing the heirloom vegetables back,” ”It is good DNA, they’ve survived the test of time, they are open pollinated which I think is very important.  I guess I’m old fashioned girl and an old fashioned gardener.”   Area farmers have noticed the trend as well.  A local farmer Jeff Partyka said, “I think there is an increased demand for growing organic and it is something we are hoping we can do.”  Partyka also owns a small fruit and vegetable farm in Hamlin.

Chickens raised on organic feed are also part of this farm.  Wegmans farm manager Steve Straub said “Once the farm gets going, I think this is a viable way of producing vegetables also.  We are just getting the fields and the soil established and that is the key.”  Those working the fields believe someday organic farming will surpass the traditional way of growing produce.  One area farmer is already considering making the switch from traditional to organic.