9月17日に、米国農務省から”New Data Shows Organic Farmers Continue to Expand Markets and Increase Sales”というレポートがリリースされた。これは、2008年以来の「有機農産物の生産統計調査」になる。その中から、われわれに興味深いと思われる重要なデータを紹介する。
詳しい記事は、ポール・ウルフ氏のブログ（NSACのHP記事、添付）を読んでいただくとして、簡単にデータを要約しておく。＜ ＞は、小川の解釈である。
（１）米国の有機農産物の国内生産出荷量は、6年間で72％伸びた（2014年対2008年）。ただし、有機栽培農家戸数と耕作面積はや減少している。
＜解説＞ これは、土地生産性が80％程度上昇していることがわかる。そして、有機農産物の生産が大規模農家に集約されていることをうかがわせる。ただし、のちに述べるように、生産地と消費地が距離的に近いCSA（提携型取引）のフォーマットが米国でも普及していることを考えると、販路の二極化が進行していることを推測させる。有機農産物の半分が量販店に（長距離輸送）、半分は直接消費者に（短距離輸送）。
（２）有機農産物の生産地域は、カリフォルニア州が41％を占める。ウイスコンシン州、ワシントン州、オレゴン州、ニューヨーク州がそれに続いている。
＜解説＞ 数年前に米国の市場を訪問した経験からも、有機農業の地域的な集約化が進んでいることをうかがわせる。西海岸のカリフォルニアなど3つの州は、冷涼な気候と肥沃な土地があるので有機農業に向いている。有機農業の量産品は、西海岸の３州に集約されているのだろう。それ以外の州では、短距離輸送型の取引になっているのだろうか？（後述）
（３）有機農産物のおよそ半分が、消費者に直接販売されている。しかも、全有機農産物の47％が、産地から100マイル以内（160KM圏内）で消費されている。
＜解説＞ 米国でも、思いのほかに、CSA（提携型取引）やファーマーズマーケット（農産物直売所）のシェアが高いことがわかる。卸売経由での取引のほとんどが、大規模小売業チェーン（コストコ、ウォールマート、ホールフーズなど）に流れていくはずだから、この数値は驚くべき大きさと言える。有機農産物の国内販路が、地域のフードシステムによって支えられている。最近、わたしどもの仲間が西海岸で経験してきた、小売業の視察ツアーと一致している（参考：小川ブログ）。
＜まとめ＞
以下のレポート（組織ブログ）は、USDAの調査から有機部分を抜き出してまとめたものである。日本の有機農業は、全農業生産のわずか0.2％程度と言われている。米国のデータは直接の参考にはならないかもしれないが、販路系の調査など、日本の農水省ももう少しに「有機エコ・環境保全型農業」に目を向けてくれないものだろうか？
参考までに、National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC)によるリリース（ブログ）を添付する。
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NSAC’s Blog
RELEASE: New Data Shows Organic Farmers Continue to Expand Markets and Increase Sales
September 17, 2015
Contact: Paul Wolfe or Juli Obudzinski, 202-547-5754
New Data Shows Organic Farmers Continue to Expand Markets and Increase Sales
Washington, D.C., September 17 — Today, The United States Department of Agriculture’s National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS) released results from the 2014 Organic Production Survey. This is the first comprehensive snapshot of organic agriculture since 2008.
“This survey is incredibly valuable because it provides important trend data for the organic industry and farmers interested in transitioning into organic production,” said Paul Wolfe, a policy specialist with the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC).
Wolfe continued, “We are especially pleased to see that sales from the organic sector have increased significantly over the past five years. This clearly demonstrates opportunities for continued growth for farmers who wish to expand or transition into organic production.”
While the survey reports a 72 percent increase in organic sales since 2008, it also states that the overall number of organic farms and total acreage of farm and ranchland under organic production have decreased over the same time period.
“While we are concerned with both the small decrease in the number of organic farms and the sizable loss of acres being farmed organically, the findings suggest that organic farmers are intensifying production and finding ways to add more value to their existing operations, which is great” continued Wolfe. “The question nonetheless remains as to why we are losing organic acreage at a time when demand for organic products has never been higher and imports are increasing. This question needs to be addressed lest we lose valuable market share.”
The survey also shows that organic production remains geographically concentrated on the West Coast, the Northeast, and the North Central region. California continues to lead the country in number of organic farms, acres, and sales — generating 41 percent of our country’s organic agricultural sales. Wisconsin, Washington, Oregon, and New York also have large numbers of organic farms and sales of organic products.
The survey also reports that while most organic farms rely on wholesale markets, almost half of all organic farms also sell directly to consumers, such as through a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) or farmers’ market.
“Organic farmers continue to contribute significantly to local and regional food systems, with over 46 percent of all organic sales occurring within 100 miles from the farm.” says Wolfe.
“Organic farmers also continue to diversify their markets, with a much larger share of farmers selling to both wholesale and local markets compared with conventional producers. The continued growth of local and regional food systems helps support the next generation of organic farmers, especially in areas of the country that may not have access to reliable organic wholesale or retail markets.”
The survey includes several elements first included in the 2008 Organic Production Survey and retained in the 2014 survey at the urging of NSAC. These elements include the inclusion of data on exempt organic farms, the type of land transitioning to organic (pasture, cropland, rangeland), and the percentage of a farm’s total agricultural sales that are organic. These questions and several others were not included in the 2011 Certified Organic Production Survey (COPS), which was originally slated as the basis for the 2014 survey.
The survey expansion, which was done at the urging of NSAC and other organic stakeholders, will allow the organic industry to have important trend data, which will help organic producers and those considering transitioning to organic production to be better informed on growth trends, production challenges, price premiums, and domestic supply.
Wolfe concluded: “These recent findings not only provide an important snapshot of our country’s organic farming sector, but for the first time, also provides invaluable historical data needed to assess whether this growth trend is likely to continue in the years to come.”
“We hope that USDA and Congress will realize the value of this survey and the importance of the clearly growing organic farming sector, and we hope they will work together to ensure that the Organic Production Survey continues to be conducted regularly in the years to come” said Wolfe.
Background
This survey was conducted as a follow-on to the 2012 Census of Agriculture. The 2014 Organic Production Survey was modeled after a nearly identical survey conducted in 2008 as the first follow-on survey of organic producers following the 2008 Census of Agriculture. NASS also conducted a more limited survey of organic agriculture in 2011, which was aimed at only certified operations, and primarily focused on the collection of price data to inform the development of organic crop insurance policies.
The 2014 Organic Production Survey results are the compilation of the answers to questionnaires sent to all organic producers, including exempt farms and farms transitioning to organic, in January 2015. The survey was distributed in 2015, but the questions cover the 2014 crop year.
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The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition is a grassroots alliance that advocates for federal policy reform supporting the long-term social, economic, and environmental sustainability of agriculture, natural resources, and rural communities.
