Organic agriculture offers trade opportunities for farmers in the developing and developed countries. This market of organic products is expected to grow globally in the coming years and high growth rates over the medium term (from 10-15 to 25-30 %) are expected (Yussefi and Willer, 2002). This organic market expansion makes it possible for farmers to reap the benefits of a trade with relatively high price premiums (Yussefi and Willer, 2002). However, this market is not very well known to most farmers, especially those living in the developing countries. Furthermore, information about it is not readily available to farmers in the developing countries. The absence of sufficient technical and market information and financial support also means that few farmers will risk changing their method of production.
In developing countries it is therefore essential for major key players (e.g. NGOs, farmer organizations, traders, exporters etc.) that promote organic farming to have up-to-date information on the available opportunities (market requirements) and trends of the organic market. One example is India, a country with a huge number of small farmers who still use traditional methods and do farming with few agricultural inputs. NGOs that promote organic farming and other organizations support farmers in these aspects. An organic movement is now emerging in India on different levels (producer groups, trainers and advisors, certification bodies and processors and traders). So dissemination of information about the opportunities and challenges for Indian organic products on the domestic and international market is of fundamental concern in order to allow continued development of the organic agriculture movement in this country
