Jianchun Guo, Youpeng Ke:
What Does WTO Mean for Organic Farming in the Tropical Region of China

JIANCHUN GUO, YOUPENG KE
South China University of Tropical Agriculture, China

Since the 1980s of last century, the role of organic farming is world widely recognized because of environmental problems caused by chemicals used in modern agriculture. Compared with the developed countries (like EU, USA), the development of organic farming in developing countries is very slow. What is the major reason for that? Could the economic globalization stimulate organic farming development in the developing countries?

This study is going to find major problems and stimulation of organic farming development in China, and to analyze the impact of China's entry to WTO on organic farming based on a case study in Hainan Province of China.

In order to fit the WTO agreements and to meet increased requirements on technical and hygienic standards as well as to increase competitiveness of the Chinese agricultural products on the world market, the Chinese government has paid much more attention to produce low-chemical or non-chemical polluted agricultural products. Hainan province is located in the tropical region of Southern China. The major goal of the province is to construct an ``Ecological Province'' (that means very good in ecological environment). Agricultural GDP accounted for over [40]% of the total GDP in Hainan. That makes agriculture play a very important role in Hainan's economy. The major export of agricultural products are vegetables, fruits and fishes. Would WTO be a new stimulation for organic faming development in Hainan? The investigation will be conducted on the producers, consumers and governors in Hainan province. Based on the analyzed results, future prospects of organic farming in China will be forecasted.

Keywords: China, organic farming, WTO

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Contact Address: Jianchun Guo, South China University of Tropical Agriculture, South China University of Tropical Agriculture, Economy and Trade College, 571737 Danzhou, China, e-mail: guojchchina.com