Organic products boom encouraged 

Government looks into ways to give growers further assistance

Staci Semrad / Prague Post 29nov00

Blanka Tovarysova recalls when organic granola was almost impossible to find in local stores. For health food devotees, those lean days are over.

"If you compare with five or 10 years ago, the assortment of health food is much larger, especially [food products] made in the Czech Republic," said the 45-year-old Tovarysova, while examining the well-stocked aisles of Vegetka, a health food shop in Prague 1.

The growth of the Czech health food market drew special attention in November when 150 industry experts and government officials gathered in the capital to attend a special parliamentary conference called to help promote organic farming.

The participants included farmers, lawmakers, organic-foods producers and members of environmental organizations. They concluded that the state should support a fund to promote organic products and called for an independent program to guarantee loans for organic farmers.

The Czech health food market was thriving long before the conference.

Consumer demand for health food rose during the 1990s, as Czechs became more aware of -- and interested in eating -- organically grown food. The government, and President Vaclav Havel, have supported the organic food industry for years.

The boom comes as the European Union, which Prague is bidding to join, pressures the country to promote more ecologically sound farming practices. But the government needs no prompting, says Jaroslav Prazan, a consultant to the Agriculture Ministry and researcher with the Research Institute of Agricultural Economics. "The ministry generally feels [assistance] is necessary regardless of the EU."

Growing interest
According to the ministry, the number of Czech organic food producers increased from three to 473 between 1990 and 1999.

Among the largest producers is Sunfood, a Dobruska-based company that began nine years ago in a family home, but has since expanded to 25 employees. Sunfood makes soy-based products like tofu burgers and soy cheese.

"We think people will be using our products more in the future for health reasons," said Kvetuse Dvorakova, whose family owns Sunfood.

The boom began on the farm. For a decade, the Agriculture Ministry has regulated and subsidized organic farmers to protect natural resources and encourage a sustainable food system.

The ministry hopes to increase the number of organic growers, who now comprise about 3 percent of the country's farmers. Within four years, the government wants one out of 10 farmers growing organic crops, said Ivan Landa, head of the ministry's rural area development section.

"Ecofarming is very important and the ministry supports it all the way," Landa said.

-- Petr Kaspar and Yekaterina Zapletnyuka contributed to this report.

Staci Semrad may be reached at ssemrad@praguepost.cz

http://www.praguepost.cz/busi112900c.html