Organic farming has been practiced around the world for thousands of years. It is the original type of farming that existed before the introduction of synthetic chemical inputs. Although products like synthetic fertilizers were first available in the early twentieth century, they didn’t become widely used until after World War II.

New Zealand’s Organic Movement Has Deep Roots

The country’s earliest organic organisations were born and grew during the Second World War, when wartime fertiliser shortages created a need for organic home gardens. One of New Zealand’s (and one of the world’s) first organic organisations, the Humic Compost Club, was founded in 1941 and educated thousands of Kiwis in composting and other organic gardening skills. It would later become the Soil and Health Association, which still operates today. The New Zealand Bio Dynamic Farming and Gardening Association (now Biodynamics New Zealand) was formed in 1939.

Following World War II, chemical-intensive agriculture surged again. However, in the 1970s, organic methods began to experience a renaissance. More home gardeners began to return to organic practices, and commercial producers sprung up to meet consumer demand. In 1983, New Zealand’s first organic certifier, BioGro, was set up to certify New Zealand growers to a high standard and build consumer trust in organic products.

By the 1990s New Zealand was exporting hundreds of tonnes of organic products. In the last two decades, New Zealand’s organic production has continued to grow significantly, as documented in the OANZ Organic Market Reports.

OANZ was formed in 2006 to bring together the country’s organic organisations in order to speak with a unified voice to policymakers and the public.