As populations grow and food systems face increasing environmental pressures, more countries are recognizing the importance of producing and consuming food that is safe, healthy, and environmentally sustainable. Organic agriculture offers an approach that promotes both human health and environmental protection by reducing reliance on synthetic chemicals and encouraging sustainable farming practices.
Mongolia has taken important steps to create an enabling environment for organic agriculture. The country adopted its Organic Food Law in 2016, followed by regulations and standards that strengthened the legal framework for organic production and certification. Since 2018, organic producers have been able to certify their products through either third-party certification or the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS), allowing legally registered producers to market their products using recognized organic labels and the government’s organic logo.
This has been an important development for farmers who have long produced environmentally friendly and healthy products but previously had limited ways to distinguish them in the marketplace.
Building organic production from the soil up
Organic agriculture is more than simply avoiding chemical fertilizers and pesticides. It is an approach to farming that recognizes the close connection between healthy soil, healthy plants, animals, and people.
Sustainable practices include the proper preparation and use of organic fertilizers from plant and animal sources, as well as biological and mechanical methods for managing insects and other pests. Maintaining fertile and healthy soil is therefore central to producing safe and nutritious food.
In line with this approach, the project collaborated with the Plant Protection Research Institute in Darkhan-Uul Province to conduct soil analyses covering 264 farmer fields belonging to 30 primary cooperatives. Water samples from eight major rivers were also analyzed as part of efforts to better understand the environmental conditions supporting agricultural production.
For farmers practicing organic agriculture, these efforts provide valuable scientific information while reinforcing the importance of protecting the natural resources on which their livelihoods depend.
“We do not use chemical fertilizers or chemical additives. Instead, we use livestock and bird manure to enrich our soil. Our soil is therefore very fertile and healthy, and our vegetables are pure and healthy as well,” said S. Badam, a woman farmer and member of Selenge Organic Mandal Participatory Guarantee Organization.
Through the PGS, farmers conduct peer reviews of one another’s farms while also undergoing external inspections to ensure compliance with organic standards.
Certification creates new opportunities for farmers
For farmers, becoming part of a certified organic organization has opened new possibilities to reach consumers looking for safe and healthy food.
One farmer member shared that they joined the Selenge Organic Participatory Guarantee Organization the previous year with the goal of contributing to the supply of quality, certified, healthy, and safe food.
In the following season, the farmer grew 12 types of vegetables using organic methods and sold around four tons of four to five vegetable varieties in the market.
Certification has also helped farmers move beyond traditional crops and explore new products and markets.
“In the past, we mainly grew common vegetables such as cabbage, tomato, and onion. Now we grow a wider variety of vegetables and supply them to the market,” another farmer member explained.
Another farmer has specialized in growing seasoning vegetables and herbs such as oregano, basil, cumin, and celeryover the past two to three years. By drying, properly packaging, and labeling these products, the farmer has transformed them into value-added organic products for the market.
“This has brought a lot of improvements and benefits to my life, and I am very happy,” the farmer said.
From production to value addition and marketing
Producing organic food is only one part of building a successful organic value chain. Farmers also need skills, market access, appropriate packaging, and stronger business partnerships to turn their products into sustainable sources of income.
To help achieve this, the project organized 24 business, marketing, value-chain counseling sessions and training activities, covering areas such as cooperative business planning, product development, marketing and sales of organic products, human resource management, organic value-chain development, and international practices, including experiences from South Korea.
A total of 1,372 cooperative members participated in these activities.
The project also supported the certification, packaging, and labeling of organic vegetables, honey, and other value-added organic products. Overall, 60 types of products were developed, giving farmers opportunities to diversify their product offerings and improve their market presence.
The Selenge Organic farmers also participated in fairs and exhibitions, where they showcased their certified organic products directly to consumers. These activities helped raise awareness about organic agriculture while giving farmers opportunities to build relationships with buyers and explore new markets.
Bringing organic products closer to consumers
An important milestone was the establishment of the Selenge Organic Shop in Ulaanbaatar, with support from the APFP-FO4A project.
The shop provides a dedicated space for marketing and selling organic products produced by farmers while bringing certified products closer to consumers in the capital. Beyond providing a sales outlet, it also serves as a platform for increasing consumer awareness of organic agriculture and the benefits of choosing certified products.
These market-oriented interventions demonstrate that supporting farmers does not end at the farm gate. From certification and production to processing, packaging, branding, and marketing, strengthening every stage of the value chain can help small-scale farmers capture greater value from their products.
Investing in farmer-led organic value chains
In 2023, Selenge Tavan Khairkhan Cooperative received USD 17,699 from the APFP-FO4A program to implement its business plan. The funding was used as additional working capital to support the aggregation and marketing of produce from farmer members.
The Asia-Pacific Farmers’ Program (APFP) – Farmers’ Organizations for Asia (FO4A) was implemented by the Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA) and La Via Campesina (LVC), with funding from the European Union (EU) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The program aimed to strengthen the capacities of farmers’ organizations to provide economic services, advocate for enabling policies, and promote sustainable livelihoods for small-scale family farmers across Asia.
The investment complemented the project’s broader support for organic production, certification, business development, and market access. Together, these interventions are helping farmers move from simply producing food to developing competitive, certified, and value-added organic products.
For Selenge’s farmers, the transition to organic agriculture is therefore about more than meeting production standards. It is about building healthier soils, protecting the environment, providing consumers with safe and healthy food, diversifying products, accessing better markets, and ultimately improving the livelihoods of small-scale farmers.
By connecting farmers with certification systems, knowledge, finance, markets, and consumers, the initiative demonstrates how farmer organizations can play a central role in developing sustainable organic food systems—starting from the soil and reaching all the way to the marketplace.
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