Organic agriculture is being promoted as a means to increase the incomes of Pacific island farmers. It is usually assumed that farmers' income from growing organic products will be higher because the prices they receive for these products will be higher. Yet, little or no research has been undertaken on the economics of organic agriculture in the Pacific islands. This research explores the economics of organic agriculture, with the case of Fiji papaya. EU funded market studies have identified organic papaya as a product with considerable potential for Fijian farmers with high export prices on offer compared with conventional papaya. Significant export markets have been identified in the USA and Japan. With HTFA, Fiji has an organic quarantine treatment, which most of our competitors do not have. One exporter has begun experimenting with an organic production system. Despite the significantly higher export prices on offer it is not known if it is financially worthwhile to produce organic papaya in Fiji, when the higher cost of inputs and expected lower yields is taken into account. To answer these questions the NWC/Fiji Papaya Project conducted a field trial to compare an organic papaya production system with a conventional system.
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