ECONOMICAL STUDY FOR PRODUCING AND MARKETING SOME ORGANIC MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC PLANT IN FAYOUM GOVERNORATE

the intensive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticide- as one of the methods,- to increase crop productivity, which leads to spread of negative effects on the safety of the environment and human health. So the Ministry of Agriculture and related bodies interested in and encourage the production of food crops to use organic farming. This research aims to shed light on the future of organic farming and the development of cultivated area in the Arab countries during the period (2008-2012), in addition to review of some organic farming in the governorate of Fayoum, which is one of the most important one in Egypt applied of these kind of farming. Fayoum comes in the forefront in terms of organic cultivated area of medicinal and aromatic plant which represented about 27% of the total cultivated area at the level of the Republic, which is estimated at 23.41 thousand feddan. A purposive sample has been selected of the largest district in the governorate namely; Fayoum and Ebshway, and then two villages of each district were selected. A questionnaire forms was designed in the season 2013/2014 (the sample size are 80 farmers)distributed as follows: 40 farmers for organic farming, each district 20 farmers spread over two villages include 10 farmers per village, in the Fayoum district both Manshyet Sakran and Sheikh Fadel villages selected in Fayoum district, both Abu Juncho and Tobhar villages were chosen in Ebshway district, on the other hand a similar sample selected in the same villages for the same selected traditional crops.Fayoum district occupies the first place in terms of organic cultivated area which amounted to 3.024 thousand feddan represented 47.8% of the total cultivated area at the governorate level, which amounted to 6.32 thousand feddan, both villages of Manshyet Sakran and Sheikh Fadel were selected, their total area were about 180 and 230 feddan respectively in both summer and winter crops to the study villages for each of peppermint and marjoram.The district of" Ebshway "occupies the second place with an area of approximately 2.03 thousand feddan represent 32.2% of the total cultivated area at the governorate level, both villages of "Abu Jncho" and "Tobhar" has been selected which amounted to about 52 and 62 feddan for the cultivation of summer and winter of both peppermint and marjoram. The findings of the economic indicators of the crop study marjoram and peppermint for both organic and conventional agriculture, indicated that productivity of marjoram decreased in organic farming by about 7.1% comparing to its counter pass in traditional agriculture, an increase by 101.5% have happened, with respect to both total return and net return perfeddan, they are growing by 213.3%, 283.8%, respectively, comparing to traditional agriculture, and this reflects the increase in the average of farm gate price per ton for Organic Marjoram about 12.8 thousand tons, compared to 3.79 tons in traditional Marjoram with an increase represented 237.1%.As for productivity per feddan for organic peppermint, it has increased by about 2.56% comparing to traditional peppermint, while increasing the average of variable costs in organic farming by about 1070 pounds, an increase of 25.2% of the average variable costs in conventional farming, there is also an increasing for each of total return and net return per feddan by 64.1%, 81.7%, respectively rather than their counter pass in conventional farming, reflecting the increase in the average of farm gate price per ton for organic peppermint to about 12 thousand pounds compared to 7 thousand pounds for traditional peppermint ,with an increase represented 71.4%.It is worth noting that farmers are facing several problems when they apply of organic farming, which the most important is the effect of chemicals residual, pesticides, which were suffered by about 85% of the farmers in the study sample, followed by the problem of the rise of bio- composes prices by 72.5% of the number of farmers, then the problem of low productivity per feddan represent 57.5% of the farmers and also the problem of the spread of weeds, insects by 55% of the sample farmers.With regard to the most important problems facing farmers in traditional farming, they are the high price of inputs which represent about 52.5% of the study sample size, as well as the limited number of skilled labor and the infection of diseases and fungi by 22.5%, 77.5%, respectively, and also lowering of the average farm gate price per ton representing 72.5% of the number of farmers in the study sample.So, the research recommends the following:  To encourage the formation of Non-governmental associations of organic farming and to support them as its important role to spread organic farming in the countryside and then increase the net income of farmers.  To Link the organic crops farmers with markets by contracting farming with organic farming associations and exporters with suitable tools.  Working on reach of the marketing information with accessible manner for farmers and exporters to ensure the marketing of their products at the right price and highly quality through the marketing information network.  To increase the organic cultivated area financing their farmers as a reason of their highly production costs.