The European Commission is expected to adopt, on 24 March, an ambitious action plan for the development of the organic farming sector. Twenty-two initiatives are planned in order to reach the target of 25% of agricultural land under organic farming by 2030.
This action plan is explained in a Commission Communication on the development of this sector. EUROPE has been able to consult a draft Communication, which may be amended between now and the date of adoption.
The EU Organic Farming Action Plan is one of the important elements in the implementation of the commitments under the ‘European Green Deal’.
The action plan “aims to increase the share of organic farming in Europe and to widen the accessibility of organic food” by integrating it, for example, into school meals and canteens in the workplace, in the hotel and catering sector, in supermarkets and in daily domestic cooking, according to the project.
The goal is thus to give “more European citizens” the opportunity to have access to organic food.
The action plan aims to respond to the main challenges of the organic farming sector and is based on three axes: stimulating global demand, increasing production and addressing environmental and climate change challenges.
Clear national objectives. In December 2020, the Commission published recommendations to Member States on their future strategic plans for the CAP. These recommendations focus on the objectives of the ‘European Green Deal’, including that of reaching 25% of agricultural land under organic farming by 2030.
The action plan states that each Member State will have to develop “a national strategy with an action plan including clear national targets and deadlines”.
“All Member States should explain how they intend to contribute to the EU target by setting a national value for the share of organic area in 2030, taking into account their different starting points” the draft states.
The Commission will monitor these strategies annually.
Preventing food fraud. The success of products depends on consumer trust in the EU logo and its control system. Fraudulent behaviour and intentional violations can harm consumer confidence, admits the Commission.
Cooperation between officials, police and customs officers with investigative powers, judges and prosecutor administrations “is very important at national and EU level to prevent and fight against fraud in organics”, says the Commission.
It will strengthen the fight against fraudulent practices, in particular by enhancing risk assessments and the use of new technologies, and by increasing the number of audits in Member States and in third countries.
Improve traceability. The reputation of the organic scheme relies on the ability to trace the products from the fork back to the farm.
To strengthen traceability and transparency, it is important to have a clear overview of the operators involved in the organic scheme.
Control bodies are already obliged to publish on their website the organic operators’ certificate, but this information is not yet centralised on a single European website. Therefore, the European Commission will develop a ‘database of certificates of all European producers’ which, at a later stage, will be extended to third country producers.
Other initiatives include strengthening the role of retailers, food services, restaurants and businesses.
In the area of increasing production, the action plan includes speeding up the conversion of land to organic farming with funds from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) rural development programmes, increasing market transparency, supporting the organisation of the food chain, strengthening local and small-scale processing and promoting short trade channels, improving animal feed according to organic farming rules, and developing organic aquaculture.
With regard to the sustainability of the sector, the Commission identifies various actions, including the creation of a pilot network of carbon-neutral organic farms to share best practice with a view to introducing a voluntary system of labelling the carbon footprint of organic production.
It also suggests earmarking funds under the Horizon Europe research programme to support the preservation and use of genetic resources, breeding activities and the availability of organic seeds, “including contributing to the development of organic heterogeneous plant reproductive material and plant varieties suitable for organic production”.
Biennial progress reports and a midterm review of the action plan in 2023 will be made available to the public.
To raise public awareness of organic production, the Commission will organise an EU-wide ‘Organic Day’ every year.
An annex to the Communication, as seen by EUROPE, gives an overview of the 22 initiatives included in the action plan (including the Directorates-General responsible for the implementation of each action).
Organic in figures. Organic production in the EU has seen an increase in surface area of almost 62% in the last decade - from 8.5 million hectares in 2010 to 13.8 million hectares in 2019.
It currently accounts for 8.5% of the EU’s total ‘utilised agricultural area’.
The rise in surface area is matched by a substantial increase in retail sales, which have doubled in value over the last 10 years, from around €18 billion in 2010 to over €41 billion in 2019.
Land farmed organically has about 30% more biodiversity in comparison to conventional farming. Organic farmers are not allowed to use chemical pesticides and synthetic fertilisers. The use of antibiotics is severely restricted. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)