The European Union is “wide of the mark” in its support measures for organic farming, and the target of achieving 25% organic farmland by 2030 “seems out of reach”, warns the European Court of Auditors in a report published on Monday 23 September.
“Around €12 billion of EU funding has been provided since 2014 without adequately nurturing the organic sector”, deplore the auditors, who visited four Member States with different agricultural profiles: Romania, Poland, Austria and Italy. And the Court found inconsistencies in the support.
For example, farmers can receive European funds even though they do not apply the standards relating to crop rotation or animal welfare, which are basic principles of organic farming.
And it is even “common legal practice to obtain authorisation for using non-organic seeds when planting organic crops”, says the Court.
The current strategy has “significant shortcomings”, and the European objective of devoting 25% of agricultural land to organic farming by 2030 seems unattainable, it warns.
Beyond 2030, the EU has “neither a vision nor targets for the organic sector”, which remains a niche market.
According to the person responsible for the report, Keit Pentus-Rosimannus, the EU needs to change its approach by “developing the market and boosting production” of organic produce, rather than focusing on increasing the amount of land under cultivation.
The Commission believes that the Court of Auditors’ analysis is out of date. The Commission attaches great importance to organic farming “due to its positive impacts on our environment, our climate, the soil, water, air, biodiversity and animal welfare”, says the European Commission, defending itself against criticism from the Court of Auditors. The Commission also believes that organic farming offers excellent economic and diversification opportunities for EU producers.
It explains that the weaknesses observed “mainly relate to the implementation at Member State level in the audited period 2014-2022”. The assessment is “outdated and incomplete, given that it does not take into account recent developments under the current CAP”, according to the Commission, which will be encouraging Member States to align this support more closely with needs.
See the report by the European Court of Auditors: https://aeur.eu/f/djj (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)