Brussels, 01/08/2002 (Agence Europe) - On Monday, the British government announced that it had launched a twenty-point action plan to develop organic farming, a form of production that is increasingly in demand from consumers. This helping hand by the United Kingdom for this kind of production was announced just as the services of Franz Fischler are preparing a Community strategy for organic farming, which the European Commission will present in September.
In 2003, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) will make available EUR 8 million to support research in this sector in Britain. The government is committed to promoting organic products in schools and hospitals and encouraging supermarkets to get their supplies from British farmers.
In a study, the main farmers union, the NFU (National Farmers Union) asserted that a third of organic farms lost money in 2001 and accused the government of indifference. Land used for organic production increased by a third in 2001, while the number of organic farms that were in debt almost doubled since 1997, explained the NFU. According to another study by the "Soil Association", 75% of organically derived products sold in the United Kingdom are imported, as opposed to conventional agricultural products. Organic farming only accounts for 3% of land farmed in the United Kingdom.