In six years, a quarter of agriculture in the EU countries must be organic, as agreed in the farm-to-table food strategy. But according to the European Environment Agency (EEA), this will not be possible if additional steps are not taken quickly.
A new EMA report shows that the EU will not meet most of the European Commission's environmental targets for 2023 . The objectives for expanding organic agriculture are also disappearing. The share of organic farming will probably increase, but "not sufficiently".
According to the report, organic farming has increased steadily since 2012, from 5.9 percent of agricultural land to 9.9 percent in 2021. If the current growth rate were maintained, the share of organic farming would reach 15 percent in 2030, which would not be in accordance with the agreed objectives. To achieve the target of 'a quarter organic by 2030', the pace would have to almost double in the coming years.
The report shows that the share of organically cultivated agricultural area increased in all EU member states – with the exception of Poland – between 2012 and 2021. At the same time, the differences between countries are still large.
While in Austria, Estonia and Sweden more than 20 percent of agricultural land will be used for organic farming in 2021, this share is still below 5 percent in six Member States, with the lowest percentages recorded in Ireland, Bulgaria and Malta. The Netherlands is in the EU list with 3.9 percent, just above Romania (3.5%) and Bulgaria (2.3%). The European average in 2020 was 9.1 percent.