A new EEA report shows that the EU will miss most of the European Commission's environmental targets for 2023 . The goals for expanding organic farming will also be missed. The share of organic farming will likely increase, but “not sufficiently.”
According to the report, organic farming has steadily increased since 2012, from 5.9 percent of agricultural land to 9.9 percent in 2021. If the current growth rate continues, the share of organic farming in 2030 would be 15 percent, which would not align with the agreed targets. To reach the goal of ‘a quarter organic by 2030,’ the rate would need to nearly double in the coming years.
The report shows that the share of organically farmed land increased in all EU member states between 2012 and 2021—except Poland. At the same time, differences between countries remain large.
While in Austria, Estonia, and Sweden more than 20 percent of agricultural land was used for organic farming in 2021, this share remains below 5 percent in six member states, with the lowest percentages recorded in Ireland, Bulgaria, and Malta. The Netherlands ranks just above Romania (3.5%) and Bulgaria (2.3%) in the EU list with 3.9 percent. The European average was 9.1 percent in 2020.