To achieve healthy growth of the organic sector in Europe, the European market “must not be heavily affected by increasing competition from non-EU products”.

That is according to Copa-Cogeca, the body that represents European farmers and European co-operatives.

In a position paper published this week – relating to proposals by the European Commission in its action plan for organic farming – Copa-Cogeca said that organic farming has been growing over the last decade (62% in 10 years), from 8.5 million ha in 2010 to 13.8 million ha in 2019.

“The current EU farmland devoted to this farming is at 8.5%, far from the ambitious target of 25% presented in the Farm to Fork Strategy.

“Even if the target to be reached in nine years is very ambitious, there are ways to improve the share of organic farming in a system that must remain market-driven as is the case in the Commission’s proposal.”

But, the farming body said that to reach the 25% target, clear direction and concrete options for farmers need to be discussed.

Organic challenges

On livestock, a major obstacle in the transition remains the lack of organic feed sourced in Europe, it said.

“In 2019, oilcake imports increased by 13% (386t) while soya-bean imports increased by 25% in the same year (357t of the total oilcakes) – 80% of all oilcakes imported into the EU comes from China.

“There is a clear and strong need to increase the production of European organic protein feed if we want to support the conventional livestock sector’s conversion to organic.”

Protein feed is not only a question of quantity but also of quality, according to Copa-Cogeca.

“Boosting the production of high-quality protein feed to reduce European dependence on non-European imports of organic proteins will offer interesting opportunities.

“To reach the 25% target, research and innovation will have to be increased and serious discussions will have to take place on both seeds and plant protection.”