Organic Background

Organic farming is a method of production which emphasises environmental protection and animal welfare considerations. It avoids or largely reduces the use of synthetic chemical inputs such as fertilisers, pesticides, additives and medicinal products.

In response to "the rapid increase in the number of farmers producing organically and strong demand from consumers," the European Commission adopted a European action plan for organic food and farming in June 2004. It sets out initiatives aimed at developing the market for organic food and improving standards by increasing efficacy, transparency and consumer confidence.

According to Eurostat, only 1.6% of all EU-25 agricultural holdings were organic in 2005, but the average size of these organic holdings was "larger than for all holdings": 39 hectares per organic holding, compared with 16 hectares per holding on average.

Italy had the largest proportion of organic farming as a proportion of total utilised agricultural area: 1.1 million hectares, which represents 17% of the EU-25's total organic area. It was followed by Germany and Spain, which each account for 0.8 million hectares, the UK with 0.6 million and France with 0.56m.

EurActiv