Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate the status of organic farming in the member states of the European Union, drawing on its potential and selected elements of the organic agri-food products market. To this end, we used several partial indicators and a synthetic measure, which allowed us to create a ranking of the member states depending on the development level of organic farming. The survey showed a 50% increase in the utilised agricultural area allocated for organic farming in the EU from 2015 to 2021 and a 69% increase from 2012 to 2021. So far, the only member state to meet the target set by the Green Deal, that is, 25% of organic UAA, has been Austria. Considering the synthetic index, Portugal is a leader of organic farming development. In addition, differences exist between EU member states in consumers’ expenditure on organic products.
References
Agri-food data portal. (2023). Context Indicators (CMEF). https://agridata.ec.europa.eu/extensions/DataPortal/context_indicators.html
Ahlem, Z., & Hammas, M. A. (2017). Organic farming: A path of sustainable development. International Journal of Economics & Management Sciences, 6(5), 456. https://doi.org/10.4172/2162-6359.1000456
Barbieri, P., Pellerin, S., Seufert, V., Smith, L., Ramankutty, N., & Nesme, T. (2021). Global option space for organic agriculture is delimited by nitrogen availability. Nature Food, 2(5), 363-372. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00276-y
Barreiro Hurle, J., Bogonos, M., Himics, M., Hristov, J., Perez Dominguez, I., Sahoo, A., Salputra, G., Weiss, F., Baldoni, E., & Elleby, Ch. (2021). Modelling environmental and climate ambition in the agricultural sector with the CAPRI model. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. https://dx.doi.org/10.2760/98160
Benbrook, C., Kegley, S., & Baker, B. (2021). Organic farming lessens reliance on pesticides and promotes public health by low-ering dietary risks. Agronomy, 11(7), 1266. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11071266
Best, H. (2010). Environmental concern and the adoption of organic agriculture. Society & Natural Resources, 23(5), 451-468. https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920802178206
Biernat-Jarka, A., & Trębska, P. (2018). The importance of organic farming in the context of sustainable development of rural areas in Poland. Acta Scientiarum Polonorum. Oeconomia, 17(2), 39-47. https://doi.org/10.22630/ASPE.2018.17.2.19
Brock, C., & Bradford, L. B. (2013). Milk is milk: Organic dairy adoption decisions and bounded rationality. Sustainability, 5(12), 5416-5441. https://doi.org/10.3390/su5125416
Brzezina, N., Biely, K., Helfgott, A., Kopainsky, B., Vervoort, J., & Mathijs, E. (2017). Development of organic farming in Europe at the crossroads: Looking for the way forward through system archetypes lenses. Sustainability, 9(5), 821. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9050821
Busacca, E., Gernert, M., Moeskops, B., Steu, A., & Willer, H. (2023). Organic in Europe: Recent Developments. In H. Willer, B. Schlatter & J. Trávníček (Eds.), The World of Organic Agriculture. Statistics and Emerging Trends 2023 (pp. 225-233). Bonn: Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7572890
Calabro, G., & Vieri, S. (2023). Limits and potential of organic farming towards a more sustainable European agri-food system. British Food Journal, 126(1). https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-12-2022-1067
Cherevko, G. (2018). Organic farming in Ukraine - State, problems and perspectives. Annals PAAAE, 20(5), 36-41. https://doi.org/10.5604/01.3001.0012.6676
Coe, S., Malik, X., Rankl, F., Bolton, P., & Stewart, I. (2022). The effect of the war in Ukraine on UK farming and food production. https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cdp-2022-0147/
Czyżewski, A., & Czyżewski, B. (2016). Research challenges for agricultural economics in the new paradigm. In B. Czyżewski (Ed.), Political rents of European farmers in the sustainable development paradigm. International, national and regional perspective (pp. 18-27). Warsaw: PWN.
European Commission. (2020). Farm to Fork Strategy. For a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system. https://food.ec.europa.eu/document/download/472acca8-7f7b-4171-98b0-ed76720d68d3_en?filename=f2f_action-plan_2020_strategy-info_en.pdf
European Commission. (2021). Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, On an Action Plan for the Development of Organic Production, Pub. L. No. 52021DC0141R(01). https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52021DC0141R%2801%29
European Commission. (2023a). At a glance: The Netherlands’ CAP Strategic Plan. https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2024-01/csp-at-a-glance-netherlands_en.pdf
European Commission. (2023b). Organic farming in the EU. A decade of organic growth. https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2023-04/agri-market-brief-20-organic-farming-eu_en.pdf
European Parliament resolution of 15 January 2020 on the European Green Deal, Pub. L. No. 52020IP0005, 270 OJ C (2020). https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52020IP0005
Eurostat. (2023). Database. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database
Eyinade, G. A., Mushunje, A., & Yusuf, S. F. G. (2021). The willingness to consume organic food: a review. Food and Agricultural Immunology, 32(1), 78-104. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540105.2021.1874885
FiBL Statitiscs. (2023). FiBL Statistics - European and global organic farming statistics. https://statistics.fibl.org/index.html
Field, A. (2018). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS Statistics (5th). SAGE Publications.
Gołaś, M., Sulewski, P., Wąs, A., Kłoczko-Gajewska, A., & Pogodzińska, K. (2020). On the way to sustainable agriculture - eco-efficiency of Polish commercial farms. Agriculture, 10(10), 438. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture10100438
Hassen, B. T., & Bilali, E. H. (2022). Impacts of the Russia - Ukraine War on Global Food Security: Towards More Sustainable and Resilient Food Systems? Foods, 11(15), 2301. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11152301
Hayati, D., Ranjbar, Z., & Karami, E. (2010). Measuring agricultural sustainability. In E. Lichtfouse (Ed.), Biodiversity, biofuels, agroforestry and conservation agriculture. Sustainable Agriculture Reviews (pp. 73-100). Dordrecht: Springer.
Kelly, E., Latruffe, L., Desjeux, Y., Ryan, M., Uthes, S., Diazabakana, A., Dillon, E., & John Finn, J. (2018). Sustainability indicators for improved assessment of the effects of agricultural policy across the EU: Is FADN the answer? Ecological Indicators, 89, 903-911. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.12.053
Kociszewski, K. (2022). Perspectives of Polish organic farming development in the aspect of the European Green Deal. Economics and Environment, 2(81), 154-167. https://doi.org/10.34659/eis.2022.81.2.461
Kołoszko-Chomentowska, Z., & Stalgiene, A. (2019). Barriers to the development of organic farming. Annals PAAAE, 21(4), 215-222. https://doi.org/10.5604/01.3001.0013.5814
Komorowska, D. (2014). Development of organic production and organic food market in Europe. Acta Scientiarum Polonorum. Oeconomia, 13(4), 91-101. https://aspe.sggw.edu.pl/article/view/472
Kowalska, A., & Bieniek, M. (2022). Meeting the European green deal objective of expanding organic farming. Equilibrium. Quarterly Journal of Economics and Economic Policy, 17(3), 607-633. https://doi.org/10.24136/eq.2022.021
Lampkin, N. (2023). Policy support for organic farming in the European Union – past achievements and future challenges. Proceedings of the 97th Annual Conference of the Agricultural Economics Society, University of Warwick, United Kingdom, 334516. https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.334516
Le Gall, C., Lecomte, V., & Wagner, D. (2022). Oilseed and protein crops grown in French organic farms: an overview of cultivation practices for sunflower and soybean. OCL, 29, 4. https://doi.org/10.1051/ocl/2021043
Łuczka, W., & Kalinowski, S. (2020). Barriers to the development of organic farming: A Polish case study. Agriculture, 10(11), 536. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture10110536
Łuczka, W., Kalinowski, S., & Shmygol, N. (2021). Organic farming support policy in a sustainable development context: A Polish Case Study. Energies, 14(14), 4208. https://doi.org/10.3390/en14144208
Müller, A., Schneider, U. A., & Jantke, K. (2018). Is Large Good Enough? Evaluating and Improving Representation of Ecoregions and Habitat Types in the European Union’s Protected Area Network Natura 2000. Biological Conservation, 227, 292-300. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2018.09.024
Nachtman, G. (2021). Organic farming in Poland and activities undertaken for its development. The Polish Statistician, 66(7), 24-43. http://dx.doi.org/10.5604/01.3001.0015.0352
Nowak, A., Janulewicz, P., Krukowski, A., & Bujanowicz-Haraś, B. (2016). Diversification of the level of agricultural development in the member states of the European Union. Cahiers Agricultures, 25(5), 55004. http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/cagri/2016040
Otouzbirov, R., Atanasova, T., & Nencheva, I. (2019). Sustainable development of organic farming in Bulgaria - State and oppor-tunities. Central European Review of Economics and Management, 3(2), 89-97. https://doi.org/10.29015/cerem.747
Pânzaru, R. L., Firoiu, D., Ionescu, G. H., Ciobanu, A., Medelete, D. M., & Pîrvu, R. (2023). Organic agriculture in the context of 2030 Agenda implementation in European Union countries. Sustainability, 15(13), 10582. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151310582
Pawlewicz, A., Gotkiewicz, W., Brodzińska, K., Pawlewicz, K., Mickiewicz, B., & Kluczek, P. (2022). Organic farming as an alternative maintenance strategy in the opinion of farmers from Natura 2000 areas. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(7), 3793. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19073793
Pe’er, G., Zinngrebe, Y., Moreira, F., Sirami, C., Schindler, S., Müller, R., Bontzorlos, V., Clough, D., Bezák, P., Bonn, A., Hansjürgens, B., Lomba, A., Möckel, S., Passoni, G., Schleyer, C., Schmidt, J., & Lakner, S. (2019). A greener path for the EU Common Agricultural Policy. Science, 365(6452), 449-451. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aax3146
Prosser, L., Lane, E. T., & Jones, R. (2022). Collaboration for innovative routes to market: COVID-19 and the food system. Agricultural Systems, 188, 103038. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2020.103038
Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on organic production and labelling of organic products and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007, Pub. L. No. 32018R0848, 150 OJ L (2018). https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2018/848/oj
Salavisa, I., Soares, M., & Bizarro, S. (2021). A critical assessment of organic agriculture in Portugal: A reflection on the agro-food system transition. Working Paper 05, 1-30. https://doi.org/10.15847/dinamiacet-iul.wp.2021.05
Scown, M., & Nicholas, K. (2020). European agricultural policy requires a stronger performance framework to achieve Sustainable De-velopment Goals. Global Sustainability, 3, E11. https://doi.org/10.1017/sus.2020.5
Siepmann, L., & Nicholas, K. (2018). German Winegrowers’ Motives and Barriers to Convert to Organic Farming. Sustainability, 10(11), 4215. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10114215
Soni, R., Gupta, R., Agarwal, P., & Reema Mishra, R. (2022). Organic farming: A sustainable agricultural practice. Vantage Journal of Thematic Analysis, 3(1), 21-44. https://doi.org/10.52253/vjta.2022.v03i01.03
Średnicka-Tober, D., Obiedzińska, A., Kazimierczak, R., & Rembiałkowska, E. (2016). Environmental impact of organic vs. conventional agriculture – A review. Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research, 61(4), 204-2011. http://yadda.icm.edu.pl/baztech/element/bwmeta1.element.baztech-c4aa26f2-86b6-4de4-a97b-c7633a2d61ef
Trávníček, J., Schlatter, B., Dietemann, L., & Willer, H. (2023). The World of Organic Agriculture 2023: Summary. In H. Willer, B. Schlatter & J. Trávníček (Eds.), The World of Organic Agriculture. Statistics and Emerging Trends 2023 (pp. 20-30). Bonn: Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL, Frick, and IFOAM – Organics International.
Trávníček, J., Willer, H., & Schaack, D. (2022). Organic Farming and Market Development in Europe and the European Union. In H. Willer, J. Trávníček, C. Meier & B. Schlatter (Eds.), The World of Organic Agriculture. Statistics and Emerging Trends 2022 (pp. 235-270). Bonn: Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL, Frick, and IFOAM – Organics International.
Tzouramani, I., Alexopoulos, G., Kostianis, G., & Kazakopoulos, L. (2014). Exploring risk management strategies for organic farmers: A Greek Case Study. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 29(2), 167-175. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742170513000057
USDA. (2023). EU Consumers save on food and buy less organic in 2022. https://fas.usda.gov/data/european-union-eu-consumers-save-food-and-buy-less-organic-2022
Vovk, S. (2015). Conditions for the development of ecological agriculture in western Ukraine against Polish experience. Acta Scientiarum Polonorum. Zootechnica, 14(2), 23-32. https://asp.zut.edu.pl/2015/14_2/asp-2015-14-2-305.pdf
Willer, H., Schlatter, B., Trávníček, J., & Schaack, D. (2023). Organic farming and market development in Europe and the European Union. In H. Willer, B. Schlatter & J. Trávníček (Eds.), The World of Organic Agriculture. Statistics and Emerging Trends 2023 (pp. 235-264). Bonn: Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL, Frick, and IFOAM – Organics International.
World Commission on Environment and Development. (1987). Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/5987our-common-future.pdf
Wrzaszcz, W. (2017). Farms’ production and economic results difference in the environmental pressure. Problems of Agricultural Economics, 2(351), 3-31. https://doi.org/10.30858/zer/83018
Wrzaszcz, W. (2022). Development of organic farming and its environment in Poland in the light of the European Green Deal challenges. Annals PAAA, 24(2), 109-122. https://doi.org/10.5604/01.3001.0015.8706
Wrzaszcz, W. (2023). Tendencies and perspectives of organic farming development in the EU – the significance of European Green Deal Strategy. European Journal of Sustainable Development, 12(1), 143-158. https://doi.org/10.14207/ejsd.2023.v12n1p143
Zakrzewska, A., & Nowak, A. (2022). Diversification of agricultural output intensity across the European Union in light of the assumptions of sustainable development. Agriculture, 12(9), 1370. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12091370
Ziętara, W., & Mirkowska, Z. (2021). The Green Deal: Towards organic farming or greening of agriculture? Problems of Agricultural Economics, 3(368), 29-54. https://doi.org/10.30858/zer/135520
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2024 Economics and Environment