Area under organic farming

Assessment versions

Published (reviewed and quality assured)

• No published assessments

Rationale

Justification for indicator selection

Organic farming is a farming system that has been explicitly developed to be environmentally sustainable, and is governed by clear, verifiable rules. It thus appears most suited for identifying environment-friendly farming practices compared to other types of farming that also consider environmental aspects, such as Integrated Farming.

Farming is only considered to be organic at the EU level if it complies with Council Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 (and amendments). In this framework, organic farming is differentiated from other approaches to agricultural production by the application of regulated standards (production rules), certification procedures (compulsory inspection schemes) and a specific labelling scheme, resulting in the existence of a specific market, partially isolated from non-organic foods.

Scientific references

• No rationale references available

Indicator definition

Share of organic farming area (sum of existing organically farmed areas and areas in process of conversion) as a proportion of total utilised agricultural area (UAA).

Organic agriculture can be defined as a production system which puts a high emphasis on environmental protection and animal welfare by reducing or eliminating the use of GMOs and synthetic chemical inputs such as fertilisers, pesticides and growth promoters/regulators. Instead, organic farmers promote the use of cultural and agro-ecosystem management practices for crop and livestock production. The legal framework for organic farming in the EU is defined by Council Regulation 2092/91 and amendments.

Units

Sum of organic area and area being converted, measured in ha. Share of organic farming is given as a percentage of total utilised agricultural area.

Policy context and targets

Context description

Organic farming is an environmentally sustainable form of agricultural production. Its legal framework is defined by Council Regulation 2092/91 and amendments. The adoption of organic farming methods by individual farmers is supported through agri-environment scheme payments and other rural development measures at Member State level. In 2004 the EU Commission published a 'European Action Plan for Organic Food and Farming' (COM(2004) 415 final) to further promote this farming system.

Targets

No specific EU target on the share of organic farming area.

A number of EU Member States have already set targets for area under organic farming, often 10-20 % in 2010.

Related policy documents

• COM (1998) 42
  Communication of the European Commission to the Council and to the European Parliament on a European Community Biodiversity Strategy. COM (1998) 42

Methodology

Methodology for indicator calculation

The indicator is calculated by measuring the total agricultural area certified as organic or in conversion to organic farming in accordance with EU Reg. 2092/91 and dividing it by the total utilised agricultural area.

Methodology for gap filling

No gap filling

Methodology references

No methodology references available.

Data specifications

EEA data references

• No datasets have been specified here.

External data references

• Organic farming statistics (Organic centre Wales)
• Agriculture statistics (Eurostat)

Data sources in latest figures

Uncertainties

Methodology uncertainty

Accuracy of data on organic farming varies between countries, and includes provisional estimates.

Data sets uncertainty

• Geographical and time coverage on EU level:

Depends on research funding and support from organic organic farming associations.

• Representativeness of data on national level:

Representativeness is high but some countries still have a rather low share of organic farming which limits the possibility to follow trends.

• Comparability:

High comparability.

Rationale uncertainty

No uncertainty has been specified

Work description

Resource needs

No resource needs have been specified

Status

Deadline