Growing under the common agricultural policy: the institutional development of organic farming in Central and Eastern European countries from 2004 to 2012

Summary

This paper analyses the institutional development of organic food and farming from 2004 to 2012 in six European countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary and Romania. Based on document analysis and expert interviews with key informants on organic farming development in each country; similarities and differences in the development of the organic sector were analysed to evaluate if countries gaining accession to the EU at different times undergo similar organic sector development. Furthermore, the development of the organic sector was explored against the background of increasing involvement of the mainstream agricultural sector in organic farming development. To conclude, the uptake and support of organic farming by mainstream agriculture resulted in a change in the nature of the organic farming community. Rather than influencing the mainstream agricultural system, the organic farming community is increasingly reacting to changes in mainstream agricultural institutions. There has been a loss of influence by the organic farming community over the development of the organic sector. Organic farming is rather seen by the mainstream agricultural sector as a way to address current problems the regime is dealing with, rather than providing a role model for future farming development.