Development of organic farming in Wallonia : past, present and perspectives

Summary

Organic farming is today fully recognized as an alternative to conventional agriculture and its problems (water and air pollution, large use of pesticides and possible impacts on human health, vegetal and animal diseases, overproduction, ..) and is clearly supported by the Common Agricultural Policy and its "greening". Belgian (and Walloon) agriculture is an intensive one, with a high "labour force/agricultural area" ratio and high yields thanks to good soils, but also the use of large quantities of inputs like fertilizers and pesticides. However, organic farming increased in importance during the last years and th Walloon regional government has just launched a development plan in June 2013. So, this paper aims to analyse the evolution of organic farming in Wallonia and to present the goals and the measures of the new development plan.