Fostering Organic Farming: Key Factors for the Development of the Organic Sector

Summary

The organic sector has grown steadily in EU countries in recent years. In 2022, 10.4% of the total utilised agricultural area and 4.5% of the market share was organic. The Farm-to-Fork Strategy of the EU sets the ambitious target of reaching 25% organic area by 2030. The Horizon Europe project OrganicTargets4EU aims at identifying scenarios and initiating a multi-stakeholder policy dialog in support of this target. To better understand what drives the organic sector as to inform its further development, an EU literature review was conducted, enriched with empirical findings from selected EU countries. The article highlights the key insights, outlining the main drivers, barriers and policy implications for the further development of the organic sector in the EU.