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Background:
Organic
farming is still a minor part of European agriculture, although
in some countries it has gained acceptance on over 9 % of farms.
Recent policy emphasis towards more environmentally sensitive
farming practices and the importance of surplus reduction has
led to more attention being paid to organic farming and specific
policy provisions. Of special importance is EC regulation 2078/92
(on agricultural production methods compatible with the requirements
of the protection of the environment and the maintenance of the
countryside) and other factors affecting organic farming, such
as the general CAP rules and the development of the market for
organic food, including EC-regulation 2092/91 covering certification
of organic food.
Objectives:
The
general objective of the project is to assess the impact of CAP
reform and other regulations and possible policy developments
on organic farming in all 15 EU Member States plus the Czech Republic,
Norway and Switzerland. Specific objectives are to:
1)
analyse existing CAP regulations relevant to organic farming;
2)
assess the impact of CAP policies on organic agriculture;
3)
evaluate the contribution organic farming can make to EU policy
goals;
4)
explain the differing adoption rates of organic farming between
countries;
5)
develop and evaluate scenarios on a more widespread adoption
of organic farming;
6)
develop and evaluate options for EU policy with respect to organic
farming and give input for decision support in this field to
the EU.
Description:
The
project consists of five tasks:
1)
the policy and regulatory environment for organic farming in
the European Union;
2)
impact assessment of current policies on organic farming and
its contribution to policy objectives;
3)
institutional factors influencing the variation in rates of
conversion to organic farming;
4)
impact assessment of different levels of adoption of organic
farming and policy options;
5)
policy implications and recommendations.
A
systematic understanding of the policy environment of agriculture
as it is relevant to organic farming (Task 1) is the starting
point for the whole project, specifically for the work carried
out in Task 2. Task 3 broadens the view and seeks to explain both
the development of organic farming before the recent reform and
the institutional and other factors that influence the differing
conversion rates beyond the policy influence. These tasks set
the stage for Task 4 which aims to assess the impact of an increased
adoption and the consequences of alternative policy options. Subtask
4.1 adopts a case study approach to demonstrate likely adaptation
of organic farms to a changed policy environment and generates
hypotheses for the more macro-oriented approaches, especially
Subtask 4.2. This subtask will adapt and develop existing quantitative
sector models to fulfil the objective of Task 4. Subtask 4.3 uses
scenario analysis to integrate and evaluate the results in a semi-quantitative
and qualitative fashion. Tasks 5 draws on all previous tasks to
provide conclusions and policy recommendations.
Current
situation/results:
All
the following results are published in the series 'Organic Farming
in Europe: Economics and Policy'. Details are available on the
publication's website below.
- Task
1: The policy and regulatory environment for organic farming
in the European Union
Task
1 provides a comparative analysis of the policy and regulatory
environment within which organic farming operates in the 18
study countries. European, national and regional regulations
are reviewed. The focus is on agri-environmental and mainstream
agricultural support measures, marketing and regional development
programmes, certification systems and support in the form of
advice, training and research.
- Subtask
2.1: Number of organic farms, land area and enterprise structure
Subtask
2.1 provides the most authoritative source for statistical data
on organic farming with respect to land area, number of farms,
livestock and crop production in 18 European countries from
1993-1998.
- Subtask
2.2: Market growth and development
Subtask
2.2 identifies and compares national markets for the main organic
products in 18 European countries on the basis of the most comprehensive
data collection ever presented covering 1993 to 1997/98. The
report shows that European demand for organic products is far
from being met and considers the requirements to realise this
potential.
- Subtask
2.3: Farm level and regional socio-economic performance
Subtask
2.3 investigates the physical and economic performance of organic
farms in 18 European countries, based on the latest empirical
data available. The report concludes that profits on organic
farms are, on average, comparable to those on conventional farms.
A comprehensive analysis of policy implications establishes
that the relative competitiveness of organically managed systems
is likely to increase further as a result of Agenda 2000.
- Subtask
2.4: Environmental and resource use impacts
Subtask
2.4 concludes that organic farming makes a positive contribution
to the environment. Using a series of indicators ranging from
climate and the ecosystem to animal welfare and food quality,
the study evaluates the environmental impacts of organic versus
conventional agriculture in 18 European countries. The policy
relevance of the results are also discussed in detail.
- Subtask
2.5: Output and public expenditure implications
This
subtask provides a detailed analysis of the consequences that
organic farming has produced so far on agricultural output and
public expenditure in the 18 study countries, drawing on the
latest studies in this field. The report concludes that organic
farming contributes to EU public expenditure savings.
Work
in progress
Work
on tasks 3 to 5 is currently in progress. Results will be available
shortly.
Website:
http://www.uni-hohenheim.de/~i410a/eu_org/Fair3_Index.htm
Publications
website: http://www.uni-hohenheim.de/~i410a/ofeurope/
Coordinator
Stephan DABBERT
Institute of Farm Economics
University of Hohenheim
D-70593
Stuttgart
Tel.:
+49 711 459 25 41
Fax:
+49 711 459 25 55
E-mail:
dabbert@uni-hohenheim.de
Partners
- Johannes MICHELSEN
Institut for Statskundskab,
University of Southern Denmark
Niels Bohrs Vej 9
DK-6700 Esbjerg
Tel.: +45 65 50 41 61
Fax: +45 65 50 10 91
E-mail: jm@sam.sdu.dk
- Nicolas LAMPKIN
University of Wales
Lanbadarn Campus
Aberystwyth
UK-SY23 3AL
Tel.: +44 1970 62 22 48
Fax: +44 1970 62 22 38
E-mail: nhl@aber.ac.uk
- Raffaele ZANOLI
Università degli Studi di Ancona
Via Brecce Bianche
I-60131 Ancona
Tel.: +39 071 220 49 29
Fax: +39 071 220 48 58
E-mail: zanoli@agrecon.unian.it
-
Hiltrud NIEBERG
Federal Agricultural Research Centre
Bundesallee 50
D-38116 Braunschweig
Tel.: +49 531 59 65 51
Fax: +49 531 59 63 57
E-mail:
nieberg@kepler.dv.fal.de
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