Archive:Cropping and livestock pattern statistics

Data from September 2009, most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.

Graph 1: Area occupied by organic farming, 2007 (1) (% of UAA)

This article presents recent data on the often complicated relationship of agriculture and the environment in the European Union (EU). With around 40 % of the EU’s total land area farmed, agriculture is important for the EU’s natural environment. On the one hand, farming has contributed over the centuries to creating and maintaining a variety of valuable semi-natural habitats and agricultural landscapes; but agriculture can also have an adverse impact on natural resources through pollution of soil, water and air, fragmentation of habitats, and a loss of wildlife.

Environmental concerns about sustainability coupled with growing consumer interest in food production have resulted in many agricultural holdings converting to certified organic production methods. In 2005 just over 4.3 % of the utilized agricultural area (UAA) in the EU was classified as organic agricultural production, ranging from 11.0 % in Austria and 8.4 % in Italy to below 1 % in Ireland, Poland and Malta.

Main statistical findings

Table 1: Agri-environmental indicators, 2007

As well as availability and price, many consumers make some decisions about food purchases based on environmental, welfare and health considerations. Determining influences cover a broad scope of considerations regarding the impact of farming practices on wild flora and fauna, soil and water degradation, farm animal welfare, the use of food additives and preservatives, as well as the food miles involved in getting food to market. The future strength of food production in the EU is likely to depend (to some degree) on how farming and the wider food chain responds to these varied consumer influences.

As an example of a more sustainable farming system (at least at a local level), one response appears to be the growth of certified organic production methods in the EU. An estimated 4.0 % of the utilized agricultural area of the EU was classified as under organic agricultural production in 2007. The corresponding shares in Austria (15.7 %) and Sweden (9.9 %) were well above the average, in contrast to Ireland, Romania, Bulgaria and Malta – where the share of organic agriculture represented 1 % or less of the utilized agricultural area.

The use of water by the agricultural industry is also under increasing scrutiny as competing demands are made for an increasingly scarce resource. The proportion of agricultural area that is irrigable is, unsurprisingly, particularly high in the southern Member States, notably Greece, Malta, Cyprus and Italy, where irrigation is essential for many types of agriculture. In a number of other Member States, particularly the Netherlands and Denmark, supplementary irrigation is also used to improve production.

Data sources and availability

Organic farming can be defined as a method of production which places the highest emphasis on environmental protection and animal welfare considerations. In the EU, farming is only considered to be organic if it complies with Council Regulation (EEC) 2092/91. Organic farming involves holistic production management systems for crops and livestock, emphasizing the use of on-farm management practices in preference to the use of off-farm inputs. This is accomplished by using, where possible, cultural, biological and mechanical methods in preference to synthetic chemical inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides (fungicides, herbicides and insecticides), additives and medicinal products.

The irrigable area is that which is equipped for irrigation – the actual amount of land irrigated varies depending, for example, on meteorological conditions or the choice of crop. Over-exploitation of water can lead to the drying-out of natural areas, and to salt-water intrusion in coastal aquifers.

Eurofarm LSU coefficients are established by convention (originally, they were related to the animals’ feed requirements, the reference being a dairy cow with an annual yield of 3 000 kg of milk, without additional concentrated feedingstuff). In the interpretation of the livestock density index, the limits of this theoretical unit are taken into account. The livestock species aggregated in the LSU total, for the purpose of the indicator in this article are:

equidae (members of the horse family of animals);
cattle;
sheep;
goats;
pigs;
poultry;
rabbits.

Context

Around 40 % of the EU’s total land area is farmed. This fact alone highlights the importance of farming for the EU’s natural environment. The links between the two, however, are complex. On the one hand, farming has contributed over the centuries to creating and maintaining a variety of valuable semi-natural habitats and agricultural landscapes. While many of these are maintained by different farming practices and a wide range of wild species rely on this for their survival, agriculture can also have an adverse impact on natural resources. Pollution of soil, water and air, fragmentation of habitats, and a loss of wildlife can result from agricultural practices and land use.

Managing this complex relationship has required the integration of environmental concerns and safeguards into the Common agricultural policy (CAP). In particular, close attention is paid to reducing the risk of environmental degradation through cross-compliance criteria (as a condition for benefiting from direct payments from the CAP, farmers must comply with certain requirements, some related to environmental protection), incentives and targeted environmental measures, and encouraging farmers to support the sustainability of agro-ecosystems.

The importance attached to assessing the interaction between agriculture and the environment is underlined by the fact that the European Commission adopted a list of 28 agri-environmental indicators (COM(2006) 508 final) in 2006.

Further Eurostat information

Publications

Main tables

Agriculture (t_agri)

Organic farming (t_org)

Area under organic farming (tsdpc440)

Organic crop area (fully converted area) (tag00098)

Database

Agriculture (agri), see:

Organic farming (org)

Organic crop area (food_in_porg1)

Organic crop production and yields from fully converted areas (food_in_porg2)

Organic livestock (food_in_porg3)

Number of registered organic operators (food_act2)

Number of registered operators processing and importing products issued from organic farming (food_act3)

Production of organic animal products (food_pd_dmorg)

Food : From farm to fork statistics (food), see:

Food consumption (food_ch)

From production to distribution – Which quality label and at which price (food_pd)

Inputs to the food chain (food_in)

Actors involved in the food chain (food_act)

Dedicated section

Other information

Council Regulation 2092/91 of 24 June 1991 on organic production of agricultural products