Developments in organic farming

Data from June 2023

Planned update: 19 June 2024

Highlights

The total area under organic farming in the EU continues to increase, and in 2021 covered 15.9 million hectares of agricultural land.

Organic area made up 9.9 % of total EU agricultural land in 2021.

This article describes the situation of organic farming in the European Union (EU). Wherever possible, a comparison with agriculture as a whole is made.

Full article

Key messages

In 2021 organic farming covered an estimated 15.9 million hectares of agricultural land in the EU, equivalent to 9.9 % of total utilised agricultural area (UAA). This was considerably higher than the 9.5 million hectares used for organic agricultural production in 2012.
Between 2012 and 2021, the share of UAA used for organic farming increased in almost all of the EU countries.
The area of organic arable land crops accounted for more than one half of total organic agricultural area in 14 EU countries in 2021.
5 million bovines from an EU herd of 75.7 million bovine animals (6.6 %) were being reared using organic methods in 2021.

Total organic area

Total organic area continues to increase in the EU

The total organic area in the EU was an estimated 15.9 million hectares (ha) in 2021, up from 14.7 million hectares in 2020. There has been a fast and sharp expansion in organic areas in the EU: between 2012 and 2021 there was an increase of 6.5 million hectares, equivalent to a rise of 68 % (see Table 1). The total organic area is the sum of the 'area under conversion' and the 'certified area'^[1]. Before an area can be certified as 'organic', it must undergo a conversion process, which may take 2-3 years depending on the crop^[2]. Therefore, data on areas 'under conversion' give an indication of the potential change in fully 'certified areas'.
One of the main objectives of the European Commission’s Farm to Fork strategy is to encourage the development of organic farming areas, which should represent 25 % of the EU's agricultural land by 2030.

Table 1: Total organic area (fully converted and under conversion), by country, 2012 and 2021
Source: Eurostat (org_cropar)

France had 2.8 million hectares of land area used for organic agricultural production in 2021, the highest among the EU countries. It was followed by Spain with 2.6 million hectares of organic area, Italy with 2.2 million hectares and Germany with 1.6 million hectares. These four EU countries together accounted for nearly three fifths of the EU’s total organic area in 2021 (see Figure 1): France (17.4 %), Spain (16.6 %), Italy (13.7 %) and Germany (10.1 %).

Between 2012 and 2021, the agricultural area used for organic farming increased in almost all EU countries. The area almost quadrupled in Portugal and Croatia over this period, the sharpest rates of increase within the EU. It also grew rapidly in France (+169 %) and also more than doubled in Hungary and Romania.

Figure 1: Share of EU total organic area (fully converted and under conversion), 2021
(%)
Source: Eurostat (org_cropar)

Organic area accounted for about one tenth of the EU’s utilised agricultural area in 2021

Between 2012 and 2021, the share of total organic area in the EU's total utilised agricultural area (UAA) rose from 5.9 % to an estimated 9.9 %^[3].

The countries with the highest shares of organic land farm areas within total UAA in 2020 were Austria^[4] (26 % in 2020), Estonia (23 % in 2021) and Sweden (20 % in 2021) - see Figure 2. Portugal, Italy, Finland, Czechia, Latvia, Denmark, Slovenia, Spain and Greece^[5] also had shares above 10 % in 2021. By contrast, the share of organic farming was below 5 % in six EU countries in 2021, with the lowest shares in Bulgaria (1.7 %) and Malta (0.6 %).

In almost all EU countries, the vast majority of organic crop areas were certified. Data for Germany and Austria on organic area are not separated into area 'under conversion' and 'certified organic'; only total organic area is reported. More than 90 % of organic crop areas were reported as certified in Sweden, the Netherlands, Czechia, and Estonia in 2021. Another 18 countries had shares of 'certified organic' between 70 % and 90 % of their organic crop areas. The lowest shares of certified areas were recorded for Malta (66.7 %), Romania (59.6 %) and Portugal (33.4 %), underlining the potential for further growth in certified areas in these countries over the coming years. Indeed, national support measures in Portugal led to a ten-fold increase in the organic area 'under conversion' between 2020 and 2021, from 50 000 hectares to 511 000 hectares. Due to the 2-3 years conversion period of agricultural land, a high share of area under conversion is necessary to avoid stagnation in the growth of the certified organic area.

Figure 2: Organic area, 2021
(% share of total utilised agricultural area)
Source: Eurostat (org_cropar), (apro_cpsh1)

Organic production

Sweden had the highest shares of organic cereals and fresh vegetables production in 2021

In 2021, the organic production of cereals (for the production of grain, including seed)^[6] accounted for 6.2 % of the total cereals production in Sweden, 5.5 % in Estonia and 4.4 % in Finland, the highest shares among EU countries (see Figure 3).

Figure 3: Share of organic cereals production in total cereals production, 2021
(%)
Source: Eurostat (org_croppro), (apro_cpsh1)

Sweden also had the largest share (17.7 %) of organic fresh vegetable^[7] production in total vegetable production among EU countries (see Figure 4), followed by Germany (11.2 %) and the Netherlands (5.4 %).

Figure 4: Share of organic fresh vegetables production in total fresh vegetables production, 2021
(%)
Source: Eurostat (org_croppro), (apro_cpsh1)

There is wide variation in the focus of organic production in EU countries

The agricultural production area is divided into three main types of use: arable land crops (mainly cereals, root crops, fresh vegetables, green fodder and industrial crops), permanent grassland (pastures and meadows), and permanent crops (fruit trees and berries, olive groves and vineyards).

The area of organic arable land crops accounted for more than one half of total organic agricultural area in 14 EU countries in 2021. By contrast, organic pastures and meadows accounted for more than one half of total organic agricultural area in a separate 10 EU countries (Figure 5). Whilst areas of organic permanent crops did not account for a majority of total organic agricultural area in any EU country, they still accounted for above 20 % in 5 EU countries.

Organic arable crops accounted for the vast majority of the organic agricultural areas of Finland (99.1 %), Denmark (83.1 %) and Poland (78.6 %). This was in starkest contrast to Czechia, Ireland and Slovenia, where about 80 % of their total organic agricultural areas were organic pastures and meadows.

Figure 5: Organic arable land crops, permanent grassland (pastures and meadows) and permanent crops, 2021
(% of total organic area - fully converted and under conversion)
Source: Eurostat (org_cropar)

In all EU countries, organic permanent crops accounted for the lowest share of these three main land use categories in the total organic area. Indeed, in 15 EU countries it accounted for less than 5 % of the total organic area. Nevertheless, the area of organic permanent crops in total organic area exceeded 20 % in Italy, Bulgaria and Spain and was almost 40 % in Cyprus and Malta.

5 million organic bovine animals

Increasing numbers of bovines, sheep and goats are reared using organic methods. As an example, 5 million bovines from an EU herd of 75.7 million bovine animals (6.6 %) were being reared using organic methods in 2021.

Grazing livestock are cattle, sheep and goats. They are ruminant animals that digest plant-based feed. Other livestock, particularly pigs, are not ruminants. There tends to be higher rates of organic grazing livestock than non-grazing livestock. For example, just over one third of sheep and goats in both Latvia (36 %) and Austria (34 %) were raised according to organic farming methods. Likewise, just under one third (31.5 %) of bovine animals in Greece were organic. Greece had also the highest share of organic dairy cows (23 %), followed by Austria (22 %) and Sweden (19 %). Rates of organic pigs were much lower, the highest shares being in France (3.8 %) and Denmark (3.7 %).

Figure 6: Share of organic livestock in all livestock, by top ten countries with the highest shares, 2021
(% of number of heads)
Source: Eurostat (org_lstspec), (apro_mt_lscatl), (apro_mt_lspig), (apro_mt_lsgoat) and (apro_mt_lssheep)

Source data for tables and graphs

Organic farming statistics: tables and figures

Data sources

The statistical information presented in this publication is drawn from the Eurostat database, available at the Eurostat website. Data used in this article includes unpublished data.

The annual organic production statistics and the farm structure survey data are the two main sources of organic farming data, both with their own aims and measurement approaches, which may lead in some cases to differences in the published data. Comparison between the two data sources should be performed with caution, since certain differences in definitions of variables, concepts, surveys design and timing of the collections can cause discrepancies in the data. Differences in number of animals for example are usually due to the time of the year when the data were collected from each of the data sources. A comparison of the two data sources regarding organic farming growth rate shows that both sources are broadly comparable when analysing the trend of the organic farming growth in EU.

Organic farming statistics

Annual data collection. Data are provided by the EU Member States, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey, North Macedonia, Montenegro Albania and Serbia on the basis of a harmonised questionnaire. Data in this annual collection originate from the administrative data of national entities in charge of the certification of operators involved in the organic sector. Up to reference year 2007, data provision was voluntary. From reference year 2008 onwards, data have to be delivered following Commission Regulation (EC) No 889/2008, implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007. Since 1 January 2022, European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) No 848/2018 of 30 May 2018 on organic production and labelling of organic products and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007, as amended by European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) No 1693/2020 of 11 November 2020 is the applicable legislative act, also known as the basic act; however, Regulation (EU) 848/2018 does not contain a legal basis for collecting agricultural statistics.

Livestock statistics

The Livestock survey data are used for comparing the organic livestock data with the data on total livestock production. It is an annual data collection. The statistical unit is agricultural holding, in the case of the data used in this article, the reference period is a given day in the month of December.

Crop statistics

The annual crop statistics data are used for comparing the organic crop area with the total utilised agriculture area, 'main area' which corresponds to the area of the land parcels. The statistical unit is parcel cultivated for the production of a crop. The reference period used for this article is the final data for 2020.

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Notes

↑ Data for Germany, Austria and Switzerland on organic area are not separated into area 'under conversion' and 'certified organic' due to lack of data. Only total organic area is reported.
↑ For plants and plant products to be certified organic, the production rules must have been applied on the parcels of land during a conversion period of at least two years before sowing, or, in the case of grassland or perennial forage, at least two years before its use as feed from organic farming, or, in the case of perennial crops other than forage, at least three years before the first harvest of organic products.
↑ Total UAA (main area) from the annual crop statistics table apro_cpsh1 is used as denominator.
↑ 2021 organic data for Austria is based on 2020 figures.
↑ 2021 organic data for Greece is based on 2020 figures.
↑ Cereals for the production of grain (including seed) refers to the code C0000 (from the code list CROPS). According to the annual crops statistics handbook (2023 edition), it includes all cereals harvested dry for grain, regardless of the use.
↑ Fresh vegetables refers to the code V0000 (from the code list CROPS). According to the annual crops statistics handbook (2023 edition), it includes all brassicas, leafy and stalked vegetables, vegetables cultivated for fruit, root, tuber and bulb vegetables, fresh pulses and other vegetables harvested fresh (not dry).

[1] Data for Germany, Austria and Switzerland on organic area are not separated into area 'under conversion' and 'certified organic' due to lack of data. Only total organic area is reported.

[2] For plants and plant products to be certified organic, the production rules must have been applied on the parcels of land during a conversion period of at least two years before sowing, or, in the case of grassland or perennial forage, at least two years before its use as feed from organic farming, or, in the case of perennial crops other than forage, at least three years before the first harvest of organic products.

[3] Total UAA (main area) from the annual crop statistics table apro_cpsh1 is used as denominator.

[4] 2021 organic data for Austria is based on 2020 figures.

[5] 2021 organic data for Greece is based on 2020 figures.

[6] Cereals for the production of grain (including seed) refers to the code C0000 (from the code list CROPS). According to the annual crops statistics handbook (2023 edition), it includes all cereals harvested dry for grain, regardless of the use.

[7] Fresh vegetables refers to the code V0000 (from the code list CROPS). According to the annual crops statistics handbook (2023 edition), it includes all brassicas, leafy and stalked vegetables, vegetables cultivated for fruit, root, tuber and bulb vegetables, fresh pulses and other vegetables harvested fresh (not dry).

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