Organic agriculture is a farming method for producing foods using natural substances and processes. This means it tends to have a reduced environmental impact, since it encourages:
Producing using organic methods means complying with the organic farming standards, drawn up based on general and specific principles with the goal of promoting environmental protection, maintaining Europe’s biodiversity and building consumer confidence in organic products. These regulations govern all sectors of organic production and are based on a series of fundamental principles, such as:
This means that organic producers must adopt different approaches in order to maintain the fertility of the soil and the health of their animals and plants, such as:
The new legislation on organic production came into force on 1º January 2022. These standards reflect the changeable nature of this rapidly-growing industry. The new regulations aim to ensure fair competition for farmers while preventing fraud and maintaining consumer confidence by achieving these goals.
Organic agriculture is becoming increasingly important both from an economic perspective and in terms of national and European policy frameworks. In March 2021, the European Commission launched an EU action plan for organic agriculture. This action plan aims to achieve the European Green Deal goal of using 25% of farmland for organic agriculture by 2030.
For further information: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32018R0848
