ORGANIC FARMING IN THE NEW CAP

28 September 2021

The area devoted to organic farming is constantly increasing. Italy is one of the countries with the highest percentage (15.2%) of organic areas on the total UAA.

This trend is mainly due to the growth of demand of organic products compared to 2019 (+7%), which marked a real health turning point for Italians.

Moreover, the European Union’s Green Deal and “Farm to Fork” strategies, which are the cornerstones of future CAP programming, identify a series of environmental targets for 2030. To reach these goals the organic production systems will be particularly supported in future programming with additional funding. Among the targets it is also listed the conversion at least 25% of European agricultural land to organic production, while stimulating demand and ensuring consumer confidence. The new CAP will provide MS with different ways of supporting organic farming: organic farming would be divided between Pillar I and Pillar II, with the maintenance phase included in the eco-schemes and the conversion phase left in the RDP or vice versa. The second possibility is a complete switch of organic to either Pillar I or Pillar II.

Funded by the EU’s IMCAP programme. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and are his sole responsibility. The EC is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.