European Green Deal Objective: Potential Expansion of Organic Farming Areas

Organic farming represents a shift in the paradigm that emphasises a balance between production and environmental sustainability. In European Union (EU), organic farming dates to the early 20th century and has now evolved into a global production system with harmonized standards and increasing market demand. Compared with intensive agriculture, it brings greater environmental benefits. The European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork (F2F) strategy highlight the role of organic farming in achieving the EU’s climate and environmental goals, with an aim to achieve at least 25% of the total agricultural area under organic farming by 2030. The present research aims to assess the overall situation in the EU and the Member States' contributions to achieving the European Green Deal’s and F2F strategy's objective of increasing organic farming areas in the future. The research assessed the performance of EU Member States in the period 2018-2022 and in the projected period up to 2030 by employing indicators prescribed by the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan. The EU Member States were classified by historical growth of organic farming area and required future performance. The research found that an increase in organic areas in the whole EU was a sign of a shift towards more sustainable farming, with performance varying between the Member States. For example, in 2018-2022, Austria achieved the target, Estonia approached its target; overall, the performance tended to improve in 17 Member States, was stable in 9 and only one Member State performed poorly.