Report on the Status of Organic Agriculture and Industry in Estonia

Report on the Status of Organic Agriculture and Industry in Estoni

Green Knowledge Transfer - Estonia

The long term programme of knowledge transfer in organic farming was set up to improve the competitiveness of organic farming in Estonia and increase local organic food consumption

UURINGUD

The Estonian University of Life Sciences, the Estonian Crop Research Institute and the Agricultural Research Centre have conducted research in organic farming. Maheklaster (Organic Cluster) and Liivimaa Lihaveis (Liivimaa Beef) continued innovation projects in cooperation with research institutions

Organic farming research in Estonia

The growth of organic farming in Estonia has been rapid in recent decades. To support this development various research projects have been conducted but still a lot of new knowledge is needed to improve the performance of organic sector. Organic agriculture is based on nutrient recycling and it uses a variety of practices that are valuable also for conventional farming in the future because resources of non-renewable synthetic fertilizers are limited and food should be produced more sustainably. Holistic perspective including ecological, economic and social aspects is needed for organic farming studies and future projects should target these issues more thoroughly

Mahepõllumajandus Eestis 2017 / Organic farming in Estonia 2017

Overview of organic agriculture in Estonia in 2017. In Estonia, the organic land area has expanded 2.5 times over the last ten years, reaching 199,947 ha, representing ca 20% of the total agricultural area. This percentage makes Estonia one of the three leading countries in the EU by share of organic area together with Austria and Sweden

Quality of Organic vs. Conventional Food and Effects on Health

This report analyses the nutritional quality of organic and conventional food as well as the health effects of pesticide residues, nitrates, mycotoxins and artificial additives and gives an overview of animal and human experiments

Mahetoidu eelised ja mõju tervisele

Tarbijad ostavad mahetoitu peamiselt tervislikkuse pärast. Paljud põllumajanduses ja toidutootmises kasutatavad kemikaalid võivad olla tervisele kahjulikud ja ka seda tuleb toidu kvaliteedi hindamisel arvestada. Seepärast uuritaksegi mahe- ja tavatoitu võrdlevates teadustöödes toiteväärtuse kõrval ka teisi toidus olevaid ja tervist mõjutavaid aineid, nt taimekaitsevahendite jäägid, nitraadid jms. Käesolev teabeleht on koostatud teadusartiklite ja raportite põhjal.Materjali koostas Mahepõllumajanduse Koostöökogu koostöös EMÜ Mahekeskusega 2022. a Maaeluministeeriumi ja PRIA tellimusel.Toetas Euroopa Maaelu Arengu Põllumajandusfond (EAFRD) „Teadmussiirde programm põllumajanduse, toidu ja maamajanduse valdkonnas“ mahemajanduse valdkonna raames.Toetas Euroopa Maaelu Arengu Põllumajandusfond (EAFRD) „Teadmussiirde programm põllumajanduse, toidu ja maamajanduse valdkonnas“ mahemajanduse valdkonna raames

Mahetoit: loomulik ja kasulik

Eesti Maaülikoolis analüüsiti rohkem kui 150 maailma eri paigus tehtud mahe- ja tavatoidu kvaliteeti võrdlevat teadusuuringut ning koostati selle põhjal ülevaatlik aruanne (Quality of Organic vs. Conventional Food and Effects on Health), mis on elektroonselt kättesaadav www.pickfi ber.eu ja mahekeskus.emu.ee

Knowledge transfer in organic farming in Estonia

In order to improve the training and knowledge transfer system, the Ministry of Rural Affairs prepared a long-term programme of knowledge transfer in organic farming for the period 2016–2019. The programme, financed from the Rural Development Plan, has been implemented in cooperation with five organisations. All the programme’s activities are targeted to each part of the organic food production chain: farmers, processors, caterers and distributors

The Challenges Organic Food Processors Meet at Small Emerging Market – Estonian Case

Organic farming and demand for organic products is continually a growing trend all over the world (Willer et al., 2013). In Estonia the share of organic land is 15% of all agricultural land and the number of organic farmers is also growing (Vetemaa, Mikk 2013). Estonian organic food market is still in forming stage being affected by local organic farming development, marketing situation, economic situation and consumer attitudes. Organic processing has clearly not kept up with organic farming development and market demand so far. At the end of 2012 there were 158 certified processors, but most of them are just packaging or storing, not producing new products (Agricultural Board). Market share of organic food products is marginal (1,6% of total food market in 2011 according to official statistics (TNS Emor 2012a) and significant share of organic raw material is still processed as conventional food. There have been studies of organic farming topics but no knowledge about the challenges and perspectives of organic food processors. The main purpose of the study was to find out the current situation of organic processing companies in Estonia: what is the structure and characteristics of companies; how do they evaluate compliance with legal regulations and requirements related to organic processing; what are their main problems; how do they see the future of their business and organic market