Organic Viticulture in Europe and the European Union

In this article, some key data on organic grape prodcution are presented. Organic vines were grown in Europe on more than 230,000 hectares at the end of 2011 (217,000 hectares within the European Union) according to a survey by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL). The largest areas are in Spain, France and Italy. One third of Europe’s organic grape area is in Spain. Most of the organic grapes are grown for wine, even though in Turkey a large part of the production is used for raisins

Organic Farming Research Worldwide – An Overview

Research in organic farming has increased considerably in recent years. Up to now, activity has been greatest in Europe, but recently organic research has increased in other parts of the world, and more and more players are appearing on the scene. Research is mostly carried out in a national context, but international coordination and cooperative efforts are increasing. This article summarizes some key facts about organic farming research worldwide

Organic Farming in Europe

In this article latest developments in Europe are presented: › Current statistics › Review of the European political and legal framework for organic agriculture › EU regulation on organic farming › Policy support › Action plans › Research › Progress of the OrganicDataNetwork project › Successful policy work of IFOAM EU › Further reading › Website

Information sources: Overview

In this chapter, some of the major information sources for information related to organic farming are presented. The International Trade Centre (ITC) has recently considerably expanded its information and market access services. These are presented in detail

Europe: Statistics, support schemes and research

Since the beginning of the 1990s, organic farming has rapidly developed in almost all European countries. According to this survey in Europe, more than 6.9 million hectares (1.4 percent of the agricultural land) are managed organically by almost 190’000 farms

Europe

Since the be ginning of the 1990s, organic farm ing has rapidly developed in almost all European countries. Growth has, however, slowed down recently. According to the Swiss Research Institute of Or ganic Agriculture FiBL, by the 31.12.2002 in the 15 countries of the European Union (EU), around 4.8 million hectares were man aged organically by al most 140,000 farms. This constituted 3.5 percent of the agricultural area and 2 percent of the farms in the EU. According to the SOEL-statistics in the whole of Europe cur rently 5.6 mil lion hect ares are managed or gani cally by ap prox imately 175,000 farmers. Compared to the previous year, this is an increase of 9 percent in the organic land area in the EU, mainly due to a strong growth in France, Spain and the UK. The number of farms went down, however, mainly due to a decrease in organic farms in Italy. There are also sub stantial differ ences between indi vid ual countries re gard ing the importance of organic farm ing. More than 11 percent of ag ricultural land is organic in Austria, and 10 percent in Switzerland. Some countries have yet to reach one percent. The coun try with the highest number of farms and the greatest number of hectares is Italy. One quarter of the European Union’s organic land and more than one third of its organic farms are located here. A complete overview of the statistical development of the organic sec tor since the 1990s is available at the homepage of the Or ganic Cen tre Wales at www.organic.aber.ac.uk/stats.shtml

Organic Agricultural Research in Europe -– Present State and Future Prospects

Organic agriculture has become a widely accepted sector of agricultural and food research. In Europe publicly funded research has shifted towards organic farming, while research funding for conventional farming has been cut considerably. This paper takes a closer look at how organic farming research is organised in Europe and at what challenges researchers will face in the future

The World of Organic Agriculture - Statistics and Emerging Trends 2004

In 1999, BioFach/Oekowelt GmbH commissioned Foundation Ecology & Agriculture SOEL to compile statistical data and general information on organic agriculture world-wide. Since then this study has been revised annually, and the newest figures are regularly presented at Biofach, which takes place in Nuremberg, Germany, every year. Since the 2003 edition the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL and the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) have collaborated in this project. For the sixth edition, February 2004, the reports were newly written or revised and the statistical material was up-dated. An extensive chapter on standards and regulations was added. The main findings can be summarised as follows: • Organic agriculture is practised in almost all countries of the world, and its share of agricultural land and farms is growing. The total organically managed area is more than 24 million hectares world-wide. In addition, the area of certified “wild harvested plants” is at least a further 10.7 million hectares, according to various certification bodies. • The market for organic products is growing, not only in Europe and North America (which are the major markets) but also in many other countries. It is valued at 23 billion USD (2002). • Official interest in organic agriculture is emerging in many countries, shown by the fact that many countries have a fully implemented regulation on organic farming or are in the process of drafting regulations. Contents 1 Preface 2 Introduction Minou Yussefi and Mike Mitschke 2.1 General Overview 2.2 Methodology 2.3 Information Resources 2.4 Literature 3 Development and State of Organic Agriculture World-wide Minou Yussefi 4 Overview of the Global Market for Organic Food & Drink Amarjit Sahota 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Western Europe 4.3 North America 4.4 Asia 4.5 Latin America 4.6 Oceania 4.7 Conclusions 4.8 Reference 5 Standards and Regulations Lukas Kilcher, Beate Huber and Otto Schmid 5.1 International Standards 5.1.1 IFOAM Standards 5.1.2 The Codex Alimentarius 5.2 National and Supranational Regulations 5.2.1 The EU Regulation on Organic Production 5.2.2 Other National Regulations 5.2.3 US and EU Import Procedures 5.3 Private Standards 5.4 Relationship to Fair Trade 5.5 Literature 6 Certification and Accreditation 6.1 Certification Gerald A. Herrmann 6.2 Organic Certification Statistics: 364 Certification Bodies in 57 Countries Gunnar Rundgren 6.3 IFOAM Accreditation International Organic Accreditation Service (IOAS) 6.4 IFOAM Accredited Certification Bodies International Organic Accreditation Service (IOAS) 7 Organic Agriculture in the Continents 7.1 Africa Nicholas Parrott and Fred Kalibwani 7.1.1 Introduction 7.1.2 Statistics / Historical Development 7.1.3 Markets 7.1.4 State support, standards and legislation 7.1.5 Innovations in Agroecology 7.1.6 Research, Extension and Training 7.1.7 Outlook 7.1.8 Reference 7.2 Asia Ong Kung Wai 7.2.1 General 7.2.2 Production & Markets 7.2.3 Standards, Certification & Regulation 7.2.4 Development challenges 7.3 Australia/Oceania 7.3.1 Organic Farming in Australia Darren Halpin and Martin Brueckner 7.3.2 Organic Farming in New Zealand Seager Mason 7.4 Europe Helga Willer and Toralf Richter 7.4.1 Statistical Development: Continued Growth 7.4.2 Milestones in the History of Organic Agriculture in Europe 7.4.3 The IFOAM European Union Regional Group 7.4.4 The European Market for Organic Foods 7.4.5 EU Regulation on Organic farming 7.4.6 Organic Farming Research in Europe 7.4.7 State Support for Organic Agriculture 7.4.8 Enlargement and Organic Farming 7.4.9 Action Plans 7.4.10 Future 7.4.11 References 7.4.11 Appendix: Development of Organic Agriculture in the Countries of the European Union 7.5 Latin America Pipo Lernoud 7.5.1 Traditional Farming 7.5.2 The Market 7.5.3 Commodities 7.5.3 Certification 7.5.4 Governmental Support 7.5.5 Education and Extension 7.5.6 Latin America: Country reports Alberto Pipo Lernoud and Marcela Piovano Argentina Bolivia Brazil Colombia Costa Rica Chile Mexico Peru Uruguay Sources of Information 7.6 North America 7.6.1 United States Barbara Haumann 7.6.2 Canada Barbara Haumann 8 Continued Achievements and Challenges Bernward Geier 9 Contac

The current status of organic farming in the world - focus on developing countries

It is generally acknowledged that organic agriculture can contribute to socio-economic and ecologically sustainable development, especially in poorer countries. The market for organic products is growing and offers producers and exporters in the South opportunities to improve their incomes and living conditions. But what role does organic farming play in the poorer countries? Some current data are presented in this paper, based on the global survey on organic farming carried out annually by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL and the Foundation Ecology and Agriculture SOEL in co-operation with the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements IFOAM. Organic agriculture is developing rapidly and is now practiced in more than 120 countries of the world. Its share of agricultural land and farms continues to grow in many countries. According to the latest survey (Willer/Yussefi 2007), almost 31 million hectares of agricultural land are managed organically (data as of end 2005). This constitutes 0.7% of the agricultural land of the countries (123) covered by the survey. In total, Oceania holds 39% of the world’s organic land, followed by Europe (23%) and Latin America (19%). Currently, the country with the largest organic area is Australia (11.8 million hectares). The proportion of organically compared to conventionally managed land, however, is highest in Europe. In the European Union almost 4% of the land is under organic management

Stimulating the potential for innovation in organic farming by research

Organic farming research has been developed over 4 stages: i) Pioneer farmers and scientists, ii) pioneer private research institutes, iii) organic farming chairs at universities and finally iv) organic farming projects and institutes at state research institutions. Today, organic agriculture has become finally accepted within agriculture and food research. The main key players in organic research in Europe are mentioned in the text. Mainly in Europe, public funded research has shifted towards organic farming, whereas the research resources for conventional farming have been cut down considerably. The paper gives an overview of the current status and the future prospects of organic farming research in Europe