Organic farming has a long history in Austria, not least due to the fact that Rudolf Steiner, the founder of the bio-dynamic farming movement, was an Austrian. Currently approximately 10% of Austrian farms are certified organic, the highest percentage in the EU

Darnhofer, I.

Vogl, C. R.

English

Organic Eprints

THE ORGANIC STANDARD © Grolink AB     Issue 34/February 20042The organic movement in Aus-tria started in 1927 with twopioneer farmers. In 1962 thefirst organic farmers’ cooperative wasestablished, and training and exten-sion took on a more formal structure.In 1979 the country’s largest organicfarmers’ association, Ernte, was estab-lished. The first common crop pro-duction standards were defined in1980 by the farmer associations andthe standards were codified in 1989into the Austrian Codex Alimentarius.In 1994 supermarkets started sellingorganic produce, and two years laterthe marketing agency Ökoland wasestablished to combine the producefrom the individual farms, therebystrengthening the farmers’ bargainingposition when dealing with largechains.According to AMA Marketing,which publishes Austria’s official sta-tistics on agricultural markets andprices, organic products have reacheda sizable market share. This is partlydue to the fact that supermarkets ac-count for 70% of organic sales. In2002, the largest market share (ex-pressed in value) was reached by or-ganic potatoes (12%), followed byfresh milk (9%) and milk products:6% for butter and 5 % for yoghurt.Development of organic productionWith the availability of the first gov-ernment support schemes for farms inconversion in the early 1990s, thenumber of certified organic farms in-creased rapidly, rising from 1,970farms in 1991 to 6,000 farms in 1992.Starting in 1994 direct payments weremade available for all organic farmsthrough the introduction of the Agri-Environment Programme in prepara-tion of the EU accession of Austria in1995. The growth in the number oforganic farms reached its peak in1998 with 20,316 farms. Since thenthe number has declined slightly, fall-ing to 18,591 farms in 2003.The changes in the number of or-ganic farms is partially linked to thecountry’s regional dynamics. Indeed,while some farms in the Alpine areas,which focus mainly on dairying andbeef, have reverted back to conven-tional farming, there has been a slowbut steady increase in arable farmsconverting to organic farming, mostlyin the eastern part of Austria. In 199519% of the country’s total organicOrganic agriculture inAustriaHighest rate of certified organic farmsin the EUOrganic farming has a long history in Austria, not least due to thefact that Rudolf Steiner, the founder of the bio-dynamic farmingmovement, was an Austrian. Currently approximately 10% of Aus-trian farms are certified organic, the highest percentage in the EU.Currently approximately 10% of Austrian farms arecertified organic, the highest percentage in the EU.country focusTHE ORGANIC STANDARD © Grolink AB     Issue 34/February 20043acreage (198,000 ha) was cropland,but by 2002 the proportion of croplandhad increased to 32% of the 298,000ha under organic management.Despite this slow shift, the major-ity of organic farms in Austria are stillin the Alpine areas, which is reflectedin the percentage of organic farms perdistrict. In some alpine districts, par-ticularly in the Salzburg province, upto 50% of the farms are organic,whereas the districts dominated bycropland seldom have more than 5%of organic farms.On these arable farms, most of theland is devoted to small grains (43%),dominated by wheat, which is grownon approximately 13,600 ha, followedby rye with 7,400 ha and barley with6,000 ha. Another important crop, notleast for export, are the potatoes,which make up 2.2% of the organiccrop area (2,100 ha) in the lowlands.Organic legislation in AustriaAustria has had a legally-defined na-tional definition of organic farmingthat covers both crops and livestockwithin chapter A.8 of the Austrian Co-dex Alimentarius since 1983. Inpreparation for the accession to theEU in 1995, the EU Regulation 2092/91 was implemented on 1 July, 1994.The control and certification proc-ess for farms, products and proces-sors, and the accreditation process forcertification bodies is characterised bya four-pronged approach (see figurebelow), involving three different min-istries as well as private standards:• The Federal Ministry of Social Se-curity. As the central CompetentAuthority, this Ministry implementsthe EU Regulation 2092/91 and fo-cuses on its main goal of protectingconsumers from fraud and produc-ers from unfair competition.• The Federal Ministry for EconomicAffairs and Labour ensures that in-spection and certification activitiescomply with EN 45011 (ISO 65).• The Federal Ministry for Agricul-ture, Forestry, Environment and Wa-ter Management focuses on envi-ronmental conservation. It adminis-ters the Agri-Environment Pro-gramme of the EU (Reg. no. 2078/92), offering direct payments to cer-tified organic farmers participatingin the programme.•P rivate standard setting committees,e.g. of farmers’ associations, enter-prises or other groups also issuetheir own standards.Federal Ministry of Social Security.This Ministry has a coordinating rolewith regard to the EU Regulation2092/91. Actual implementation is de-volved by the Austrian Food Act tocountry focusDirect payments fororganic farmsEU 2078/92Federal Ministry of Agriculture,Forestry, Environment andWater ManagementAgri-Environment ProgrammeAgrarmarkt Austria (AMA)Technical Inspection ServiceOrganic RegulationEU 2092/91Federal Ministry ofSocial Security andGenerationsState GovernorsState FoodControlAuthoritiesAccreditationEN 45011Federal Ministry ofEconomic Affairs andLabourAccreditation ServicePrivate CertificationBodiesPrivate LabelsPrivate StandardsFarmer Associationsand/orTrade/Brand LabelOwnerPrivate StandardsSetting CommitteesFarmers Handlers Importers ProcessorsOverview of bodies involved in control, certification and standards fororganic farms and products in AustriaAdapted from Darnhofer and Vogl (2003)THE ORGANIC STANDARD © Grolink AB     Issue 34/February 20044the nine State Governors, actingthrough their respective State FoodAuthorities. A State Food Authorityissues a provisional approval pendingaccreditation of the certification body.When accreditation is achieved, thecertification body receives final ap-proval from the state where its headoffice is located and further approvalsfrom the other states where it intendsto operate and has submitted an appli-cation. Supervision of the private cer-tification bodies is carried out by eachstate, with the supervision of adminis-tration and documentation takingplace in the state where the certifica-tion body has its head office.The Subcommittee for OrganicFarming of the Austrian CodexAlimentarius Committee, which is lo-cated within the Federal Ministry ofSocial Security, has the important roleof discussing rules and criteria on as-pects not yet covered by the EURegulation. Its bi-monthly meetingsare attended by officials from all in-volved authorities as well as repre-sentatives of all stakeholders, e.g.,consumers, producers, and retail inter-est groups. The wide membership en-sures that the decision process istransparent and decisions have broadsupport. The Subcommittee also ad-vises the representatives of the Fed-eral Ministry of Social Security intheir negotiations on the EU Regula-tion in Brussels.Federal Ministry of Economic Affairsand Labour. The amendment of theEU Regulation (Reg. no. 1935/95),which took effect in 1998, was inter-preted in Austria as requiring certifi-cation bodies to be accredited. There-fore, the Austrian Accreditation Serv-ice, which is part of the Ministry ofEconomic Affairs, grants accredita-tion following a formal assessment ofthe certification body based on theAustrian Law for Accreditation oncompliance with ISO 65. There areseven accredited certification bodiesoperating in Austria, which are eithernon-profit or for-profit private organi-sations (see box below). Shares areheld by private citizens, by enterprisesthat work in the inspection business atlarge, and by organic farmers’ asso-ciations.Federal Ministry of Agriculture. ThisMinistry is in charge of implementingthe Agri-Environment Programme(based on Reg. no. 2078/92), which inAustria encompasses 31 schemes, in-cluding organic farming. Farmers cantake part in the programme through avoluntary five-year contract. The pro-gramme is administered on behalf ofthe Ministry by Agrarmarkt Austria(AMA), the government body that ad-ministers all market regulations andsubsidies within the Common Agri-cultural Policy. The Technical Inspec-tion Service of AMA controls theproper application of the schemes, forwhich farmers receive direct pay-ments.Within these controls, 5% of farm-ers participating in the scheme ‘or-ganic farming’ will be inspected eachyear, with farms selected according toa risk assessment system.Private Standards. Besides the legalregulations, private standards, i.e.those of an organic farmers’ associa-tion or a private label, are also usedfor certification. The private standardsreflect specific concerns and interestsof the respective groups. For example,Websites of relevant Austrian organisationsOrganic certifiers in Austria:ABG (Austria Bio Garanti),Gesellschaft zur Kontrolle derEchtheit biologischer ProdukteGmbH (AT-N-01-BIO).www.abg.atSGS, Austria Controll & CoGesmbH, (AT-W-02-BIO).www.sgsaustria.at/bio/index.htmBIOS, Biokontrollservice Österreich(AT-O-01-BIO).www.bios-kontrolle.at/SLK, Salzburger Landwirt-schaftliche Kontrolle GesmbH(AT-S-01-BIO). www.slk.atLVA, Lebensmittelversuchsanstalt,(AT-W-01-BIO). www.lva.co.atLACON Privatinstitut für Qualität-ssicherung und  Zertifizierungökologisch erzeugter LebensmittelGmbH (AT-O-02-BIO).www.lacon-institut.com (LaconAustria. www. oekoland.at/kontrolle/index.html)BIKO, Verband Biokontrolle Tirol(AT-T-01-BIO).www.kontrollservice-tirol.atUseful websites:Umbrella organisations of organicfarmer associations:www.oekoland.atwww.bioinformation.atOrganic farmers associations:www.umweltbundesamt.at/bioverbaende.htmlConsolidated German version of EUReg. 2092/91 (including all amend-ments):www.boku.ac.at/oekoland/MitarbeiterInnen/Vogl/vogl_verordnung2092.htmcountry focusTHE ORGANIC STANDARD © Grolink AB     Issue 34/February 20045farmers particularly con-cerned with animal wel-fare can join an organicfarmers’ associationknown as Freiland,which has regulations on livestockhousing, breeding, feeding and veteri-nary medicine that are stricter than theEU Regulation. These farmers andtheir association advertise their ap-proach to organic farming to gain acomparative advantage.Bio Ernte Austria is the most influ-ential organic farmers’ association,with about 50% of all Austrian or-ganic farmers as mem-bers. Its standards arestricter than those of theAustrian Codex. As earlyas the 1960s, the associa-tion started to establish aninspection system and to advertisetheir organic brand.‘Ja! Natürlich’ is thebest known trade label inAustria and belongs to thesupermarket chain Rewe(Billa, Merkur). Most organicproducts of Austrian origin sold underthis label are produced by farmers be-longing to Bio Ernte Austria. All or-ganic farmers delivering to this and toother labels, e.g. ‘Natur pur’ of Spar,have to fulfill addi-tional requirementsthat go beyond the EURegulation, Austrian Codex standardsand farmer associations’ standards.Conversely, the retailers also arebound by a contract with farmer asso-ciations to purchase organic productsfrom Austrian farmers first, and for-eign products only if domestic onesare not available.Appraisal of the Austrian Imple-mentationOver the four years since accredita-tion was implemented, inspection andcertification of organic production inAustria have evolved into a highlyprofessional and transparent system,not least because of the central andformal accreditation requirement andits accompanying supervision. How-ever, although the first steps for har-monisation of the work of the certifi-cation bodies were successfully im-plemented, several areas of the certi-fying system still have potential forimprovement, e.g. to achieve a jointAustrian catalogue for sanctions.Perspectives for organics in AustriaThe number of organic farms in Aus-tria can be taken as an indicator of thefact that, after the rapid expansion inthe late 1990s, organic farming is cur-rently facing a plateau phase in Aus-tria. The domestic market seems to besaturated in most product groups andadditional production is mainly ex-ported. Thus, new approaches andconcepts must be found if organicfarming is to grow further. One ap-proach might be the creation of ‘eco-regions’ where most farmers are or-ganic and synergies, e.g. with hotelsand restaurants, could be created toincrease the appeal of the region fortourism.As far as the organic institutionsare concerned, there is currently a re-structuring going on. Indeed, the or-ganic farmers associations, whichused to represent an ‘alternative’ andwere at the centre of a dynamic devel-opment, are now evolving into an es-tablished partner for both market andagricultural policy makers. The vari-ous institutions involved with the or-ganic movement, such as the Ministryof Agriculture and the farmer coop-eratives, are currently striving for theunification of the current two um-brella organisations of the organicfarmers associations. This consolida-tion of the structures would produceone all-encompassing organisation,‘Bio Austria’, that would represent allAustrian organic farmers and coop-eratives. As far as the organic institutions are concerned, there iscurrently a restructuring going on.country focusChristian R. VoglInstitute for Organic FarmingUniversity for Natural Resources andApplied Life Sciences, Viennachristian.vogl@boku.ac.atIka DarnhoferInstitute of Agricultural EconomicsUniversity for Natural Resources andApplied Life Sciences, ViennaReferencesDarnhofer, I. & C. R. Vogl. 2003.Certification and accreditation of theorganics in Austria: implementation,strengths and weaknesses. In: Lockeretz,W. (ed.). Ecolabels and the Greening ofthe Food Market. P. 11-20. FriedmanSchool of Nutrition Science and Policy,Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts,USA.European Commission. 2001. Final reporton a mission carried out in Austria from5 to 9 March 2001 in order to evaluatethe application of Council Regulation(EEC) No 2092/91 to organic farming inAustria. DG Health & ConsumerProtection, Directorate F ￿ Food andVeterinary Office.Vogl, C. 2000. Certification andaccreditation in organic farming inAustria. In T. Alf￿ldi, W. Lockeretz andU. Niggli (eds). IFOAM 2000 –TheWorld Grows Organic. Proceedings ofthe 13th International IFOAM ScientificConf., 28-31 August 2000, Basel. VdfHochschulverlag, Zurich. p. 587.Vogl, C. and J. Hess. 1999. Organicfarming in Austria. American Journal ofAlternative Agriculture 14:137-143.Publications on the structure andeconomics organic farms in Austria canbe found under: www.boku.ac.at/iao/lbwl/publikationen/biolandbau/biolandbau.html

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