EU organic farmers sound alarm amid revenue decline and tightening eco-regulations

07 Feb 2024 --- Thousands of organic farmers have joined protests across Europe over diminished returns from organic sales, warning about mounting pressures from stricter environmental rules that have left many members of the sector feeling unfairly burdened by costs along the supply chain.

Organic food and farming coalition IFOAM Organics Europe calls for more “fair prices for both consumers and farmers who adopt greener practices,” revealing that prices paid to organic farmers have gone down in the last two years in several countries and are “equal at times to prices paid to conventional farmers.”

However, the group flags that retailers still continue to sell organic products at a premium, resulting in higher profit margins for these businesses while leaving organic farmers hard hit.

“While there has been notable market growth in the last ten years, there was a slowdown in some countries since 2022, but the market situation remains contrasted. Notably, Austria appears to be holding steady, while Germany is recovering from a brief decline in uptake, and France seems to be experiencing a downturn,” Eric Gall, deputy director at IFOAM Organics Europe, tells Food Ingredients First.

“It’s important to note that there are currently no official figures about farmers reverting to conventional agriculture. At present, conversions back to conventional farming remain anecdotal, and concern mostly cattle production in France.”

Farmer frustrations in Europe extend beyond the organic sector. Last week, Polish, French and German farmers blockaded roads in demonstration against the European Green Deal, EU policies “hurting local agriculture,” and the influx of Ukrainian food.

IFOAM Organics Europe argues that retailers still continue to sell organic products at a premium, while leaving organic farmers with low margins.Cost of agroecological transition
Farmers who engage in the agroecological transition are not properly remunerated, neither by the market nor by the Common Agricultural Policy, argues Jan Plagge, president of IFOAM Organics Europe.

“Organic farmers also suffer from low prices and unfair competition by less ambitious standards, despite delivering many benefits for the environment and society. Many organic farmers risk abandoning organic certification without better support from retailers and policymakers.”

“But legitimate concerns about unfair prices and competition should not be misdirected against health and nature protection,” he stresses. “The Green Deal and the Farm to Fork strategy are critical policies and cannot be blamed as the cause of farmers’ difficulties, since most legal proposals related to agriculture have been blocked, rejected or watered down, and have had zero impact on farmers so far.”

Among such proposals, the European Parliament’s rejection and the current blockage in the Council of Ministers of the Regulation on the “sustainable use of pesticides,” along with the diluted Nature Restoration Law and shelving of the Framework Law on Sustainable Food Systems by the Commission, underscore a significant setback in advancing sustainable agricultural practices.

Plagge supports that other actors in the food supply must “share environmental responsibilities instead of burdening farmers.”

“The transition to sustainable food systems cannot rest solely on the shoulders of organic farmers and consumers willing to pay more for food production methods that preserve the climate and biodiversity,” he argues. 

Environmental price of food
Gall underscores that the environmental impact and economic cost of industrial agriculture practices — for example on water pollution or loss of biodiversity — are not taken into account in the price of food.

“In contrast, organic farmers are also delivering a range of public goods, which are partly (but not enough) remunerated by CAP support and partly by consumers who buy organic products,” he says.

Plagge stresses that other actors in the food supply chain must share the environmental responsibilities instead of burdening farmers.“In France, payments for organic farming per hectare were cut by 66%, or in monetary terms €132 (US$142) per hectare annually to bring it in line with High Environmental Value, a less ambitious program.”

“For some products, since the demand has gone down because of inflation, the price paid to organic farmers is equal or even below the price paid to conventional farmers; this was, for example, the case for beef production in France in 2023.”

To ease the burden on farmers transitioning to sustainable food systems, he asserts that it is crucial to implement mechanisms like Sustainable Public Procurement for public authorities. 

Retailers, processors and catering businesses should also source a specified minimum amount of organic products, he continues. 

“Importantly, this shift toward sustainability should not result in significantly increased prices for consumers; they should not bear alone the financial burden of choosing products that are better for the environment.”

“Farmers need fair prices that reflect their production costs, and this is even more true for farmers who take the risk of engaging in more sustainable farming practices such as organic farming,” he concludes.

By Benjamin Ferrer