In his interview with the Irish Farmers Journal this week, the Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski demonstrated empathy for Europe’s farmers, but remained adamant that the EU needed to target 25% of its production for organic.
He is also of the view that the overall Farm to Fork strategy shouldn’t cause undue concern to Irish farmers and that the reduction of pesticides and fertiliser can actually be a cost reduction.
Move from 2% organic to 25%
There is a debate to be had on the efficient use of pesticides and fertiliser and minimising their use has the double win of reducing farmer expenses and protecting the environment.
It is more difficult to visualise the expansion of organic farming from the 2% land use at present to anywhere near the 25% target.
The Commissioner was also strong in his ambition to grow the market for organic produce and recognised that this is a particular challenge for Ireland as we are sparsely populated and highly productive, we export 90% of what we produce.
Organic markets tend to be located close to production and therefore work best where there is good access to a large, affluent consumer base.
While the market is the preferred mechanism for informing farmers' business decisions, subsidy works equally well, particularly to pursue a policy that doesn’t yet have a commercial basis in the market.
In Ireland, where considerable amounts of organic production is currently sold in commercial markets, this is unlikely to expand without encouragement through subsidy.
Unlikely to be market-led
The market for organic produce tends to be at its highest when the economy is at its strongest.
In Ireland, that was achieved in the first decade of this century at the height of the Celtic tiger. When the economic collapse followed the financial crisis, the already small market dwindled.
Looking to the immediate future and the economic damage caused by COVID-19, it is difficult to foresee an affluent base of consumers creating a huge market demand for organic produce.
It is foreseeable that organic produce would sell alongside mainstream production with little if any premium
Of course, this can be counteracted if the EU policy is to financially support organic production and in the process grow the supply base.
In this situation, it is foreseeable that organic produce would sell alongside mainstream production with little if any premium.
As an EU policy, this would achieve a reduction in output in much the same way that the introduction of a ban on beef growth hormones did in the late 1980s.
Also, if it was leading to a reduction in production instead of an increase, it would be unlikely to fall foul of WTO rules on support.
Policy doesn’t stand still
In this way, EU organic production of agricultural produce can certainly grow and if sufficiently supported farmers can embrace the system and consumers can have affordable produce in the way that the CAP originally worked to support farmers and provide EU consumers with affordable food.
Philosophically, there is a debate as to how viable this is in a world, as the Commissioner identified, that is going to need more agricultural production to feed the global population in 2050.
Perhaps organic is the theme for this decade and policy will change again to meet the needs of the time as 2050 approaches.
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