Customers are spending more and more money on organic products. And more and more farms are deciding to produce in a sustainable way. However, these steps are not enough to achieve the target of 30 per cent organic farms by 2030. The industry association is now calling on politicians to take action.
Organic is still in vogue. This is confirmed by new figures from the German Federation of Organic Food Producers (BÖLW), according to which customers spent almost six per cent more on organic products last year: 15.87 billion euros in total. The products come from the 35,716 organic farms in the country, among others. They now account for just over 13 per cent of all farms. In eight years, there should be more than twice as many. Organic products and organic farming are at the centre of the "food transition", says BÖLW Chairwoman Tina Andres. Just as renewable energies are driving the energy transition, organic could have the same effect on the necessary developments in the agricultural and food system.
At least this goal will not fail due to customer demand. In 2021, Germans spent around a quarter more than before on organic meat, milk alternatives and butter alone. The trend is clearly pointing upwards. So much so that prices began to rise at the end of last year because organic farmers could not keep up with the production of spelt, for example. The rising prices are also due to increasingly expensive production costs, for example for feed. However, 20 per cent of farmers are now expressing an interest in converting to organic farming. Never before have there been so many. Supply is therefore slowly adapting to the already high demand. In addition, 20 per cent of farmers are now expressing an interest in converting to organic farming. That's the highest number ever. Supply is therefore slowly adapting to the already high demand.
However, the President of the Association for Organic Farming (Naturland), Hubert Heigl, doubts the ambitions of politicians. Despite the good conditions, "the current pace of conversion is not sufficient to achieve the target of 30 per cent organic farming." He is calling for clear impetus from the government to strengthen the switch to organic. As if that were not enough, BÖLW Chairwoman Tina Andres is calling on Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir (The Greens) in particular. Andres goes even further with her demands than the stipulated figures. A change in the agricultural and food system must be sought beyond 2030. "Organic is at the heart of this transformation," says Andres.