Organic Farming's Best and Worst of Times: Europe Reviews Certification System to Reclaim Its Original Purpose

This is the best and also the worst of times for organic farming in Europe. The area under organic cultivation has nearly doubled, from 5.6 million hectares in 2002 to 10.3 million hectares in 2014; over a decade, sales also grew from 11.1 billion euros in 2005 to 24 billion in 2014. Yet a contradictory trend has emerged in organic farming: the market is booming, but farms are struggling.

As the EU's largest market, Germany's organic food and agricultural products grew by 7.2% in turnover in 2013, but the number of organic farming enterprises rose by only 2%. Some farmers, unable to bear soaring farmland prices and meager incomes, were forced to shut down. Italy likewise saw its organic farm growth rate fail to keep pace with sales, and farmers who had put great effort into converting to organic found themselves trapped in the same predicament as conventional farming, powerless against the pressure of large retailers buying at low prices.

Organic Farming Caught in a Crisis of Trust

In order to guide the long-term development of organic farming and return to its original purpose of "environmental conservation, biodiversity, and protection of natural resources," the EU plans to revise the organic management regulations introduced in 2007. After consulting multiple parties, the European Commission (equivalent to a nation's administrative body) put forward a proposal in 2014, with further discussion set for the end of September this year.

How to prevent bad money from driving out good, while protecting both consumers and producers, is at the heart of the debate over labeling and inspection. Although 70% of Europeans say they trust organic products, 60% also want improved inspection methods. Even though Europe is a pioneer in organic farming and is known for its high standards, the business opportunities organic farming holds have led quite a few companies to take reckless risks.

Italy's food safety enforcement unit (NAS) seized products falsely labeled as organic worth millions of euros in 2013. And in Germany, regarded as a model student, that same year saw an outbreak of cases in which organic egg farmers kept hens in overcrowded spaces that failed to meet regulations, along with suspicions of egg mixing; yet retailers claimed their technicians had seen no violations during farm inspections, and government inspectors later found that no reports had been filed nor had there been any demand to remove the organic labels.

Preventing Fraud: Certification Bodies Send Technical Advisors to Stay Informed About the Fields

In any case, internal corporate oversight is indispensable, and preventive measures are always better than locking the barn door after the horse has bolted. Once external inspectors uncover a problem, what is at stake is business reputation and hard-won customer trust.

To prevent fraud, the Marche Organic Interprofessional Association does not breathe down people's necks like police, treating organic farmers as thieves. "We send out technical advisors to see how farmers cultivate and produce, coaching them to comply with government regulations, offering advice from document records to work in the fields. Frequent interaction builds familiarity, so that by harvest time we already have information on every producer and know the situation of the products," said Torriani.

Beyond internal audits checking compliance with the EU's organic "minimum standard," Naturasi has launched its own E cor label. "This is to encourage farmers to improve; these people's care for the environment, animals, crops, and workers exceeds EU requirements, and this label also gives them reason to ask for higher prices," pointed out Trombari.

Rather than the stick of punishment, he believes a "progress award" like the carrot also applies to conventional farming. "They may be unable or unwilling to become organic, but if they gradually reduce their use of pesticides and fertilizers, getting a little better each time, they can also be affirmed and recognized, though they must still be distinguished from organic."

Germany: Government Already Stretched Thin Inspecting Conventional Farms, Hard to Extend to Organic

As for Italian organic practitioners' argument that the official authorities should take charge of organic inspections to avoid the bias of private institutions, European Parliament member Martin Häusling, himself engaged in organic production in Germany, does not agree. "The government is already stretched thin inspecting conventional farming; it would be very hard to supervise organic, which has stricter standards." The solution should be that the government must impose stricter requirements on private inspection bodies.

As large agricultural and production-marketing companies run organic operations on an industrialized model, expanding market share and driving down prices, small farmers find it hard to cross the threshold and bear certification costs, straying from the original purpose of organic farming. In response, the European Commission's legislative proposal suggests introducing "group certification" for small farmers, strengthening local networks, gaining higher visibility in the market, and securing a place when entering other countries' markets.

The currently ill-defined "group certification" is most often compared with "Participatory Guarantee Systems." Paola Migliorini, vice-chair of the Mediterranean branch of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), clarified: "Participatory Guarantee Systems should not be conflated with Organic 3.0. The former has been in practice for many years, while the spirit of the latter lies in 'best practice.'" The EU's organic certification must be adjusted, but it is also a necessary system.

Trombari believes third-party certification and participatory certification can run in parallel without conflict. "However, the premise is that the latter still requires the participation of experts to define standards for cultivation and other production, otherwise it will degenerate into the emotional reactions of participants; even with good intentions, it is all subjective judgment and not objective enough."

The industry is changing rapidly, but the five groups under the Marche Organic Interprofessional Association still adhere to the cooperative model and work closely with small farmers, rooted locally yet facing the globe. Forty years ago organic was still a niche market, and to increase sales it went international. Today, more than half of the pasta and grains made from wheat are exported to high-end markets such as Germany, France, the United States, and Japan.

"If producers sell in their own shops or within zero kilometers (Km0), building interpersonal trust face to face with consumers, participatory certification is feasible. But for us, heading toward the international market, this won't work. The greater the distance between production and consumption sites, the higher the value of organic certification," pointed out Torriani. Even with participatory certification, government oversight is still essential. "There are already plenty of cases of passing off inferior goods as superior. Imagine, if there were no government oversight and we relied only on participatory certification, what would things be like?"

After graduating from an agronomy institute, Ettore Drenaggi put his learning to use, working a two-hectare plot on the hills of the Marche region using the more challenging biodynamic method. In his eyes, the EU's current organic regulations follow the logic of large retailers and do nothing to support small farmers or help them build dense local networks.

While affirming the direction of participatory certification, Drenaggi retains his critical spirit: "The key is to see clearly who the financiers behind it are. We must clarify whether they are creating another business model for their own interests, or whether they are truly executing it transparently and fairly, adhering to ethical and natural principles."

Small Farmers Working Together Can Also Cross the Threshold

With organic produce selling well, some small farmers, constrained by limited capital and legal regulations, cannot get a share of the pie. Southern European country Albania faces the same predicament. Facing a still-nascent organic industry, Xhevaire Dulja, drawing on her experience promoting certification in that country, pointed out: "First you must train a group of advisors who can help farmers engage in organic farming, bringing in the necessary knowledge and techniques." Fortunately, although Albania has not yet joined the EU, thanks to its advantageous location it has already learned from European countries and received support from Oxfam and Switzerland.

Under the framework of EU agricultural policy and rural development, farmers, starting from applying to become organic farmers, follow the assistance of certification bodies to comply with regulations during the transition. During this period, crops and products are still sold under the conventional name, but they can already receive subsidies for 2 or 3 years. "Subsidies are certainly an important incentive, but they are not enough to sustain things in the long run. You still have to find your own business model to survive," Torriani reminded.

In the best and also worst of times for organic farming in Europe, he believes that as consumer demand surges, even if small farmers cannot enjoy a rolling tide of business opportunities on the organic highway like the big players, as long as small farmers help one another and connect with customers, forming their own industry chain from farm to table and retaining their autonomy, it is entirely possible to carve out a way of survival that is both down-to-earth and popular.