Czech Presidency High Level Conference on Agricultural Product Quality

1. Czech Presidency High Level Conference on Agricultural Product Quality C2 – Single market in organic products Francis Blake President, IFOAM EU Group www.ifoam-eu.org

2. C2 – Single market in organic products Organic farming delivers on all the CAP objectives: • Produces high quality foods • Creates more jobs • Uses approximately a third less energy • Produces less pollution • Improves biodiversity • both more species and higher populations • High animal welfare • Protects soils and builds fertility

3. C2 – Single market in organic products The foundations of the EU organic market: • Regulations 834/2007 and 889/2008 • 3 months in force, generally a sound regulatory baseline • European Action Plan for Organic Food and Farming • Published 2004, now mostly implemented • Commissioner MFB just proposed a mid-term review • Support measures under Pillar II, Rural Development • Action Plan urges MS to use this to the full • Wide variation in support measures for organic farming • Leading to wide variation in take-up of organic farming

4. C2 – Single market in organic products Consumer expectations of organic food: • Good for me and my children • Taste • Lower pesticide residues • Higher nutritional content • Good for the environment • High animal welfare • Socially just production, processing and distribution • Food I can trust • Food I can relate to • Shortest distance between producer and consumer • Short supply chains • Know and trust the certifier and its standards

5. C2 – Single market in organic products Increasing consumption of organic foods: • Effective control to prevent fraud • Good promotion and information • targeted to local conditions • Require organic food in public procurement • Parity of prices • Shouldn’t have to pay extra to protect the environment • Enhance attractiveness of organic food and farming • Quality and taste • Health and environmental benefits • Animal welfare • Fairly traded • Local identity

6. C2 – Single market in organic products Carbon • Agricultural soils store twice as much carbon as in the atmosphere • Soil carbon losses under conventional farming equal all the carbon emissions from agriculture (and are not even counted in estimates) • Organic farming increases soil carbon by 100-400kg/ha/yr • 1 tonne N fertiliser takes 1 tonne oil, 108 tonnes water, gives off 7 tonnes of CO2 equivalent Greenhouse gas (as NO2) Peak oil • We will reach the point of peak oil in 5-10 years time • Organic farming starts to achieve economic parity with conventional when oil reaches $200/barrel • Currently it takes 10 calories of oil to produce 1 calorie of food energy Organic farming c/w conventional farming • Average 90% of conventional yields in developed countries • Over double conventional yields in developing countries

7. C2 – Single market in organic products Conclusions • Essential for consumers to trust organic food • The regulation provides a good foundation • Need to build on organic farming’s strengths • Diverse and locally adapted • Minimal external inputs and environment friendly • bringing producers and consumers together • Delivering what consumers want • Need properly funded research • To maximise the benefits of organic farming • To prepare better for climate change and peak oil • The single market is not the issue