United Kingdom

Organic Farming in the United Kingdom 2005

Conpiled by FiBL, based various sources

Update of October 2006 (not incorprated into text): DEFRA / National Statistics: Joint Annoucement on Organic Farming statistics as of January 2006 (released Sept 28, 2006)

According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) the total area of organic land and in-conversion land in the UK as at January 2005 was 690'269 ha. This represents a decrease of 1% from January 2004 and just over 4% of the total agricultural area (excluding common grazing) in the UK. The areas in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have all increased slightly although the area in Scotland has decreased by over 10'000 ha (3%) from January 2004. Most of the decrease is permanent pasture. In conversion land in Northern Ireland has almost doubled which is permanent and temporary pasture.

The Soil Association reports in its Organic Market Report 2005 that the introduction of the Single Payment Scheme (SPS) has resulted in a growth of interest in organic conversion of all sectors. However, while opportunities still exist for organic producers a number of key constraints continue to challenge the UK’s organic sector, including continued high levels of imports, practicalities of balancing supply with uneven demand, pressure on UK organic farm gate prices and rising costs of production.

History and Development

The organic movement in the UK has a long history. Sir Albert Howard carried out his famous work on composts in India as long ago as the 1920s. The oldest organic farms stretch back to the 1930s, when the rest of the world was just starting to follow the chemical alternative. The earliest back-to-the-land proponents exhibited a bewildering range of philosophies, from Utopian socialists to those flirting with the blood and soil fantasies of the national socialists. They constituted little more than an eccentric minority. The organic movement only really gained coherence and an overall vision with the publication of Lady Eve Balfour’s book "The Living Soil" in 1946 and the establishment of the Soil Association a couple of years later.

These early pioneers only had a fairly tenuous link with the modern world of organic agriculture. There was no organic food premium, no standards, no regulations and a far broader interest in "whole food" issues then there is today. The priorities of the U.K. movement were mainly directed towards proving the theories expounded in "The Living Soil". To that end, the Pye Research Centre was established at Haughly in Suffolk, to carry out a series of long-term trials that continued over twenty years.

Organisations

There are many organic organisations in the UK some of which have been of particular importance for the organic sector.

The Soil Association, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1996, emerged as the most powerful advocate in terms of a public face and political lobbying. It has also played a key role in developing organic standards both in Britain and through the European Union. It is also a membership organisation. Certification is carried out by Soil Association Certification Ltd.

For Gardeners the Henry Doubleday Research association (HDRA) has created a vibrant alternative to chemical methods, both throughout the early advocacy of its founder Lawrence Hills and inspirational work of Jackie and Alan Gear, which has led to the development of a National Centre at Ryton Gardens, TV series, books, articles and HDRA’s position as the largest organic membership organisation in Europe.

Research was initially confined to independent organisations, of which the largest and best known is Elm Farm Research Centre (EFRC), based on a working organic farm in Berkshire, England.

Statistics

According to DEFRA the total area of organic land and in-conversion land in the UK as at January 2005 was 690,269 ha. This represents a decrease of 1% from January 2004.

Of this figure, 54,771 ha (8%) was in-conversion and 635,497 ha (92%) was fully organic. Whilst the fully organic area has increased by 1% from January 2004, the area of land in conversion has fallen by 17%.

This represents just over 4% of the total agricultural area (excluding common grazing) in the UK.

The areas in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have all increased slightly although the area in Scotland has decreased by over 10,000 ha (3%) from January 2004.

Most of the decrease is permanent pasture. In conversion land in Northern Ireland has almost doubled which is permanent and temporary pasture.

The Soil Association's Organic Market report published November 2005 furthermore informs that since the last reporting period (2004), the area of fully organic land under horticultural production increased by 4.5% to 7,711ha, while the area of fully organic arable land increased by 5.7% to 51,234 ha. However, the area of organic grassland remained static at 88.6% of the total, 561,656 ha.

The area of land used for herb production increased by more than 200% - due mainly to the growing demand for organic health and beauty products.

Standards and Certification

The first set of organic standards were published as guidelines by the Soil Association in 1967, and the Soil Association Organic Marketing Company, now Soil Association Certification Ltd., was set up in 1973 to inspect and certify organic food. Today, the Soil Association standards are the most widely recognised in the UK.

The most important certification bodies are:

Scottish Organic Producers Association

Biodynamic Agricultural Association

Organic Farmers & Growers Ltd

Organic Food Federation

Soil Association

An regularly updated list of approved certification bodies in the UK is available at the DEFRA organic farming homepage.

Legislation

Council Regulation (EEC) 2092/91 sets out the practices which may be used in organic farming and growing, and the inspection system which must be put in place to ensure this. This Regulation also applies to processing, processing aids and ingredients in organic foods.

Regulation 2092/91 is the basis for UK organic standards. These are implemented under the Organic Products Regulations 2004, through the Compendium of UK Organic Standards.

At the DEFRA Homepage the legislation on organic standards as it applies in the UK is available.

The Advisory Committee on Organic Standards (ACOS) is a non-executive non departmental public body which advises Ministers on matters related to organic standards. It was preceded by UKROFS. Information on ACOS and ACOS documents can be found at the DEFRA Homepage.

Information including implementation rules on the UK standards (governmental and Soil Association standards) is available at the organic rules archive.

Action plan to develop food and farming

The Action Plan to develop food and farming in England was published in July 2002 by DEFRA in response to the report of the Policy Commission led by Sir Don Curry, which recommended the development of a strategy for organic food production addressing all parts of the food chain.

The Plan was reviewed by the Organic Action Plan Group and a review document Organic action plan to develop organic food and farming in England - two years on was published in August 2004. A marketing issues sub-group of the Action Plan has been set up to assist with the marketing of certified organic produce in the UK.

Also in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland action plans exist or work on them is in progress.

Further Information on the UK action plan as well as links to relevant documents can be found at the DEFRA Homepage.

In 2001 an extensive Report on organic farming, prepared by the British House of Commons has published. This report concludes with 37 recommendations to the UK government.

The Market

In 2004, the retail market for organic products in the UK was worth an estimated £1.213 billion (=1.78 billion EUR), demonstrating continued and sustained growth across the sector. Figures on the development of the organic market in the UK are available at the DEFRA homepage, showing a more than tenfold increase fom 1994 (105 million British Punds) to 2004: 1213 million British pounds (=1811 million Euros).

Sales of organic produce through direct and alternative markets, such as box schemes and independent retail shops, increased considerably during the year.

Retail sales of organic produce through the multiple retailers continued to grow but at a much slower rate than in previous years.

Consequently, the supermarket share of the organic market fell for the third consecutive year.

More information about the UK organic market is available from the Soil Association's Organic Market Report 2005, covering the following issues: Marketing Channels (Retail, Box schemes and mail order, Farmers’ markets), Processing and product information (arable p

Research

Elm Farm Research Centre, a pioneering research institute, has covered amongst other topics, nitrate leaching from organic systems, use of legumes and green manures, intercropping, municipal composting, stockless organised systems, grass leys, and the benefits of organic farming to wildlife.

The Henry Doubleday Research Association (HDRA) has a large research section.

More recently academic bodies have also initiated organic research programmes, most prominently at the University of Wales in Aberystwyth, the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC), Reading University, or at government funded institutions.

The Organic Centre Wales, opened in July 2000, acts as a focal point for information on organic food and farming and meet the needs of organic agriculture through: research and development; training and education; an organic demonstration farm network; advisory services; specialist information and publications. The Centre's Web page contains a lot of information, including graphs on the development of organic farming in Europe.

Research Publications as well as information on organic farming research projects is available from the Organic Eprints Archive.

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Contact: Helga Willer