France leads Europe’s organic farming sector

The Italian agricultural institute Ismea presented an overview of the organic fresh produce supply chain at a Macfrut conference last week. In 2020, France (2,548,000 ha) had the largest and area dedicated to organics, followed by Spain (2,437,000 ha) and Italy (2 million ha). Crop yields have grown since 1990 with rates of increase that are not constant over time because they are linked to public subsidy instruments. Italy has the largest number of organic operators in Europe followed by France. Organic farms make up 6.2% of Europe’s farms, a figure that has more than doubled in the last ten years. However, the short-term objectives for the sector include increasing organic production through specific research tools and developing greater integration in the supply chain.