Organic agriculture, Italy on the podium

With an area of 2.3 million hectares (equal to 18.7% of the UAA), Italy ranks third in Europe for organic cultivated area. Better than Italy are Spain (2.7 million hectares) and France (2.9 million), the undisputed queen of the podium. Italy, on the other hand, holds the record for the number of agricultural companies operating in the sector, 82 thousand, i.e. 17.2% of those active in Europe. The research from "The World of Organic Agriculture 2024", carried out by the FiBL research institute in collaboration with IFOAM, the body that represents the associations in the sector on a global level, takes stock of the trend in organic farming. The report, which is based on data referring to 2022, was presented last February 14th on the occasion of Biofach, one of the most important international sector events which ends today Friday 16th February. In Europe - we read again in the report - organic crops occupy 18.5 million hectares, i.e. 19% of the global surface area dedicated to "organic farming", and involve as many as 480 thousand agricultural companies (out of a global total of 4.5 million). Europe is also at the top when it comes to consumption. In 2022 the European market exceeded the threshold of 53 billion euros in value, approaching the US market which, with its 56.6 billion euros, is still the first in the world ahead of Europe and China (12 billion).
And what about Italy? According a the survey edited by Nomisma - as part of the Being Organic in Eu project, managed by FederBio in partnership with Naturland DE - referring to last year and presented in the framework of Biofach, Italian consumption also grew in 2023 reaching 5.4 billion euros. This is a consolidated trend that has continued uninterrupted for 16 years. If the difference compared to 2022 is still significant (+8%), that compared to 2008 it is even more, since it describes an increase equal to 150%. 

Photo by NordWood Themes on Unsplash