Poor spending sees EU on track to miss green farming target: audit

By AFP

The EU risks missing a key environmental target to have 25 percent agricultural land farmed organically by 2030 due to policy "shortcomings" that see hefty subsidies spent poorly, auditors warned on Monday.

A report by the bloc's spending watchdog found that, for example, organic farmers were not required to produce any organic products in order to receive EU money -- something that hampered the sector.

"Around 12 billion euros of EU funding has been provided since 2014 without adequately nurturing the organic sector," the European Court of Auditors (ECA) said, adding that the 2030 goal currently seemed "out of reach".

Making agriculture more sustainable is an important component of the EU's Green Deal -- an ambitious environmental plan that aims to make the bloc carbon-neutral by 2050.

Organic farming does away with chemical pesticides and synthetic fertilisers, and contributes to greater biodiversity and less water, air, and soil pollution, according to the European Union.

But due to "gaps and inconsistencies" in policy, the 12 billion euros ($13 billion) poured into the sector over the past decade have failed to yield the desired results, according to ECA.

Only 10.5 percent of agricultural land was under organic farming in 2022, up from six percent a decade earlier. The sector needs to grow at double the current pace to reach the 2030 goal, the ECA said.

Part of the problem stems from the focus placed on extending the cultivated area rather than on boosting production, it added.

While some countries put in place stricter rules, farmers receive subsidies for switching land to organic farming -- but some of it then remains idle.

They can receive EU money even if they do not apply basic organic farming principles such as crop rotation.

And it is common practice to obtain authorisation for using non-organic seeds when planting organic crops.

As a consequence, organic production remains "a very small market", accounting for about four percent of the total EU food market, it said, calling for a strategic review.

"More needs to be done to support the sector as a whole -- developing the market and boosting production," said Keit Pentus-Rosimannus, the ECA member responsible for the audit.

"Otherwise, we risk creating a lopsided system that is entirely dependent on EU funds, rather than a thriving industry spurred on by informed consumers."