Boost organic support, urges Holden
26 March 2001
Boost organic support, urges Holden
By Isabel Davies
THE Soil Association has challenged the government to help meet growing demand for organic food by boosting support for organic farmers.
British farmers are failing to keep pace with rising demand for organic food according to the organisations annual report on the organic sector.
In the year to April 2000 sales of organic food shot up by a record 55% and the total retail value of food rose to 605 million, the report shows.
But it also reveals that imports accounted for 75% of the organic food sold compared to 70% the previous year.
Soil Association director Patrick Holden said the figures underlined the importance of developing capacity in domestic production.
“The time is ripe for our government to match the progress being made elsewhere in Europe by committing itself to an action plan for organic food and farming,” he said.
“We need to put an end to the stop-start funding of the Organic Farming Scheme and give farmers the ongoing organic stewardship payments which their contribution to protecting the environment deserves.”
The report suggests that over 65% of households made an organic food purchase in the past year, compared to 37.2 % two years ago.
This is a 6.6 million increase in the number of homes buying organic.
By April 2000 the amount of organic and in-conversion land in the UK the had grown to 400,000 ha (1 million acres) or 3% of production.
But the Soil Association says the area must be increased.
It commissioned a MORI poll which found 52% of respondents thought 30% of farmland should be farmed using organic methods.
One in four people also said the government should address more resources to organic farming to address concerns about food safety.