doubled organic demand in recent years 10

Berlin, September 08.09.2016th, 10. The organic demand has doubled in the past XNUMX years. More organic farming is therefore an opportunity for more and more German farmers to secure their professional livelihoods. The prerequisite for this is that politics pave the way for it. "Investing in organic farming means making agriculture crisis-proof", says the chairman of the organic umbrella organization Bund Ökologische Lebensmittelwirtschaft (BÖLW), Felix Prinz zu Löwenstein, on the occasion of today's presentation of the agricultural budget in the German Bundestag. “With his draft budget, Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt is cementing the status quo instead of steering it towards a more crisis-proof future. We ask ourselves how Schmidt intends to implement his future strategy for organic farming without wanting to invest a cent more in organic. "
 
The decisive pot, the federal program for organic farming *, is not better equipped in Schmidt's draft budget, despite the Ministry of Agriculture's plans to expand organic farming to 20 percent. Löwenstein: “Without the appropriate budget, the current backlog in the field of research in particular will not be resolved. Many innovative projects from arable farming to crop protection and new animal husbandry concepts to breeding cannot be implemented due to a lack of funding. That is a bad signal, both to the already organic farms and to potential converters. ”Despite an organic area share of around 7%, less than 1,5% of agricultural research funds are invested in organic farming. The BÖLW therefore calls for an increase in the budget for the federal program from the current € 17 million to € 60 million ** in order to catch up after years of neglecting ecological research.
 
“Now it is parliament's turn. With a sufficiently financed federal program, the MPs must send the clear signal that politics not only recognizes the immense potential in organic farming, but that the decision-makers also create framework conditions so that more and more farmers can realize this potential in their farms, ”says the BÖLW Chairperson. If organic land growth has been slowed down so far, the 20% target would only be reached in 2062 and a great opportunity for German agriculture would be missed. Löwenstein: “Not to use the instrument of organic farming in view of the current agricultural crisis, climate change and the great demand for local organic products would be irresponsible - both in terms of environmental and climate policy and towards family farms in Germany. "

Source: BÖLW

The BÖLW is the leading association of German producers, processors and traders of organic food and, as an umbrella organization, represents the interests of the organic agriculture and food industry in Germany. With organic food and beverages, more than 35.000 organic farms turn over more than € 8,6 billion annually. The BÖLW members are: AöL, Bioland, Biokreis, Biopark, BNN, Demeter, Ecoland, ECOVIN, GÄA, Naturland, Reformhaus® and Verbund Ökohöfe.