Fewer farmers switching to organic farming

For the sixth year in a row, fewer agriculturalists switched to organic farming. In 2020, the inspectorate Skal reported that only 96 farmers opted to label their products ‘organic’. That is a reduction of 22 percent compared to 2019, Trouw and De Telegraaf report.

The trade union for organic farmers Bionext attributes the decline to the lack of prospects for farmers who do take the risk. The switch is costly because farmers are only allowed to sell their products under the organic brand after two years. Therefore, many farmers do not see any profit from their investment for a very long time.

Additionally, the demand for organic products is not high enough to justify the transition.

Bionext is appealing to the government to offer support to farmers willing to risk switch with a “switching subsidy.”