Organic farming, Copagri: the growth in consumption must benefit the entire supply chain

Turning positive market signals into sustainable growth across the entire organic farming sector – in which Italia is the European leader but which, for the first time in years is experiencing a decline in cultivated land, compounded by uncertainties surrounding the post-2027 EU Common Agricultural Policy, which could remove the mandatory nature of support for the sector from Member States’ implementation plans. This, in summary, is the message put forward by Copagri at the meeting held at the Ministry of Agriculture on the sector’s prospects: ‘Organic farming between the market and the new CAP’, organised by the Confederation in collaboration with its association of organic producers, Anaprobio Italia.

“Italian organic farming has for years now been a significant component of our agricultural sector, with levels of uptake, organisational capacity and market presence that make Italia one of the leading players in the sector at both EU and global level,” emphasised the organisation’s president, Tommaso Battista. “ “Nevertheless, there are still challenges that need to be addressed, as demonstrated by the latest figures on the organic sector, which in 2025, for the first time in many years, showed signs of decline in terms of both the number of operators and the area under cultivation.”

For this very reason, he added, ‘despite the positive signs relating to domestic consumption, which grew by over 9 per cent year-on-year in 2025, and exports, which continue to show great vigour, having reached a value of around 4 billion euros last year, there remains a particularly pressing need to take action to transform the positive signals from the market into sustainable growth, capable of combining sustainability, competitiveness and regional development’. Battista identified the simplification and protection of the agricultural chapter in the future 2028–34 EU budget as two of the main priorities, and the ‘Italian Organic’ label as an ‘excellent tool for boosting demand and promoting the sector’.

These calls were received by Luigi D’Eramo, the Under-Secretary of State for Agriculture with responsibility for organic farming, who called on the government to pay attention to the sector, assuring that it would do its utmost to safeguard the funds allocated to organic farming. “Organic farming,” he stated, “is a distinctive feature of our primary sector and will continue to be so in the future. As a government, we intend to continue on the path of simplification, ensuring that the organic sector can rely on the tools and resources it has had access to thus far. “In the coming weeks,” announced D’Eramo, “we will begin to raise awareness across the country of the full potential of the Italian organic label, a guarantee of the quality, uniqueness and safety of our produce.”