Launch of the 'Italian Organic' label, will protect products made in Italy

More than three years after the entry into force of the framework law on organic farming, Italy is finally launching the Italian Organic label, which will protect 100% national production. For its christening, the Ministry of Agriculture chose the European Organic Day, which was celebrated yesterday and which brought together the main agricultural and sector associations in Rome. The ministry says that four to five months of work are still needed: the new brand - a tricolour heart with the words 'Italian organic' next to it - should therefore be on the shelves by early next year.

'The label was something we were waiting for,' says Federbio president Maria Grazia Mammuccini, 'the data tell us that for both Italian and foreign consumers there is a close link between the origin of the raw material and the idea of sustainability. I believe that this new brand is a great opportunity to increase our exports, but also domestic consumption'.

Also yesterday, updated data on the organic world in Italy were presented. According to Ismea, the total number of operators has exceeded 97 thousand, 2.9% more than in 2023 and a good 62% more than in the last decade. Of these, actual farms have increased by 3.4% and now number more than 87 thousand. Demand for organic products is also growing, for a market that is now worth 3.96 billion in the large-scale distribution channel alone.

As far as the area under organic cultivation is concerned, according to data presented yesterday in our country, it has exceeded 2.5 million hectares, which is about one fifth (20.2%) of all arable land. But does Italy really have all these organic fields? According to the detailed tables of Sinab (the National Information System on Organic Farming) of those 2.5 million hectares, about 500,000 are still in the process of conversion, and if it goes well they will be defined as organic for all intents and purposes in two or three years. Then there is a 3% set-aside, i.e. not cultivated. But, above all, there is a 29.7% of meadows and pastures: the fact that they are classed as organic is due to the fact that they are uncultivated land, left to wild grasses. If no chemicals have been added to treat them, it is simply because no one is actively looking after them. Finally, another 22.8% of the land in the Sinab database is labelled as 'permanent crops', a category within which fodder crops such as maize or alfalfa are included, but also a share of uncultivated grasses. That is, once again, pastures.

Thus, according to Sinab, more or less half of the organic fields are not really cultivated. Yet, like the other half, they receive subsidies for organic farming. 'We should establish a bonus for those who actually cultivate and market their products,' admits the president of Federbio. 'One way could be to have certified organic production, so as to better link the contribution to those who produce organic and bring their products to market.