Organic, sales in Italia reach 6.9 billion (+6.2%)

"The data photograph a growing and increasingly mature organic sector," says Maria Grazia Mammuccini, president of Federbio, "but the signal must be supported by greater investment in training and communication.

What is needed is a political shot in the arm: more resources, less bureaucracy and a truly European CAP. Launching the message and highlighting the priorities to strengthen the Italian organic sector in a decisive phase for the future of agriculture is the national president of Cia-Agricoltori Italiani, Cristiano Fini, who spoke at 'Organic Revolution', the central event of Sana Food, together with Anabio, the Confederation's dedicated association.

On the records of organic farming in Italy weighs the threat of excessive bureaucracy that affects organic farms, which are forced to deal with a surplus of fulfilments that are up to 30% higher than those of traditional agriculture, which is already more than harassed by the 'papers'. This was the denunciation of Coldiretti Bio at the inaugural conference, attended by the national vice-president of Coldiretti, David Granieri, and the president of Coldiretti Bio, Maria Letizia Gardoni.

According to a survey by Crea, excessive bureaucracy is the cause of the abandonment of organic production in as many as eight cases out of ten. The administrative burden and the complications associated with it, which are often meaningless, weigh especially heavily on small and medium-sized farms," explains Coldiretti Bio, "leading them to abandon certification. Hence the call for a simplification of the regulatory framework for the sector, where the European objectives of streamlining, even in the latest proposed revision of the European regulation, have once again remained on paper.

Reducing bureaucracy means - explains Coldiretti Bio - defending the records of the Italian organic sector, which boasts the EU leadership thanks to 84 thousand active farms in Italy, more than twice as many as Germany and a third more than France. Almost one field in five in Italia (19%) is cultivated organically, but in several regions the percentage rises to over 25%, so much so that it has reached the objectives set by the EU within the Farm to Fork strategy four years early. Italia is also the leading European producer of organic cereals, vegetables, fruit and olives.

A further opportunity for the sector's development can certainly come from the new brand of Italia's organic products, recently approved at the State-Regions conference. An important tool to help consumers to make more conscious choices and to enhance the work of the Made in Italy agricultural chain, also with respect to a trend that in 2024 saw an increase in imports of organic products from abroad, which grew by 7.1% compared to the previous year, Coldiretti reminds.

'Consolidating the agricultural supply chains of organic products from Italy, through supply chain contracts, and the increasing presence of organic products in Campagna amica markets are the tools we are putting in place to promote the knowledge and valorisation of Italian organic products,' emphasises Coldiretti Bio president, Maria Letizia Gardoni, 'with the aim of further developing domestic consumption of this excellence of our agri-food industry.