European agricultural producers' federation Copa-Cogeca has responded to new European Commission proposals on organic production and labelling by insisting that they allow EU organic production to continue developing, while supporting the growth of the market.
The rules should not discourage new farmers from converting to organic, said secretary general Pekka Pesonen, nor existing organic farmers from continuing to produce organically.
'In many regions, farms often convert into organic farming in a series of stages, for various reasons, like economic or structural reasons,' said Pesonen. 'Without the ability to adapt gradually to organic production, it will put the breaks on the development of the sector.'
Pesonen equally stressed the importance of looking at organic production as a whole rather than focusing on the final product, a point echoed by the chairman of Copa-Cogeca's working party on organic farming, Edouard Rousseau.
“Indeed, organic production cannot be isolated from its environment,' the latter agreed. 'As a result, organic producers should not have to bear the costs, for example, of accidental contamination or residue analysis, as this would greatly increase their costs, resulting in severe income losses. A solution also needs to be found to respond to the problems of seed availability within the proposed new EU seed law and vegetal reproduction.'
The new draft legislation was debated at the informal meeting for ministers of agriculture, with the aim being to strengthen and harmonise production rules through the removal of exceptions and improving control systems by placing all provisions in a single text.
