Organic Farming

Within the EU, the sale of food as organic is controlled under EU Regulation 2092/91 (CEC, 1991), which became operational, for plant products, in January 1993.

This Regulation in effect defines organic farming. It sets out the minimum standards of production and defines how certification procedures must operate. Regulation 2092/91 has been supplemented by various amendments, and in 1999 by a further Regulation (No. 1804/1999) covering livestock production which is now integrated into Regulation 2092/91.

In addition to organic production and processing within the EU, the Regulation also covers certification of produce imported from outwith the EU.

Under the Regulation, each member state is required to establish a National Competent Authority to ensure adherence to the law (in the UK, the Department of Environment and Rural Affairs, Defra).

Organic farmers must be registered with a certification body which must be approved by the National Competent Authority.

There are ten approved certification schemes for organic producers in the UK, of which the five most important in terms of number of licensees are Soil Association (SA), Organic Farmers and Growers (OFG), Scottish Organic Producers Association (SOPA),  (Biodynamic Agricultural Association (BDAA) and Organic Food Federation (OFF).

These certification schemes operate as follows:

• The farmer makes an initial application, (which must describe the cropping history of each field, a conversion plan for the farm, and a livestock management plan for each livestock enterprise) and pays an application fee
• A visit from an Inspector is carried out and subsequent approval (or not) by a Certification Committee is granted
• Detailed records of inputs must be kept and each year the farmer has to submit an annual return describing crop and livestock inputs and sales
• Inspections are carried out annually and a licence is granted for a further year. This on-going certification procedure is funded by an annual payment from the producer