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It is five years since the launch of the first
Organic Action Plan, which has enabled the sector to develop
significantly. Speaking at the launch, Organic Strategy Group Mr
Rowlands, said: "Organic farming is now well established in
Wales. Since the launch of the first action plan the share of
agricultural land area managed organically has increased from 0.3%
in 1998 to nearly 4% (end of 2003), with the number of organic farms
increasing from 120 to 610 over the same period.
"Higher levels of support for conversion to
organic farming together with the introduction of the interim
maintenance payments for established organic farmers are key policy
achievements on the production side."
"The establishment of Organic Centre Wales (OCW) in 2000 was
a major development. The subsequent integration and improvement of
training, advisory and demonstration farm services for producers has
resulted in a co-ordinated information strategy."
The WDA, which together with other partners delivers on the
action plan, has provided support for organic producers and
processors in various forms, including grants, promotional
initiatives and trade development activities. Over £6m has been
invested in the Welsh organic sector in the past year through
projects supported by the Processing and Marketing Grant (PMG),
delivered by the WDA using Welsh Assembly Government and European
funding.
Mr Rowlands continued: "With major investment into the
sector, a rapid increase in production and a number of new
businesses active in Wales, many of the market-related objectives in
the first Action Plan have now been achieved. "However, this
rapid increase in supply has led to marketing problems in some
cases, especially in the dairy sector. This highlights the need to
develop a balanced approach using a mix of demand "pull"
and supply "push" measures - in order to avoid a
boom-and-bust scenario, and to ensure continued growth and
development of the sector. This is a key priority in this second
action plan."
The second action plan highlights the need to focus not just on
improving supply co-ordination and processing capacity, but also on
consumers and issues affecting demand for organic products. It
therefore advocates a target of 10-15% of land under organic
management by 2010, but qualifies this with a requirement for the
sector to be monitored against nine indicators of sustainable
development, including financial viability of organic farms, public
awareness of organic food, and the share of the UK market that is
supplied from Wales.
Recommendations are made for developing the market,
including a targeted public education campaign with a focus on young
people; public procurement of organic food, especially school meals;
encouraging supermarkets to source more Welsh organic food, and
developing new marketing and processing opportunities. This aims to
ensure that production and the market grow in step with each other.
Further recommendations relate to continued support for production,
and include reviewing payments to farmers, developing the supply
chain, for instance by supporting producer groups, and better market
intelligence.
The plan also recommends developments of the organic standards
and certification systems for farmers, suggesting for instance the
integration of social and fair trade issues. The Organic Action Plan
also calls for the Welsh Assembly Government to protect Wales' GMO-free
status, or failing that to enforce the most stringent restrictions
on growing GM crops.
"Organic farming has much to offer Wales," said Mr
Rowlands. "It can deliver environmental protection and
biodiversity, sustainable resource use, animal health and welfare,
high quality and safe food, a healthy population and a financially
secure future for Welsh agriculture and farming families. It is not
the only way to deliver these goals, which are also set out in the
Assembly's vision for a sustainable agriculture in Farming for the
Future, and in the Welsh Nutrition Strategy, among others, but it is
the only approach that is aiming to address all of them
simultaneously by means of a multi-functional agriculture. It
therefore deserves to be supported by policy measures and public
funds as well as the market."
The Second Organic Action Plan for Wales 2005-2010, like its
predecessor, will be implemented under the guidance of the Organic
Strategy Group, one of the four strategy groups and four regional
groups which make up the Wales Agri-Food Partnership and will be
supported by the Welsh Assembly Government, the WDA, OCW and other
relevant agencies. Coordination with other organic action plans at
the UK government level will be necessary, and account will need to
be taken of developments in CAP reform, which may provide new
opportunities for organic farmers.
You can download the action plan here:
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