The European umbrella organisation for organic food and farming is warning that legitimate concerns around unfair prices and competition which are contributing factors in recent protests by farmers across Europe should not “be misguided against health and nature protection”.

President of IFOAM Organics Europe, said: “Farmers who engage in the agroecological transition are not properly remunerated neither by the market nor by the CAP.

“Organic farmers also suffer from low prices and unfair competition by less ambitious standards, despite delivering many benefits for the environment and society. Many organic farmers risk abandoning organic certification without better support from retailers and policymakers.

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“But legitimate concerns about unfair prices and competition should not be misdirected against health and nature protection. The Green Deal and the Farm to Fork strategy are critical policies and cannot be blamed as the cause of farmers’ difficulties, since most legal proposals related to agriculture have been blocked, rejected, or watered down, and have had zero impact on farmers so far.

“Nature protection is not directed against farmers, rather other actors in the food supply must share environmental responsibilities instead of burdening farmers.

“The transition to sustainable food systems cannot rest solely on the shoulders of organic farmers and consumers willing to pay more for food production methods that preserve the climate and biodiversity.”

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The organisation argues the prices paid to organic farmers have gone down in the last two years in several countries and are sometimes equal to prices paid to conventional farmers, but retailers continue to sell organic products at a premium, resulting in higher profit margins while the margins of organic farmers are being hit.

Mr Plagge concluded: “Farmers need fair prices that reflect their production costs, and this is even more true for farmers who take the risk of engaging in more sustainable farming practices such as organic farming.”