Strong organic market is not translating into increased UK organic farmland

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has released the latest UK Food Security Report (UKFSR). The statistics show a growing and serious threat from climate change, over-reliance on imports and an increase in household food poverty. Sustainable Farming Campaign's Georgina Edwards reports on the headlines.

UK Organic farmland

The total area of UK organic farmland peaked in 2008 at 743,500 hectares and retracted over a decade to a low in 2018 of 474,000 hectares. Annual figures since then had started to show a modest recovery. However, the figures for 2024, show the first drop since 2018 down to 497,900 hectares. The Defra Food Security report notes that there is a lack of ‘confidence’ among farmers and growers to increase land farmed with organic methods.

Farmers and NGOs this year have highlighted the real term cuts (when accounting for inflation) that the farming budget, which is responsible for ELMS in England, has suffered since 2008. Many farmers are experiencing increasing financial strain in the face of this and other food system shocks.

Elsewhere the Food Security report highlights that the UK is ‘highly dependent’ on imports from climate vulnerable countries for fruit and veg and that the UK is facing a long term decline in the abundance of biodiversity since 1970, with widespread pesticide and herbicide use a major contributing factor.

Hannah Gibbs, programme manager for Bridging the Gap, says:

"We need a strategy to incentivise fruit and veg production using climate and nature friendly methods such as organic. This is not only crucial to ensuring access to healthy fruit and veg that we need for our diets, it is vital to the recovery of nature in the UK."

UK Organic market

Sales of organic in the UK remain strong, as Soil Association’s Organic Market Report 2024 noted, 2023 was the market’s 12th consecutive year of growth, ending at £3.2 billion. Despite this, the sector’s heavy reliance on imports means that local economies and ecosystems in the UK are missing out. Shopper spend on organic is a third higher versus five years ago, but UK organic farmland isn’t keeping pace with the growth in the market.

Positive findings from the Organic Market Report also reveal that 85% of UK consumers buy at least one organic item, carrots coming out on top for produce. And the biggest jump in sales per million was among independent retailers, which grew by 9.9% while supermarkets saw a more modest 2% growth.

So where next?

Defra recently announced it will begin to engage with food system actors to co-develop a long awaited food strategy early in the new year. Defra has stated that it wants the food strategy to support the Farming Roadmap, to reduce the impact of farming on nature and biodiversity and to deliver a credible plan to decarbonise food and farming.

Will White, Sustainable Farming Campaign Coordinator, says:

"As Sustain and its partners set out in our food security briefing, the government needs to take a systemic approach by addressing the economic barriers which are currently stifling the transition to agroecology. This means better funding and delivery of the environmental land management schemes, a clear strategy for growth for the horticulture sector.” 

Bridging the Gap is continuing to explore ways to make organic more affordable and accessible to people of all incomes in the UK to ensure that we can match a growth in supply with a continued growth in demand.