§ 11. Ms Julia Drown (South Swindon)If the Government will introduce targets for the proportion of land that is farmed organically in the United Kingdom. [87926]
§ The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Mr. Elliot Morley)We have no plans to do so at present. To be sustainable, production should be in response to market demand. The Government are committed to supporting the expansion of the organic farm sector, which in the United Kingdom has increased by over 400 per cent. in the past 12 months.
Encouragement of organic farming in Scotland is a matter for the Scottish Parliament; in Wales, it is a matter for the Welsh Assembly. I understand that there are no plans to set a target for organic production in Northern Ireland.
§ Ms DrownMy hon. Friend spoke of the need to respond to market demand, and then described the huge increase in demand that has taken place. In February this year, supermarkets reported an increase of between 35 and 40 per cent.—yet we are importing 80 per cent. of the organic fruit and vegetables that we consume. Will my hon. Friend consult his counterparts in Austria, which is farming 10 per cent. of crops organically—the figure here is less than 1 per cent.—and in Denmark, which has set ambitious targets, to establish whether there are lessons that we can learn?
§ Mr. MorleyWe are keen to expand the organic sector for the reasons that my hon. Friend states. However, an expansion of more than 400 per cent. in 12 months is a sign of the success of the extra support that the Government have given to organic farming; there has been a near doubling of aid for organic research. We want organic production to expand up to the market available for it. We are at about the 2 per cent. mark; it is under 2 per cent. Given market demand, there is further room for progress.