§ Mr. Martyn JonesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what area of land is currently farmed organically; what percentage this is of agricultural land; and what are the equivalent figures in other EU Member States. [1327]
§ Mr. MorleyAs at 30 April 1997, there were 50,772 hectares of land in organic production in the UK. This represents about 0.3 per cent. of the total agricultural land available.
Available information shows that in 1996 organically farmed land constituted less than 1 per cent. of total agricultural area in Belgium, France, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal and Spain; between 1 per cent. and 2 per cent. in Finland, Germany, Denmark and Italy; between 3 per cent. and 4 per cent. in Sweden; and between 7 per cent. and 8 per cent. in Austria.
[Source of EC statistics: "Impact of EC Regulation 2078/92 on the development of organic farming in the European Union, Dr. Nicolas Lampkin, Welsh Institute of Rural Studies, Aberystwyth"]