A Taste of Wellness for Savoury and Snacks
Givaudan
Increasing numbers of farmers in Germany and Italy may be converting to organic farming but it appears that their French brothers are more reticent.
According to the French organic foods agency, Agence Bio, France's organic farming sector may experience slower growth in coming years as the number of traditional farmers converting to organic production slows down.
The agency said that the area in France devoted to producing food organically - or without the use of synthetic chemicals - rose in 2001 to 420,000 hectares, up from 370,000 in 2000.
However, the area in France under conversion to organic production dropped 2.2 per cent to 136,000 hectares - suggesting the overall growth rate is slowing.
Speaking at the Salon de l'Agriculture, France's annual farm show, in Paris this week, Benoit Cansi, president of Agence Bio, said: " Organic conversions were somewhat more difficult this year."
Although 1,140 new organic farms were created in France in 2001, for a total 10,400 farms, the agency said this was below its goal of between 2,000 and 2,500 new farms each year.
"In absolute value we are among the EU leaders but it's true that in percentage of total farmland we are running behind," Cansi added.
Italy, which has the largest organically farmed area in the EU, devoted almost eight per cent of its farmland to organic food, and hopes to reach 20 per cent by 2005, the agency said.