The number of organic farms in Belgium increased by 4.9 percent last year, resulting in 7 percent of the country’s total agricultural areas being organic.
Last year’s growth corresponds to a 6.4 percent increase in the surface area of farms that have already been converted or are in the process of conversion.
“All indicators confirm that the sector's growth continues,” the Federal Public Service (FPS) Economy said on Thursday after reviewing the key figures for agriculture in 2020.
Wallonia is where the majority of the organic agricultural area (90.8 percent) is located, which gives Flanders the greatest potential for growth.
In just one year, the population of organic pigs in Flanders grew by 58.6 percent.
There are currently 593 organic producers in Flanders, covering an area of 9,000 hectares.
In Wallonia, there are 1,901 producers, representing 90,000 hectares.
Organic area made up 8.5 % of total EU agricultural land in 2019, according to data from eurostat.
In 2019, Sweden had the highest shares of organic cereals (7 %) and fresh vegetables (19 %) in its total production, while Greece had the highest share of organic bovine animals (27 %).
The FPS Economy is a Federal Public Service of Belgium, created by Royal Order back in 2002 as part of plans to modernise the federal administration.
The Brussels Times
