Luxembourg's Organic Agricultural Land Share Increases by 7%

Luxembourg's Ministry of Agriculture, Viticulture and Rural Development has presented a first assessment of the progress of the national action plan to promote organic farming "PAN-Bio 2025".

The PAN-Bio 2025 plan entered into force one year ago, with the aim of promoting organic farming in the Grand Duchy.

One year later, Luxembourg's Minister of Agriculture, Viticulture and Rural Development, Romain Schneider, pointed out: "We have observed very encouraging progress in organic farming over the past few years". He added that the share of organic agricultural land has been increasing linearly, up 7.02% between 2019 and 2020, and currently represents 5.18% of the national agricultural land area.

As of 1 January 2021, organic land areas totalled 6,324 ha, including twelve farms (457 ha) which began their conversion to organic farming in 2020; such a reorganisation takes up to three years before being able to be certified as organic. These farms reflect almost the entire range of agricultural sectors, namely meat, fruits, vegetables, viticulture, cereals and beekeeping. At the same time, the food processing sector is also evolving, “which confirms that we are going in the right direction”, added Minister Romain Schneider. He concluded: "The PAN-Bio 2025 plan is therefore bearing fruit, from farm to fork, and despite a year of crisis not conducive to risk-taking".

Presented on 6 March 2020, the PAN-Bio 2025 plan is an ambitious roadmap towards the objective of increasing the percentage of organic agricultural land in Luxembourg to 20% by 2025. This plan is characterised by its holistic approach encompassing the entire food chain from farm to fork.

In order to ensure the follow-up of the action plan, Minister Romain Schneider has appointed a specific contact within the Ministry of Agriculture, Viticulture and Rural Development: “With this approach we want to give organic farming a face and establish a permanent point of contact”. This "organic” coordinator, who has been in permanent dialogue with all the farmers and representatives of the sector over the past year, has also initiated a variety of pilot projects.

As part of the recovery plan for agriculture, several pilot projects aimed at introducing products from organic farming in canteens have commenced with partners such as Lycée Josy Barthel (LJBM), Servior CIPA Roude Fiels and the Givenech penitentiary centre. Two other projects have already been carried out in collaboration with Lycée Ermesinde and Kannerhaus Wooltz.

The ministry has also adapted the mission of the network of organic demonstration farms, which highlight the entire range of Luxembourg agricultural production. These farms remain open to the general public but are now aimed primarily at farmers and professionals in the sector who want detailed information on organic production methods.

In terms of financial assistance, organic premiums were increased in 2021 and support both farms in the conversion phase and the maintenance of organic production. The ministry also covers the costs of organic certification.

The budget envelope for the PAN-Bio 2025 plan will gradually increase from €4.38 million at present to €11.4 million for the year 2025 in order to reach the 20% target.