Valencian organic agriculture stagnates

While in Spain, in 2006, the area under organic agriculture increased by 118,821 hectares, in the Valencia rose only 4 hectares. I.e. in Spain increased by 15% while the percentage the Community increases in 0.01%.

Valencian Organic agriculture represents only 3.32% of total organic expansion in Spain. For PV UPA, organic agriculture is a major source of jobs, economic profitability for the farmer, healthy and environmental products for the consumer, not impairing the land for future generations, thereby the Consellería of Agriculture want to put to work in this area.

The area devoted to organic agriculture in Spain has increased during 2006 to 118,821 hectares, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food announced recently. In Valencia, however, in this same period, organic agriculture only increased the area devoted to such crops over 4 hectares. For the Union of Small Farmers and Ranchers (UPA-PV), these data confirm the failure of the implementation of organic agriculture in Valencia.

UPA-PV stressed that at this time (data from December 2006) Valencia has 30,798 hectares under organic agriculture, which represents only 3.32% of total of organic hectares in Spain, with 926,390. The figures contrast with the Community of the extension that are in other communities such as Andalusia, with an area of 537,269 hectares of organic crops, 70,515 hectares in Aragon, Extremadura with 64,557 hectares and Catalonia with 55,355 hectares.

Stagnation during the last year in Valencia contrasts with the average increase in Spain, which is estimated at 15% and above the increases occurred in communities such as Cantabria (where organic agriculture increased by 130% in 2006) Asturias (an increase of 37%) and Andalusia (where it increases by 33% compared to 2005 data)

Organic agriculture, stressed by UPA-PV, in addition to be a major source of jobs that can benefit especially younger farmers, gets three goals: economic profitability for the farmer (which allows them to live in dignity), healthy products and quality for the consumer (increasing demand in the society of the twenty-first century) and respect for the environment with the objective of not damaging the land for future generations (because the organic producers adapt to local, designing a production model to maintain the productivity and quality over time).

For UPA-PV, organic agriculture must be seen as an integral part of sustainable agricultural production system. In fact, systems of production are based on production rules specific and precise purpose of which should be achieving optimal agro-ecosystems which are sustainable from a social, ecological and economic way.