The government is sticking to the organic target, even though it has not gone “particularly well.”

Since 2021, it has been a political objective to double the size of the organic sector by 2030. Since then, the area under organic cultivation and the number of organic farms have declined. We are therefore now further from the approximately 21 percent organic share—the target for the area in just over three years—than we were five years ago. Christian Rabjerg Madsen, Minister for Nature and Animal Welfare (Social Democrats), calls it a “very ambitious” target, but he still believes it can be achieved. “It is true that this is not a development that has gone particularly well in recent years, but it is an ambition that we [the government, ed.] are sticking to—and an ambition that I am very confident we will achieve,” he said on Wednesday, when he took part in a dialogue meeting in Kolding organised by the Organic Denmark association. The reason for his optimism lies in the major transformation of agriculture that is under way—both in terms of the forthcoming nitrogen regulation, the national ban on pesticides in vulnerable groundwater areas, and the green tripartite agreement. All of these are political agreements that Christian Rabjerg Madsen expects will have the knock-on effect of encouraging more farmers to convert to organic production. “When we impose strict requirements on nitrogen, we create regulation in the fields that makes it more attractive to farm organically. When we impose requirements concerning pesticides, it becomes more attractive to farm organically. So we will see a positive side effect from some of the ambitions we have for our country, which will push more people towards organic production, and that is enormously positive,” he argued. He believes that the expansion of organic production is important because he regards it as a “Swiss Army knife” capable of solving several of the problems currently facing agriculture and the environment. “When it comes to animal welfare, you are part of the solution. When I look at challenges relating to our environment, whether that concerns biodiversity or nitrogen, you are part of the solution. When we talk about drinking water without pesticide residues, you are part of the solution. There is no reason to reinvent the wheel. It is better to reach into the cupboard for some of the wheels that are already there, and you are the answer,” he told the approximately 80 attendees who filled the room at the Scandic Hotel. **Criticism of the budget proposal** However, the ambitions are difficult to discern in the government’s recently presented budget proposal. According to the organic sector, it is not enough to get more people to convert to organic production—it is equally important to increase the consumption and export of organic products. Nevertheless, the Organic Cuisine Label, which is intended to increase the use of organic products in professional kitchens, has only been allocated funding to continue for one year, even though the sector has long called for a more permanent solution. Other items in the budget proposal have been cut, and no funding has been set aside for an export-promotion initiative—even though organic exports are part of the doubling target. Most recently, the supporting parties Red–Green Alliance and The Alternative criticised the proposal’s planned savings of just over DKK 45 million. The parties believe that the cuts conflict with the target of doubling organic production. Looking back over the past several years, there has, with a few exceptions, been a nearly identical pattern of disappointment over the budget: Organic production rarely receives new funding, and the multi-year grants, which are not adjusted for inflation, become worth less and less. “It is true that there has been a slight reduction, but it is a reduction from a relatively high baseline if you look at it over the years. This is not the only source of funding for achieving a target. Significant research funds have also been allocated,” the minister told *Økologisk Nu* after the dialogue meeting. “What makes me more optimistic about whether we will achieve our targets is that we are currently embarking on regulation concerning both nitrogen and drinking water which—if we do this correctly—will provide a huge incentive for increasing the area under organic cultivation. So we need to look at the entire range of measures when discussing organic production, conversion and incentives,” he added. But there is also a need for greater focus on sales and market promotion—there is something missing here, isn’t there? “I agree that market promotion is an important element, and it is also something we need to look at when we address both the food strategy [to be drawn up next year, ed.] and the four-party agreement on pigs. We must ensure that consumers and the sales and distribution sector are brought on board.”