The Future of Organic Farming

A meeting took place at the Ministry of Agriculture in Prague, where senior representatives  met with Czech and internationally recognized experts on organic farming from the public and private sectors. The meeting was organized by Czech Organics with the support of the European project ECO-READY. The aim of the roundtable was to evaluate the progress of organic farming to date, its systemic benefits, and the barriers to further strategic development. The discussion also focused on key aspects such as food security, self-sufficiency, and adaptation to climate change.

The discussion clearly confirmed that organic farming (OF) offers a range of undeniable benefits that conventional and industrial farming systems cannot provide. One of the key topics was the increased resilience of crops and soils to climate change. Jiří Urban, Director of the Crop Production Department at ÚKZÚZ (Central Institute for Supervising and Testing in Agriculture), highlighted that long-term trials demonstrate that crop rotation and the cultivation of cover crops in OF significantly improve soil fertility. A further advantage of OF lies in the absence of synthetic pesticides and artificial fertilizers, which minimizes their negative impact on the environment and human health. This approach also enhances landscape diversity and plays a crucial role in protecting biodiversity associated with farmland. It also delivers a wider range of ecosystem services, such as water purification, pollination, and healthy soil microflora. “It is necessary to evaluate all ecosystem services – that is why OF deserves higher recognition than other approaches. In Switzerland, it is considered the most comprehensive tool of sustainability – ecological, economic, and social,” stated Urs Niggli, President of the Austrian research organization FiBL and founder of Agroecology.science. He added that OF is “a frontrunner in sustainable agriculture”, and in Switzerland conventional farmers recognize the benefits of cooperating with OF, as they recognize long-term problems with pesticides and soil degradation, learn from OF, and adopt many of its practices. “Research and development in OF – such as in the field of biological protection or the breeding of stress- and drought-resistant varieties – generate insights that can help reduce pesticide dependency even in conventional production.” According to experts, combining precision and regenerative farming with OF also has potential, as it can lead to more efficient farming while maintaining living soils. Deputy Minister of Agriculture Miroslav Skřivánek further noted that OF is more labor-intensive, thereby helping to revitalize rural areas and create jobs, while also providing higher-quality food and encouraging more sustainable consumer habits.

Organic Farming Faces Multiple Challenges

There was also consensus that despite its undeniable benefits, OF faces a number of significant challenges, especially in the Czech context.. Vlastimil Zedek, Director of the Department for Environmental and Organic Farming at the Ministry of Agriculture, pointed out that although the Czech Republic boasts an above-average share of 17% organically managed farmland within the EU, most of it consists of permanent grasslands, while production on arable land remains insufficient. This results in a high proportion of imported organic food. There is also a lack of strong strategic partnerships between multinational retail chains and local organic farmers, which hampers the development of the domestic market. Pavlína Samsonová, Director of Bioinstitut o.p.s., stated that “for retail chains, cooperation with local farmers from the Czech Republic is not a priority.” The share of organic food supplied to public catering is currently very low, despite being a marketing channel with strong potential for local production. It is therefore essential to foster and support stronger connections between primary producers and processors, especially with schools, hospitals, and similar institutions. Niggli responded to this problem by presenting an innovative and functional model of close cooperation between the FiBL research organization and Bio Suisse, the umbrella organization for OF in Switzerland. Bio Suisse represents a total of 7,362 organic producers in Switzerland, while more than 2,300 businesses and producer groups worldwide are certified according to Bio Suisse standards. A key activity of the organization is certification and management of the guidelines for the ‘Bio Suisse’ label. Already in the early 1990s, strategic cooperation was initiated with the retail chain COOP, which invests one million Swiss francs every year into the development and research of OF. This groundbreaking initiative was later followed by a new innovative standard for organic food introduced by ALDI Switzerland, called “Back to the Roots.” This standard became a hallmark of credibility and quality, placing high demands on the origin of organic food, including a set of ecological standards and ethical measures, and requiring purchases from local producers. ALDI actively communicates these standards to the public, which has led to a rapid and sustained growth of the organic market in Switzerland. Jiří Lehejček, Chair of the Steering Committee of the Czech Technology Platform for Organic Agriculture, highlighted the marketing initiative of the retail chain Albert to promote and expand its range of organic products, noting that this may increase the consumption of organic food. However, he emphasized the need to integrate Czech organic producers more effectively.

Heavy Bureaucratic Burden

Another issue identified during the roundtable was the heavy bureaucratic burden and insufficient national funding for organic farmers. Deputy Minister Skřivánek stressed in this context that “organic operators often withdraw from the subsidy system due to administrative complexity, and broader support for organic farming is lacking in Czech society.” Urs Niggli added: “Under the current design of support programmes in the Czech Republic, organic farming is often disadvantaged compared to other approaches, such as regenerative or carbon farming. These systems are mainly targeted at restoring degraded soils, and therefore farmers repairing existing damage more easily qualify for support. By contrast, organic farmers, who have long maintained soils in good condition and prevented their degradation, have fewer financial tools and support schemes at their disposal, even though their approach brings significant long-term benefits for the landscape and society. In Switzerland, the largest share of direct payments goes to organic farming thanks to a premium for a comprehensive approach.”

This premium represents an inspiring model that could also be applied in the Czech Republic. It is the so-called “system premium,” awarded for an advanced and holistic approach to farming through the implementation of a package of measures. This targeted reward is based on the understanding that combining approaches and their synergies achieves better results than introducing individual measures in isolation.

The Bio Suisse certification system raises organic standards significantly beyond the basic requirements of the European Union. While EU organic certification allows the organic regime to be applied only to part of a farm, Bio Suisse requires a whole-farm approach, meaning that the entire holding must be managed organically. This holistic perspective is also reflected in stricter rules on inputs, with fewer fertilizers and auxiliaries permitted than under EU organic rules. To protect nature, the system further requires that at least 7% of agricultural land consists of ecological compensation areas providing habitats for biodiversity. In addition to strict ecological standards, Bio Suisse also focuses on social conditions. Unlike EU organic certification, it guarantees fair working conditions, including minimum standards for wages and employee welfare. Strong emphasis is also placed on minimal processing of food. Compared to EU organic rules, significantly fewer additives and inputs are permitted. For instance, Bio Suisse prohibits the use of colorants and flavorings, even of natural origin, ensuring that products retain the most natural form possible. Another important aspect is consideration for transport and logistics. Certification bans the air transport of food and prioritizes local production. Imports from third countries are restricted, and crops that can be grown in Europe may not be imported under the Knospe (Bio Suisse) label. The entire system is subject to strict transparency and control. Every recipe and production process must be approved by Bio Suisse, minimizing the risk of misuse. The aim is to ensure that consumers can rely on the authenticity and integrity of every product.

The concept of evaluating farmers based on the ecosystem services they provide was also welcomed by agronomist Michael Vrána from Ekofarma PROBIO s.r.o. Although he regards this system as more demanding, he sees it as potentially the most beneficial. In this context, he presented the European ECO-READY project, which focuses on researching the impacts of climate change and food security, and in which Ekofarma PROBIO participates. The farm collects data on the impacts of climate change on crops grown and on pig farming. The project aims to identify suitable cash crops resilient to climate change and to strengthen food security. Importantly, this research takes place under the farm’s normal operating conditions, which require economic stability while finding ways to reconcile economic interests with market preferences, environmental protection, and adaptation to new climatic conditions.

Between Promise and “Greenwashing”

The issue of “carbon farming” strongly resonated during the roundtable. All participants agreed that this trend is problematic, yet it deserves attention. Deputy Minister Skřivánek described the topic as complex, not least because carbon is not permanently fixed in the soil. He also pointed out that carbon farming has been appropriated by industry and the banking sector, with farmers receiving significantly higher payments for carbon from private sources, which has sidelined organic farming. The stagnation of this sector is further compounded by the fact that national funding for organic farming is insufficient and cannot compete with resources from the private sphere. “Carbon has become a trading tool, with banks and industry driving many of these initiatives,” he noted.

“We do not want farmers to be forced into adopting methods they do not trust and which may not work. The EU should take this issue seriously, because regenerative and carbon farming often serve merely as instruments of greenwashing and speculation,” Skřivánek added. This is also confirmed by a number of studies and analyses, particularly from Western Europe. He further emphasized that subsidies should not be granted solely for measured carbon sequestration. Nevertheless, he considers it appropriate to support carbon farming methods, but with clear definitions of how carbon should be sequestered under a dedicated carbon farming programme. Carbon measurement methods should be overseen by the state, and state-recognized procedures for registering such farming systems should be developed. Implementation could be carried out by private agencies, but under state supervision, as is the case with organic farming. However, according to Deputy Minister Skřivánek, organic farming should be supported more than regenerative approaches, since it offers far greater benefits. In a similar vein, Jiří Urban, Director of the Crop Production Department at ÚKZÚZ, presented the network of ÚKZÚZ experimental stations, where plant fertilization trials have been conducted for over 50 years. These trials show that carbon sequestration is a long-term process, and that neither purely organically fertilized variants nor no-till systems deliver rapid and easily measurable sequestration, contrary to claims by some private companies engaged in carbon farming and certification. This is also supported by research from the Bavarian State Research Center for Agriculture - LfL Urban also questioned the appropriateness of using carbon content as the sole or primary indicator of soil health and as the basis for “eco-friendly” certification. Carbon levels are variable and naturally undergo both sequestration and release in soils. According to Urban, organic farming is often overlooked in the sustainability debate, which in the context of regenerative and carbon farming remains poorly defined. He further stressed that “there are no clear and state-recognized methodologies for measuring and monitoring carbon sequestration, and carbon farming is often declared only on part of a farm’s land in order to secure financial compensation, without considering management practices on the rest of the holding. Moreover, in relation to climate protection, the energy-intensive production of nitrogen fertilizers and pesticides – both commonly used in carbon and regenerative farming – is not factored in.” By contrast, organic farming excludes such inputs, is strictly defined and certified, and at the same time provides a wide spectrum of ecosystem services and societal benefits, not only carbon sequestration. All these benefits must be recognized. Niggli further warned that “focusing solely on carbon leads to outcomes that are not desirable” and that carbon farming is often overestimated. He noted that research in Switzerland has not proven a clear link between carbon sequestration and farming practices. Organic farming performs strongly in terms of carbon management and biodiversity, while the no-till system has a similar carbon effect to organic farming. However, no-till relies on glyphosate, and with the aid of nitrogen fertilizers is able to maintain yields at the level of conventional agriculture. Niggli pointed out that carbon farming is not anchored in legislation and has not yet been addressed strategically. It is therefore not a binding or official approach.

Not least, Vlastimil Zedek  also acknowledged certain benefits of focusing on carbon farming – namely, the inflow of private finance into the agricultural sector and the opening of a broader debate on soil health. However, he cautioned that carbon is taken out of the broader context of overall sustainability. He warned that sequestration levels appear to be heavily overestimated, particularly in light of rising temperatures and the associated acceleration of soil mineralization. The carbon cycle is complex and subject to many uncertainties; therefore, he identified the establishment of legislation and the role of the state in validating methodologies and providing oversight as essential to ensuring at least a minimum level of transparency.

The Question of Yields

Although organic farming (OF) brings many advantages, lower yields remain a challenge that must be addressed. Urs Niggli nevertheless believes that this can be achieved through research and plant breeding. While industrial agriculture attains high yields, it simultaneously faces losses due to soil degradation and climate change. In this context, OF generally produces lower but more stable yields. According to Niggli, OF can offer solutions through investments in research, advisory services, and the breeding of new varieties. . These varieties may then also be adopted in conventional farming, given the growing pressure to reduce pesticide use. Moreover, as was emphasized, a large share of conventional agricultural production is not destined directly for human consumption, but rather for animal feed, biogas plants, and biofuels. Although lower yields in OF are often highlighted, studies indicate that organic farming has the potential to produce sufficient calories to feed the global population. Deputy Minister Skřivánek noted in this regard that “given the 32% food waste rate in the Czech Republic, organic farming, combined with a responsible approach to food, could feed the entire country.”

Towards a Resilient Future: What Needs to Be Done Next?

Niggli noted that the European Commission is discussing a vision for organic farming (OF), stressing that at this stage it is crucial to focus on developing high-quality and feasible action plans and programmes. The Ministry of Agriculture plays a key role in this process and should actively engage in the preparation of concrete plans at the EU level.

The discussion made clear that OF is much more than just “organic” products. “OF is the only system that addresses all challenges simultaneously – ecological, economic, social, and production-related,” Niggli summarized. According to him, subsidies should therefore reflect this multifunctional contribution of OF, not only the reduction of emissions and carbon sequestration. “We must not be led astray by one-sided solutions, such as carbon farming, which often lack a holistic approach and long-term sustainability. The goal should be to bring 20% of farms under organic management, while promoting agroecological approaches on the remaining farms” outlined Urs Niggli in his vision, which was supported by Jan Trávníček, one of the organizers of the roundtable representing Czech Organics. He added: “I see the valuation of ecosystem services as essential for the further development of organic farming – both in terms of increasing the share of land under OF and in expanding the market share of organic food. Only by truly valuing the ecosystem services that farmers provide, or by internalizing the negative externalities in the price of conventional products, can the market be levelled. At present, businesses profit at the expense of long-term system sustainability. An inspiration can be the German system of ecosystem service valuation, RegionalWert Leistungen.” For the Czech Republic to fully harness the potential of organic farming, strong political will, adequate financial support, reduced bureaucracy, active promotion of domestic markets, and public awareness are essential. Jiří Urban also noted that “in other countries, it is common practice to transfer state-owned land into OF management, while in the Czech Republic there is resistance in this respect.” Jiří Lehejček pointed out that the exhaustion of soils under conventional farming could lead to a natural shift in favour of OF. He further mentioned that the anticipated future decline in the global population (fewer births) may have a positive impact on ecosystems and reduce pressure on agricultural production. The roundtable delivered a clear message: organic farming is not merely an environmental preference, but a strategic imperative for the Czech Republic. It offers comprehensive solutions to the complex challenges of climate change and food security, supports resilient landscapes, diverse ecosystems, and a healthy society. Although narrower concepts such as “carbon” or “regenerative” farming are currently in vogue, they must not overshadow the comprehensive advantages of organic systems. By implementing the recommended policies, the Czech Republic can fully unlock the potential of organic farming and ensure a sustainable, food-secure, and resilient future for its citizens. Niggli concluded that “development and change are indispensable – both in conventional and in organic farming – it will never be ‘finished’.” In the face of today’s major challenges, it is imperative to seek new solutions and expand and interconnect sustainability practices so that they become the norm, not merely the niche domain of enthusiasts. This requires strong political as well as societal support. At the same time, the sharing of experiences, as exemplified by the roundtable at the Ministry of Agriculture, should continue – including through international projects such as ECO-READY, which connect experts and foster the exchange of knowledge across Europe. The participants committed themselves to maintaining regular dialogue and cooperation in seeking and advancing solutions that will strengthen the position of organic farming in the Czech Republic.

Funded by the European Union. The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. The European Union cannot be held responsible for them.

Processed by: MgA. Tomáš Uhnák, MSc.

Researcher

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

Published in Zemědělec magazine, issue 40/2025.

Policy Brief on the Future of Organic Farming

Based on a roundtable held at the Ministry of Agriculture in Prague (organized by Czech Organics with the support of the ECO-READY project), a policy brief was developed summarizing key recommendations for the strategic development of organic farming in the Czech Republic. The document builds on the discussion previously published in Zemědělec magazine.

Read the full Policy Brief here