For the Italian organic sector, 2020 will be a positive year to remember. Consumption is growing by +4.4% and the sector will gross a record 3.3 billion euros. According to latest Ismea’s report, the Covid-19 pandemic has somewhat rewarded those who grow pesticide-free crops, thanks to consumers’ growing demand for healthier and more sustainable products.
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Sales of organic products have increased mainly in supermarkets (+11%) and some categories have grown surprisingly. This is for instance the case of organic eggs, whose sales have grown by +9.7%.
ITALIAN ORGANIC PRODUCTION BY THE NUMBERS
As for production, Italy is the leading European country in terms of farms involved. The number of operators involved has risen to 80,643 as the areas that are cultivated without pesticides have reached almost 2 million hectares (+2%). The percentage of organically cultivated agricultural areas has reached 15.8% of the total in 2019. This places Italy far above the EU average, which stood at 8% in 2018, and that of the main producing countries such as Spain (10.1%), Germany (9.07%) and France (8.06%).
Agricultural area cultivated with organic farming
| Country | % of total |
| Italy | 15.8% |
| Spain | 10.1% |
| Germany | 9.07% |
| France | 8.06% |
| Europe (average) | 8% |
With the Green Deal, Farm to Fork, and biodiversity strategies, Europe is focusing strongly on organic farming. EU’s member countries are required to reach the target of 25% of their agricultural area dedicated to organic crops by 2030. “This is why Italy cannot afford to miss the opportunity to accelerate the transition to the organic model, nor lose its leading role in terms of number of operators,” says the president of FederBio, Maria Grazia Mammuccini.