organic country profile: austria (from 2006)

If anywhere in Europe could be considered a model for organic farming, then its Austria. There are lessons to be learned for all stakeholders in the Irish situation.

Austria has Europe�s largest percentage of land farmed organically, at 14.1%, and the largest proportion of its farms certified organic, at 15%%. That works out at about 20,310 farmers.

Along with this, a very large number of Austrian farmers are signed up to a 32 part REPS-like scheme, called OPUL, though it is far stricter and much closer to organic than the standard (as opposed to supplemental measure 6) REPS.

The world�s first �card carrying� organic (indeed biodynamic) farm was established there in 1927. More recently, the anti-freeze wine scandal of the 1980s, and the more general Europe-wide food scares (in particular BSE) were rightly seen as hugely damaging to conventional agriculture.

Many stakeholders in Austrian agriculture support organics, including their current agriculture minister Josef Pr�ll, who recently stated that by supporting organic farming they �have chosen the right way�.

As a corollary, Austria is seen as being amongst the most anti GM of EU countries. It has, for example, banned GM crops from Monsanto and Bayer for a variety of reasons, including what they claimed was improper planning, the effects on non-target plants, insects and regions, and the risk of transfer of anti-biotic resistance to humans and animals. It currently holds the EU presidency, and consistently votes against GM at EU level.

In the late 1980s and early1990s farmers in regions where it was considered easy or beneficial to convert to organic were encouraged to convert. For example, Austria essentially recognised that further intensification in its grassland Alpine regions was difficult, so they actively encouraged the organic option.

State support has been early, strong and steady. The first socio-environmental scheme was introduced in1987; this scheme encouraged farm pluriactivity (ie having a number of enterprises on the one premises, including non-farming e.g. organic guesthouses). Six more similar schemes have followed; one, in 1995, caused 5,200 conversions in a single year. They have also introduced three organic action plans, and a label to denote produce that is both organic and at least 70% of domestic origin. The current subsidies, introduced in 2000, are far higher than those in Ireland. Per hectare, the figures are: for arable land, � 327, grassland: �250, market gardens: �508 and finally vineyards, fruit, vegetables, tree nurseries and hops: �800.

Various other tipping points towards organic include the arrival of a well organised diary co-op into the sector and an intensive advertising campaign run by large retailers and processors in the mid 1990s.

Recently numerous cereal and vegetable producers have also converted, as the economic climate suits them to.

Another key factor is that they have a non-state generic agriculture lobby group, who do not support one type of farming over another, but who represent all aspects. Likewise, there is an umbrella group, called Bio Austria, who represent the common interests of organic agriculture. This umbrella group has, amongst others, advisory, quality management, product management, research and innovation, consumer information and marketing dimensions. Crucially, they do not have to spend any time carrying out inspections or certifications, which are done by standalone certification organisations. This allows them to fully concentrate on these other functions.

A promising new development for the sector today seems to be the development of eco-regions, whereby various businesses operate in an integrated fashion, to develop whole areas as both attractive to visitors and to create a green image for the region, so organic products from the eco-region are seen as superior to even standalone organic produce.

Despite all of this, the situation is not all rosy for organics in Austria. Recent advertising campaigns stating organic was GM free were pulled because of complaints from the conventional farming lobby, and indeed opposition by key organic lobbyists afraid of rocking the boat. Danish-style fertilizer and pesticide taxes haven�t been introduced. Some are cynical of the unity Bio-Austria represents, and feel that the organic farmers� associations need to reassert themselves. Also, many organic farmers feel that the entire agriculture sector is, because of the amount of organic land and the comprehensiveness of OPUL, creating the impression that all of Austrian agriculture is almost organic anyway.

But compared to elsewhere, really, they have little to be complaining about.