Mediterranean countries with almost 7 million ha organic area

Spain records a permanent growth in organic farming and manufacturing. Photo Kai Kreuzer

The Mediterranean Organic Agriculture Network (MOAN) collects and disseminates data on the organic sector in the Mediterranean region. This includes countries in Northern Africa (Tunisia, Morroco), Western Asia (Turkey, Ukraine) and Southern Europe. According to the latest data, the total certified organic area in the Mediterranean region covers over 7.9 million hectares (including wild harvest), of which 6.9 million hectares are organic agricultural area. The largest part of the Mediterranean organic area is in the Mediterranean countries of the European Union (EU) totalling 87 percent of the agricultural organic area.

Candidate and Potential Candidate (CPC) countries of the European Union follow with 8 percent. Only 5 percent is located in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean (SEM) countries. The legislative and regulatory framework in the Mediterranean area highly differs between the countries. This directly affects organic data collection and availability. In the EU countries, official mechanisms for organic statistics collection are well established and many CPC countries implemented their national organic legislation and are at a very advanced stage of harmonisation with the EU regulation on organic farming, explains the Word of Organic Agriculture statistical year book.