Organic Agriculture in the European Union
Organic farming is a culture system based on the optimization of natural resources, without the use of genetically modified chemicals or organisms, norEarth and respecting the environment. Ecological cultivation is based on preventive methods, enhancing the good development of plants and therefore their natural resistance to pests and diseases.
The rules of organic farming, in addition, pursue a high level of animal welfare and demand from farmers who respect the specific behavior habits of animals. Its main objective is to meet the demand for reliable organic products, guaranteeing in turn, an equitable market for producers, distributors and marketers.
The European Union regulations in this regard provide a well -defined structure to obtain organic products throughout the region. These standards are intended to promote the protection of the environment, maintain Europe’s biodiversity and consolidate consumers’ confidence. They regulate all areas of ecological production and are based on certain principles, such as the prohibition of the use of ionizing radiation, the limitation of the use of artificial fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides and the prohibition of the use of hormones and restriction of the use of antibioticsAnd only when necessary for animal health.
Organic farming has two edges, producers and consumers. In order for farmers to obtain benefits from these methods, consumers must be able to trust that ecological production standards are being respected.
In this sense, the European Community maintains a strict control and guarantee system of compliance that supports the correct application of the rules and regulations of organic farming. Each union member designates their ‘control agencies or authorities responsible for inspecting the agents of the ecological food chain. Both producers and distributors have a series of parameters and must register, meet all the requirements, before their local control agency. After the process is carried out, they are granted a certificate that guarantees that their products conform to ecological standards. This control is done annually.
Avoiding the cultivation of a single species, by diversifying planted species, the appearance of pests is difficult, using adequate rotation and association in the fields. It consists of alternating plants from different families and with different nutritional needs in the same place during different cycles, preventing the soil from running out and that diseases that affect a type of plants are perpetuated over time.
In this way the subscriber is better used to control the weeds and the problems with pests and diseases decrease.
Therefore, ecological producers must adopt different methods to maintain the fertility of the soil and health of animals and plants, such as crop rotation, prohibition of the use of nitrogen mineral fertilizers, choice of varieties and resistant races and techniques that encourageNatural pest control to reduce the impact of weeds and parasites, strengthening natural immunological defenses of animals and avoiding overparation to maintain the health of animals.
Since 2018, ecological production has been regulated by Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and Council on production and labeling of ecological products. It establishes a new legal framework for organic products and also establishes the objectives and principles applicable to this type of production, specifying the norms related to the production, storage, transformation, transport, sale and supply to the final consumer, labeling, control and control andExchanges with third countries. The main objectives of the regulation are sustainable agriculture and the quality of production, which must respond to the needs of consumers. The general principles refer, among other things, to specific production methods, the use of natural resources and the strict limitation of the use of means of synthesis.
Without a doubt, organic farming is an excellent production tool to temper climate change, promote animal well -being and take care of extinction species, as well as maintain environmental balance for future generations. The use of natural substances and the fact that biological processes prevail not only improves the environmental impact due to their specific objectives, but also the carbon footprint of the activity.
The responsible use of energy and natural resources, in conjunction with the maintenance of biodiversity and regional ecological balances lead us to think (and also desire) if it will not be the only path of production in the world that we will leave (we will leave (and we must leave) to our grandchildren.
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