Abstract
The next challenge of organic farming, according to many authors, is to overcome the horizon of a method of agricultural production towards a wider agroecological perspective whose main objective is to change the dominant agri-food system. In parallel with the discussion on the future of organic farming, in the European Union (EU), the more intensive systems of organic production in protected conditions have been the object of debate among the main actors of organic farming in the Member States (MS). The introduction of common measures for greenhouse production in the new European regulation on organic production represents the first important step in the implementation of more resilient cropping systems in protected conditions. This paper has the ambition of describing the evolution of the scientific and technical debate on organic greenhouse production in Europe over the last decade, and aims to show how the new regulation on organic farming has partially embedded some of the conclusions of the multi-actor discussion on the main production issues in protected conditions.
Highlights
Many scientific papers and reports have been written during the last few years on the need for transforming food systems to meet the global challenges
The main objective of this paper is to describe the evolution of the scientific and technical debate in Europe on organic greenhouse production systems and the regulatory development in European Union (EU) organic regulation regarding this specific subject
Organic greenhouse production has been the object of discussion for the implementation and wide diffusion in the European Union of some of the more intensive systems of production, which can affect the consumer trust in organic food
Summary
Many scientific papers and reports have been written during the last few years on the need for transforming food systems to meet the global challenges. In parallel with the debate on the need of an agroecological approach to organic production, a strong discussion on the principles of organic farming has been carried out by the main actors of the sector (producers, consumer association and policymakers) as a consequence of the diffusion of organic systems of production characterized by a high level of intensification. It is known that organic production systems in protected conditions implement some of the more intensive systems of production and, despite their relatively low agricultural area in Europe (estimated around 6000 ha, according to Tittarelli and co-authors [17]), play a pivotal role in the trading of organic vegetables within EU boundaries Their economic value in some European regions and the concern relative to their more intensified systems of production have induced the research for alternatives, adapted to specific local climatic conditions, and the introduction of specific rules in the new Regulation on organic production (EU) 2018/848 [18]. The level of “conventionalization” can differ from one system to the other over a wide range of possibilities and is reasonable to think that the more “conventionalized” systems of production cannot be considered environmentally friendly just because they are certified organic if the main difference respect to a conventional system of production is the simple substitution of a synthetic fertilizer with a certified organic fertilizer [24,25]
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