Organic farming in the Netherlands: number of farms and area, 1991-2002

Between 2001 and 2002, the area of land accounted for by organic farming increased by almost 5000 hectares. Organic agriculture and horticulture accounts for 1.8% of total agricultural land in the Netherlands, a much smaller proportion than in other European countries.

	Arable holdings	Horticultural holdings	Permanent crop holdings	Grazing livestock holdings	Factory farming	Mixed farms	Total
	number of farms1)
1991	91	106	39	139	-	64	439
1995	106	122	40	158	12	83	521
1998	88	103	42	353	10	109	705
1999	85	128	47	373	21	132	786
2000	105	144	51	434	31	141	906
2001	120	141	56	507	41	159	1 024
2002	155	137	68	505	46	177	1 088
	hectares
1991	3 037	322	138	4 363	-	1 367	9 227
1995	5 117	316	175	5 383	11	1 787	12 790
1998	5 083	324	163	11 234	54	2 801	19 661
1999	4 722	491	231	12 818	99	3 150	21 511
2000	5 704	702	309	16 162	142	3 854	26 874
2001	6 866	518	327	19 292	273	3 733	31 009
2002	8 596	650	442	20 049	303	5 560	35 599
Source: CBS (2003), LEI.			CBS/EDC/sep03/0011
1) Entirely organic farms.

Organic farming area continues to increase

Organic agriculture and horticulture accounts for a limited proportion of total agricultural land in the Netherlands (1.8% in 2002) but it is growing fast. Between 2001 and 2002, the area expanded by 15%. By comparison with other European countries the organic farming sector in the Netherlands is, however, small. In other countries such as Austria (10%), Switzerland (6.5%) and Sweden (3.5%) the percentage of farmland in use for organic purposes is considerably higher (Van der Linden, 1999).

Changes by province

Flevoland, Friesland and Gelderland have the largest area of land in use for organic farming. In all provinces, the area for organic farming increased between 1995 and 2002.

• Changes in the area of biological farming land by province

Technical note

Organic farmers do not use chemical pesticides or artificial fertilisers. They are also subject to regulations on the use of food concentrate and veterinary medical products and the opportunities for animals to be in the open. A farm is only allowed to sell its products as organic after a conversion period of one to two years and if it has met the requirements of an organic certification authority.
Eco-labelling in the Netherlands: Milieukeur and EKO-keur, 2000 and 2001

References

• CBS (2003). Statline. Biologische landbouw. Statistics Netherlands, Voorburg/Heerlen.
• IPO (2002). Interprovinciale rapportage Milieu, Water, Landbouw en Natuur 2002. Association of Provincial Authorities, Lelystad. This report contains an extensive set of provincial data about the environment, water, nature and agriculture for the year 2001.
• Linden, F. van der (1999). Biologische boeren in opmars. CBS Index 1999-5, pp 10-11. Statistics Netherlands, Voorburg/Heerlen.

Relevant sections and indicators in the Environmental Data Compendium

• Farms in the Netherlands: numbers and size, 1980-2002
• Arable farming, horticulture and grassland: area under cultivation in the Netherlands, 1980-2002
• Land use in the Netherlands, 1977-2000

Relevant information outside of the Environmental Data Compendium

• More data about the number of organic farms and the area covered by organic farming can be found on Statline (Statistics Netherlands).