On the eve of the Labour Party conference, new research from the Soil Association reveals that organic farming delivers 32% more jobs per farm on average across the UK.
The research, presented by the Soil Association at the Colloquium of Organic Researchers (COR) Conference in Edinburgh, 19 September, shows that organic farming is helping to reverse the decline in British agriculture by creating more jobs, revitalising rural economies and encouraging younger, happier people into agriculture.
Peter Melchett, Soil Association Policy Director said,
"This younger, energetic generation of organic farmers revitalising agriculture and boosting their local economies offers a dynamic and viable future for UK agriculture. We are asking Defra's new Secretary of State, David Miliband to do all he can to support the energy and efforts of his organic contemporaries.".
The Soil Association recently met with David Miliband, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to stress that organic farming is the key to achieving his vision of 'one planet farming' because it is better for climate change and will significantly reduce pollution, as well as preserving vital natural resources like soil and water. The Soil Association also stressed that, as well as meeting these environmental objectives, organic farming would help revitalise rural areas by providing more job opportunities, greater business innovation and encouraging younger, more optimistic people into farming.
This research demonstrates that organic farming is vital to achieving Miliband's vision that he re-emphasised at the TUC Congress last week: "Our challenge is one planet living. One planet environmentally secure, socially just, economically prosperous, not just for some people but for all people".
The independent research also reveals that organic farmers are:
Younger – the average age of organic farmers surveyed was 49, seven years younger than their non-organic counterparts, who average 56 years old.
More optimistic about the future of farming - 64% expect their family to take on the farm compared to 51% for non-organic farmers.
More entrepreneurial - three times as many organic farms are involved in direct or local marketing schemes than non-organic farmers.
If organic farming, currently practised on 4% of UK farmland, was adopted by all UK farmers, it would produce an additional 93,000 on-farm jobs - 16 times more people than were employed by the Rover car company when it closed in April 2005.
