Organic farming development in Lithuania after accession to the European Union and future prospects
Organic farming development in Lithuania after accession to the European Union and future prospects

Summary/Abstract: There is a worldwide growing interest in organic farming and organic food produced products. They are natural and healthier than those grown in intensive production farms, applying synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Organic farming in the EU and Lithuania has a special place, which is based on modern environment friendly technologies in order to provide people with safe and high quality food products. Organic production in Lithuania started in 1993 when it was certified nine farms that have been granted a conversional period to organic farming status. The article presents the summarized data on organic farms number, land area, average farm size, summarizes the data of organic farms distribution in different regions of Lithuania, analysis of compensatory payments for organic production and to discuss arrangements for payment of compensatory payments, changes in crop structure analysis of organic livestock, beekeeping and fishery development in Lithuania as well as future prospects. After Lithuania's accession to the European Union and significantly increasing compensation payments accelerated development of organic farming. Number of organic farms increased in Lithuania until 2007, then 2855 organic farms has been certified. Then noticed a downward trend in the organic farms number. This was influenced by the change in compensation payments for organic farming, the payment order and the payments decrease. Area of organic land has continued to increase, unlike the number of farms. Organic farming in Lithuania looks very promising. Compensatory payments and their size had a significant impact on organic farming development in Lithuania. The mostly grown crops were cereals and legumes for grain, as well as legumes and cereal mixtures; perennial grasses. This shows that Lithuania's organic farm is not developing organic livestock farming, practiced mostly in organic cereals production. There is a clear need for change in Lithuanian organic farms crop structure for further development of organic production; it is necessary to make radical changes developing organic livestock, increasing the area of berry and orchards and at the same time reducing the cereal area. There are reduces the organic beekeeping farms in Lithuania, since without the organic bee-keeping compensation payments many of the former organic bee-keeping farm moved from farming to the exceptional quality products. Significant opportunities to expand organic fishery Lithuania is not because the total pond area is limited. We can only expect increase the organic share of gross fisheries of aquaculture production.

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