In 2023, around 28,700 companies in Germany operated according to organic farming standards. This is ten percent more than in 2020 (26,100 organic companies) The federal government wants to achieve a figure of 30 percent by 2030.
In addition to the environmental advantages, organic farming also has disadvantages compared to intensive agriculture. Because yields in organic farming are lower than in conventional farming, more land is needed to produce the same amount of food. More on the topic: “raw rum” for the cows - conventional organic farming in comparison to organic is bad for the environment and climate protection. The average organic grain harvest from 2012 to 2020 was 33.6 decitons per hectare. In conventional agriculture, average grain yields of 70.7 deciton per hectaresare were achieved in the comparison period. A big difference, especially in view of the growing world population that needs to be fed, says Matin Qaim, an agricultural scientist at the University of Bonn. He says organic farming is not a suitable measure for climate protection in some cases.