Agricultural scientist explains why organic farming is problematic

Because organically grown food is good for the environment, the traffic light government wants more organic farms. But there is a catch.

The trend towards organic farming in agriculture continues. This is shown by figures from the agricultural structure survey. In 2023, around 28,700 companies in Germany operated according to organic farming standards, which was ten percent more than in 2020 (26,100 organic companies), the Federal Statistical Office announced on Wednesday, April 3, 2024.

Good news for sustainability and climate protection? Only to a limited extent, says agricultural scientist Matin Qaim

, a portal from

. He is professor of agricultural economics and director of the Center for Development Research (ZEF) at the University of Bonn.

Organically farmed area in Germany is increasing by 16 percent

More than one in ten agricultural businesses in Germany work ecologically, for example without using mineral nitrogen fertilizers and fertilizing with animal manure. This primarily protects surface water and groundwater. In addition, organic farmers place more value on diverse crop rotations with catch crops and avoid pesticides. In addition, there is animal-friendly husbandry with more space, longer fattening times and fewer antibiotics.

As the number of organic farms increases, the area cultivated organically also grows: from 2020 to 2023 it increased by 16 percent and is 1.85 million hectares. This means that the proportion of organically farmed area in the total agricultural area (16.6 million hectares) increases from 9.6 to 11.2 percent. The federal government wants to achieve a figure of 30 percent by 2030. This emerges from its sustainability strategy, which is based on the UN's sustainability goals.

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The problem: 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,” Qaim tells

“More area for agriculture then means that less area is available for forests and natural areas.” However, these forest and natural areas are particularly important for climate protection.

Agricultural scientist: “Organic farming is not a suitable measure for climate protection”

According to the Federal Statistical Office, the results of the 2023 Agricultural Structure Survey show an almost identical picture between the organic sector and agriculture in general in terms of the average area size per farm. With an average of 66.7 hectares per company, organic farms have an almost identical area of ​​land as the average German farm with 65.0 hectares.

However, organic farmers sometimes only generate half of what conventional farms do with this area. Figures from the Agricultural Market Information Society (AMI) show: The average organic grain harvest (excluding grain corn) from 2012 to 2020 was 33.6 decitons per hectare. In conventional agriculture, average grain yields of 70.7 decitons per hectare were achieved in the comparison period. A big difference, especially in view of the growing world population that needs to be fed.

“So if you want to evaluate the climate effects of organic farming, you can’t just look at the CO₂ emissions per hectare of land and compare this with conventional agriculture, but you also have to take the additional area required into account,” says Qaim. For example, by assessing the CO₂ emissions per kilogram of food. “On average, organic farming no longer performs better than conventional farming, and in some cases it even performs worse. Organic farming is therefore not a suitable measure for climate protection.”

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