Organic production systems accounted for 2,1% of all agricultural systems in 2023 (FiBL & IFOAM – Organics International (2025): The World of Organic Agriculture. Frick and Bonn) and already cover more than 98.9 million hectares. It is a production system that has grown steadily since its start, it is regulated in 188 countries, including the European Union, and it is carried out by more than 4.3 million farmers worldwide. Part of its success is based on having detected the problems of the conventional production system, which originated from the misnamed “Green Revolution”. The “Green Revolution”, based on the use of chemically synthesised fertilisers and pesticides, initially ignored all the problems derived from the production means alteration (soil, water and environment) and focused on productivity, which was very important in those times of post-war and food shortages. Organic production focused on the soil as the cornerstone of its functioning, as a response to avoiding contamination, to fight against desertification and against the loss of fertility and biodiversity, which were the most evident problems of conventional agriculture. For these reasons, the existing regulations for organic production focus on soil-based agriculture and livestock farming. Back to the present, we now find that new agri-food policies are calling for sustainable food systems in the long term: Organic production is a response to these three problems and European policies set the objective that 25% of the land used agriculturally in Europe should be under this system of production as a way of making a transition in our agri-food systems. To achieve this, it is also necessary for a demand of this type of production and to identify it with a labelling on its products. The way to guarantee that these labelled products are complying with the requirements described in the different regulations is through certification systems. These certification systems ensure knowledge of the production standards, identify the aspects that must be controlled and define the supervision mechanisms that guarantee that the system works and is properly applied. In this chapter we will learn about the different regulations and their implications for national, European and international marketing, and we will also go into details on what certification systems are and how they are enforced.

The Organic Production System: Regulation and Certification

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发表日期：

2025年

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Évelyne Alcázar Marín

摘要

Organic production systems accounted for 2,1% of all agricultural systems in 2023 (FiBL & IFOAM – Organics International (2025): The World of Organic Agriculture. Frick and Bonn) and already cover more than 98.9 million hectares. It is a production system that has grown steadily since its start, it is regulated in 188 countries, including the European Union, and it is carried out by more than 4.3 million farmers worldwide. Part of its success is based on having detected the problems of the conventional production system, which originated from the misnamed “Green Revolution”. The “Green Revolution”, based on the use of chemically synthesised fertilisers and pesticides, initially ignored all the problems derived from the production means alteration (soil, water and environment) and focused on productivity, which was very important in those times of post-war and food shortages. Organic production focused on the soil as the cornerstone of its functioning, as a response to avoiding contamination, to fight against desertification and against the loss of fertility and biodiversity, which were the most evident problems of conventional agriculture. For these reasons, the existing regulations for organic production focus on soil-based agriculture and livestock farming. Back to the present, we now find that new agri-food policies are calling for sustainable food systems in the long term: Organic production is a response to these three problems and European policies set the objective that 25% of the land used agriculturally in Europe should be under this system of production as a way of making a transition in our agri-food systems. To achieve this, it is also necessary for a demand of this type of production and to identify it with a labelling on its products. The way to guarantee that these labelled products are complying with the requirements described in the different regulations is through certification systems. These certification systems ensure knowledge of the production standards, identify the aspects that must be controlled and define the supervision mechanisms that guarantee that the system works and is properly applied. In this chapter we will learn about the different regulations and their implications for national, European and international marketing, and we will also go into details on what certification systems are and how they are enforced.