KYIV. Jan 30 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The area of certified farmland under organic production in Ukraine could increase by 10% in 2017, to 450,000 hectares, according to the Organic Ukraine union of organic goods producers.
“The medium-term plan of the government’s priority actions, which is now at the stage of public discussion, envisages the increase in the area of organic farming land to 450,000 hectares by the end of 2017, i.e. by 10%,” reads a press release of the organization.
According to the Organic Federation of Ukraine, currently 410,550 ha of land in the country are occupied for organic farming. Compared with 2010, this figure increased by 35%.
The EU has 11 million hectares of certified land for organic farming, more than 270,000 farms are engaged in organic production.
Deputy Minister of Agricultural Policy and Food Olha Trofimtseva during the first international congress Organic Ukraine in Kyiv said in the last 5 years the number of operators in the Ukrainian organic market grew by 90%.
“The organic industry is one of the most dynamic. With 400,000 hectares of land under organic treatment, we could increase this figure by several times,” Minister of Agricultural Policy and Food Taras Kutoviy said.
