5.8% of the total cultivated area of Cyprus is dedicated to organic products

The EU Organic Day – September 23 – is seen as the ideal opportunity to widely celebrate the organic sector and to evaluate Europe’s progress towards achieving its goal of 25% organic land by 2030.

The three EU institutions, the European Parliament, the Council, and the Commission, acknowledging that organic foods and agriculture are part of the solution have set the 23rd of September as the day to celebrate the sector and inform the wider public about organic agriculture. It represents the occasion to assess trends in consumer demands, continue raising awareness of organic in the supply chain and finally, define new targets for the future of organic in Europe.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment in Cyprus has started a National Action Plan for Biological products and is planning to make available 22 million euros for the development of organic farming, livestock and beekeeping.

In Cyprus, according to 2021 data, there are 1,520 companies involved in organic production. Of these, 1,297 are engaged in the primary sector (plant and animal production), while 223 are in the secondary and tertiary production sector, i.e. the processing and marketing of organic products.

The total organically cultivated area amounts to 7,737 hectares, which constitutes 5.8% of the total cultivated area of Cyprus. Organic farming mainly concerns cereals, olives, carob trees, vines, deciduous, vegetables, and aromatic plants, while in the livestock sector a total of 24 livestock units of sheep and goat farming, cow breeding and poultry farming are active.