Double Scotland's organic farmland by 2031, charities urge government

A coalition of more than 50 environment charities has called on the Scottish Government to commit to doubling the area of organic farmland by 2031.

Scottish Environment LINK said increasing organic farming could help farm businesses, reduce climate emissions and boost nature by cutting pesticide use.

The call comes as First Minister John Swinney prepares to launch his Programme for Government in September.

Agriculture minister Jim Fairlie said the Scottish Government already shared the ambition of supporting a “thriving and sustainable” organic sector and pointed to £44m of support provided through the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) since 2015.

He said the area of converted and maintained organic land under AECS management had increased by more than 80,000 hectares between 2021 and 2026, representing growth of 114%.

Scotland saw seven years of growth in organic farming between 2018 and 2025, with more land entering organic conversion in 2025 than in any year since 2002.

Government support helped increase the organic share of agricultural land from 1.8% in 2021 to 3.3% in 2025, just 0.3 percentage points short of its target to double the share between 2021 and 2026.

Environment charities argue Scotland would benefit from accelerating that growth further, calling for a new target to double organic land again by 2031.

Scotland’s organic land share remains below the European Union average of 11%, while Ireland has committed to increasing organic farmland to 10% by 2030.

Pete Ritchie, director of Nourish Scotland and convener of Scottish Environment LINK’s food and farming group, said: “Scotland has a massive opportunity to build on the success of the last few years and continue to reap the benefits of organic farming. The demand is there, and farmers and crofters can boost their business resilience by going organic because they’ll be spending less on inputs and won’t be exposed to volatile global fertiliser markets.

“Organic food is good for people, and organic farming is great for nature since it doesn’t use pesticides which are a major cause of nature loss. It also helps tackle climate change by reducing fossil fuel-based inputs.

“Organic is a win-win and it’s in everyone’s interest that the Scottish government maintains its successful support policy and sets a new target to double organic land by 2031.”

David McKay, co-director at Soil Association Scotland and vice-convener of Scottish Environment LINK’s food and farming group, said: “Scotland is already leading the way in the UK in growth in organic land, and this has been driven by consistent policy support and investment from the Scottish government.

“The target set in 2021 set a clear direction of travel and Scottish farmers and growers have responded. However, Scotland still lags behind the EU average of 11 percent organic land and neighbours like Ireland are demonstrating real ambition to go further.

“Organic delivers on a wide range of Scottish government policy objectives, and ongoing support should be viewed as a strategic measure to reduce exposure to volatile global markets for artificial fertilisers and feed.”

Minister for Agriculture Jim Fairlie said: “We share the ambition to support a thriving and sustainable organic sector in Scotland as we recognise the important role it plays in delivering benefits for biodiversity, climate and the wider environment.

“To further support uptake, we removed the area cap for the conversion to and maintenance of organic farmland from the 2023 AECS round onwards, enabling businesses to bring their full organic area into scheme management. This directly supports our commitment to seek to double the area of land farmed organically in Scotland.”