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From 3.4% of farmland to 10%: England sets a ten-year target for organic

Qurexa Editorial Team18 October 20268 min read 0 0
From 3.4% of farmland to 10%: England sets a ten-year target for organic

What happened

On 14 October 2026, Defra published the Organic Action Plan for England. It is a long-term plan to grow the country's organic farming sector and the market for organic food grown here. It was launched by Dame Angela Eagle, the Environment Secretary. The headline target is a big jump. The plan aims to increase the share of agricultural land farmed organically from about 3.4% now to 10% by 2036. The market it is aiming at is already sizeable. Organic food sales in England are worth over £3.9 billion a year and are still growing. The government's argument is that much of that demand is currently met by imports, and that English farmers should be better placed to supply it. The plan has three focus areas: supporting existing and new organic producers and processors; aligning domestic supply more closely with demand; and building demand through consumer awareness and public sector procurement, which means food bought for places like schools and hospitals. In practice it promises advice and support for farmers thinking about switching, faster supply chains so organic produce reaches supermarkets and restaurants sooner, and work on new markets at home and abroad. It delivers a commitment made in the government's Farming Roadmap to 2050. Dame Angela Eagle said: "People are buying more organic food, and we want English farmers to be in a strong position to respond to that demand." Helen Browning, Chief Executive of the Soil Association, said: "Organic farming is a key solution to tackling the climate and nature crises without taking land out of food production." The plan cites Shimpling Park Farm in Suffolk as an example of organic production working at scale, and Riverford Organic Farmers in Devon, which sources around 70% of its box produce from UK growers.

Why this matters

Organic has a slightly awkward reputation in Britain. It is often treated as a lifestyle choice for people with money to spare, which does not describe most food shopping. What this plan is actually about is simpler and less fashionable: where food comes from. If English shoppers are spending £3.9 billion a year on organic food, that money either goes to English farms or it goes abroad. Shortening that chain means fewer food miles and more money staying in rural economies. For farmers, organic can pay a premium, which matters in a sector where margins are thin and uncertain. The environmental case is also part of it, and the government words it carefully. It "recognises organic farming's potential benefits" for soil health, biodiversity, water quality and animal welfare, while leaving production choices to farmers. That is deliberately non-pushy: nobody is being told to convert. Converting is a serious commitment. A farm cannot simply declare itself organic. There is a conversion period, usually two years for land, during which the farmer follows organic rules but cannot yet sell produce as organic. That means costs now and the premium later, which is exactly why advice and support are the first thing the plan offers. Rob Haward, Chief Executive of Riverford, put the farmer's side of it: "Growers need the confidence to make that investment."

What the evidence actually says

The plan is a plan. It helps to be clear about what is and is not established here. The target is ambitious. Going from about 3.4% of agricultural land to 10% by 2036 means roughly tripling the organic area in a decade. The announcement does not attach a funding figure to that target, nor does it set out year-by-year milestones. The £3.9 billion sales figure and the 3.4% land figure are the government's own, published in this plan. The 10% figure is an aspiration, not a forecast. On the health question, it is worth being straight. This plan does not claim that organic food is more nutritious, and neither will we. The scientific picture on nutritional differences between organic and conventional produce is mixed and contested. The benefits the government cites are environmental and about animal welfare: soil, biodiversity, water quality, welfare standards. Those are different claims from "better for you", and they rest on firmer ground. It is also worth knowing that "organic" in the UK is a legally protected term. A product cannot be labelled organic unless it is certified by an approved control body, with a certification code on the pack. Words like "natural", "farm fresh" or "eco" mean nothing in law. Finally, support from organic bodies is real but unsurprising. Sos Stopes and Adrian Steele, co-chairs of the English Organic Forum, both welcomed the plan, as did the Soil Association. These are organisations whose purpose is to promote organic farming, so their approval is evidence the plan matches the sector's wishes, not independent evidence that the target will be hit.

Qurexa perspective

We deliver groceries as well as prescriptions, so this is a plan that touches our day job, and we would rather be useful than evangelical about it. Here is the honest position. Organic produce generally costs more. If your food budget is tight, the single most valuable thing you can do for your health is eat enough fruit and vegetables at all, in whatever form you can afford. Frozen, tinned and own-brand vegetables count fully. Buying fewer vegetables so that they can be organic would be a poor trade. If you do have room in the budget and want to buy organic, two practical notes. Seasonal and locally grown items tend to have the smallest price gap, because they have not been shipped far or stored long. And a weekly box or a planned delivery usually wastes less than ad hoc shopping, which offsets some of the cost. For people we support with medication and shopping deliveries, there is a more mundane point. What makes the biggest difference to someone who struggles to get out is not whether the carrots are organic. It is whether the food arrives at all, reliably, on a day they can count on.

Practical advice

**Check for a certification code if organic matters to you.** Genuine organic products carry a code from an approved control body. "Natural" and "eco" are not regulated terms. **Buy seasonal if you want organic without the biggest premium.** In autumn in England that means apples, pears, squash, leeks, cabbage, carrots, parsnips and beetroot. **Prioritise eating enough vegetables over which vegetables.** Fresh, frozen and tinned all count towards your five a day. Frozen is often picked and frozen quickly, and is usually cheaper. **Do not pay extra expecting a nutritional benefit.** The evidence for organic food being more nutritious is mixed. The clearer benefits are environmental and about animal welfare. **Wash all produce, organic or not.** Organic does not mean nothing has been on it, and soil can carry bacteria. **Look at box schemes if you want local and organic together.** Riverford, cited in the plan, sources around 70% of its box produce from UK growers. Many smaller regional schemes do similar. **If you are a farmer or grower considering conversion, get the advice first.** The plan's first promise is support for exactly this. Organic Farmers & Growers and the Soil Association both run certification and advisory services, and the conversion period means planning two years ahead.

What to know

Defra has published the Organic Action Plan for England, aiming to lift the share of agricultural land farmed organically from about 3.4% to 10% by 2036. Organic food sales in England are already worth over £3.9 billion a year, and the plan's logic is that more of that demand should be met by English farms rather than imports. It promises advice for farmers considering conversion, faster supply chains, new domestic and export markets, and more organic food bought through public sector procurement. The target has no attached funding figure or published milestones, so it is an aspiration rather than a forecast. The benefits the government claims are environmental and about animal welfare, covering soil health, biodiversity, water quality and welfare standards. It does not claim organic food is more nutritious, and the evidence on that is genuinely mixed. The sensible shopper's version: if organic matters to you, look for a certification code and buy seasonal to narrow the price gap. If money is tight, eating enough vegetables in any form, including frozen and tinned, matters far more than how they were farmed. Sources: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, "Plan to unlock organic market for stronger farms, more homegrown food", 14 October 2026, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/plan-to-unlock-organic-market-for-stronger-farms-more-homegrown-food; NHS, "5 A Day: what counts?", https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/5-a-day/5-a-day-what-counts/; Soil Association, organic certification information, https://www.soilassociation.org/certification/ This article is for general information and does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist, dietitian or other qualified healthcare professional. If you have a medical condition that affects your diet, speak to your GP or a registered dietitian before making significant changes.

#organic food#farming#Defra#food shopping#sustainability#groceries

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