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The importance of organic agriculture in the European agricultural sector is growing, especially since the early 1990s. Total area under organic production in Western Europe has increased from just over 100,000 hectare in 1985 to more than ten-fold a decade later. Some countries, especially the German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, are now showing a rate of growth which takes the organic industry out of its marginal position and into a more generally accepted form of agriculture. Central and Eastern Europe, where figures from only the last few years are available, show a similar trend.

This growth is partly due to the change in policies which makes organic agriculture more attractive to farmers at present than in the past. The growing realisation that agriculture has a major impact on environmental quality has been an important motivation for this change. Perhaps the clearest indication of developments in the area of organic agriculture in the future is the move by some local authorities to encourage (Munich, Germany) or compel (Brittany, France) farmers to change to organic agriculture, in a bid to maintain or improve the quality of drinking water. Several national governments have allocated funds for conversion, marketing activities and research into organic production methods.

Research has played a significant role in the development of organic agriculture. In the past, when most research was carried out by farmers and some private research institutions, a large part of this research was directed to the physical aspects of crop production, with a considerable emphasis on soils. Originally, comparing organic and conventional farming was perhaps mainly carried out to convince others that organic agriculture was worthy of attention. More recently, such studies have been used to analyse policies and optimal policy directions. Influencing consumption of organic products, by improving information of product quality, promotion and decreasing marketing costs, is only just starting to be perceived as rather important in the progress of organic agriculture. Also other areas, such as animal husbandry and horticulture (fruit), have been somewhat neglected in the past, possibly indicating the degree of difficulty of coping with problems under organic management in these particular sectors. Although it was realised early on that one of the advantages of organic agriculture was the decrease in off-farm pollution, this aspect of farming has never received attention in much more than qualitative terms. Once organic agriculture reaches a certain stage of acceptance, as in Austria which officially recognises organic agriculture as the form of sustainable agriculture, attention is also given to the larger issues of other effects on the country, such as energy use and regional effects. This is perhaps also the time when the need for a restructuring of the whole infra-structure of research (such as interdisciplinary activities and long-term approaches) is acknowledged.

The most important barriers and problems for the advancement of research in organic agriculture were considered by respondents to a questionnaire (all Europeans) and by participants of a workshop in the US to be institutional rather than technical. The main barriers mentioned were the present structure of research funding; the different requirements in organic agriculture leading to rather expensive research; lack of a united front by the organic sector; absence of networks by researchers in organic agriculture; relative lack of good researchers and inadequate structure to foster them (by good supervision of potential researchers and peer review); and lack of policies which encourage research in organic agriculture directly or indirectly. For Central and Eastern Europe, the absence of legislation was also considered a problem, and the fear that pressure from outside (such as foreign private industry) may convince farmers and policy makers that the use of fertiliser and pesticide is the only way to progress in farming.

In its task to foster long-term environmental sustainability in agriculture and food security, FAO has great cause to be interested in and to promote organic agriculture. Not only should the greater European experience of organic agriculture be acknowledged and supported, but also the available knowledge ought to be more actively integrated in other FAO policies and programs. To enable farmers in developing countries to make informed choices requires that FAO provides information on 'alternative agricultural methods'. To do this, new programs emphasising organic farming methods should be carefully integrated with existing activities. Successful and widespread adoption of organic methods would provide developing countries with a sustainable agricultural basis without the legacy of harmful environmental degradation that has been a feature of agriculture in many developed countries.