New EU Organic Regulations: Well-Meaning, But Hard to Pull Off

BY: Andrea Bischof - 14. March 2025

To maintain the credibility and quality of organic products, the European Union (EU) tightened its organic regulations at the beginning of 2025. This brings far-reaching changes, particularly for producer groups in the Global South, making it increasingly difficult for small farmers to maintain access to the premium organic market.

What changed?

Production rules under the 2018/848 organic regulations have become stricter, and every word of the EU regulation now applies exactly the same to a producer in a third country (a non-EU country) as it does to a producer in the EU.

Previously, smallholders in third countries could follow organic farming rules that were equivalent to EU regulations, meaning they didn’t have to follow every single EU rule if their practices were close enough. But the rules have now changed, and these smallholders must fully comply with the EU’s organic standards, even if they’re not located in the EU.

This shift is difficult because it requires meeting stricter, often more complex standards, which many smallholders may not have the resources to implement. This can be especially challenging for small farms that lack the support or infrastructure available to larger EU-based producers.

In line with these changes, the definition of what constitutes a group of operators has also been revised. Groups are now limited to a maximum of 2,000 farmers, each of whom can cultivate no more than 5 hectares of land. Additionally, the maximum annual turnover per group cannot exceed 25,000 euros. Gonzalo Rios, manager of Acopagro, an organic farmer cooperative in San Martin, Peru, says “We always motivate our farmers to grow, and to augment more hectares under certified organic production. But with these new rules we are forced to stop growing. How can we explain this to our producers? The same goes for our cooperative, which has almost 2000 members. While we always pursued growth, now we are forced to stand still.”

New rules for monitoring standard compliance have also been introduced. More farm group members will be visited each year, and these visits will occur more frequently. Now 5% of all group members must be re-visited by the control agency annually, whereas previously the number was much less.

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Production methods have also become stricter. For instance, the requirements imposed on crop rotation, particularly concerning the number of leguminous crops and crop diversity. The use of non-organic seeds or planting material is now more rigorously regulated, since all plants or crops marketed as organic must be grown from plant reproductive material (seeds, rhizomes, etc.) that also conforms to organic standards. Furthermore, there is less flexibility regarding the authorization of substances, especially for plant protection products.

In addition, there are now stricter and more explicit rules on the retrospective conversion process. Previously, farmers who had not used any inputs and produced organically by tradition did not need to undergo the 2-year conversion period. Now this is no longer allowed. It is also prohibited to produce both organic and non-organic crops on the same farm, a practice previously known as parallel production.

Smallholders left paying the bill

The new requirements’ administration, internal control systems and increased frequency of controls significantly raise certification costs. Who will bear these costs? Will it fall on the farmer groups?

Approximately 70 percent of currently certified small producer groups will need to undergo organizational restructuring to meet the new Group of Operator rules. The associated legal and financial investments may be prohibitive. It is likely that for some, the European organic market will no longer be attractive or that they will lose their organic certification, leading to limited product availability in the European organic markets.

Understandably, the organic sector is deeply worried. A Swiss chocolate producer expressed her concern: “We are facing huge challenges in sourcing enough cocoa beans because our partners had to reduce the number of cocoa farmers. How can we stand by and watch as farmers are excluded from the supply chain? We aimed to help them achieve a better income, investing in the conversion to organic, and now we are forced to restrict them, pushing them back into poverty.”

A significant impact on the organic supply

A Swiss company that trades organic and fair-trade food products said they agree that these new regulations place an undue burden on producers, stating, “Today, none of our supplies are compliant with the new regulations. Nobody knows who will pay for the higher certification costs. They are close to three times higher now. Producers may therefore prefer selling to the US instead of to Europe.”

The organic movement association IFOAM is also concerned, saying, “We may lose 25% of grower groups. This will significantly impact organic supply chains.” The biggest EU organic processor, Rapunzel, added: “Producers groups are also reporting negative side effects when registering a new farmer-based legal entity. Because the previous group became too big, they are losing their access to loans and credits.”

What does this mean for development cooperation?

Many development initiatives are working alongside smallholders to help them transition their agricultural practices toward organic methods. These initiatives aim to enable smallholders to access and thrive in the organic market, particularly through public-private partnerships that connect them to these markets.

How can Helvetas and other INGOs support smallholders through this transition? First, we must recognize that a lot of explanation is still needed; the practical implications of the new compliance system are not yet fully understood — by producers, operators, buyers, governmental institutions and even organic inspectors. Therefore, we should aim to ensure that everyone involved in organic supply chains receives the necessary information and training.

Producers need to be supported with even more capacity and resources to strengthen compliance, enhance organic integrity and promote sustainable practices. We can also engage with governments to advocate for supportive policies that improve the legal environment, offer subsidies for organic farming and ease processes to support the rapid organizational and legal transformation of producers that is being required.

Additionally, encouraging innovative financing mechanisms is crucial to facilitate smallholder access to capital in the organic sector. It may also be necessary to find alternative (domestic) markets for some cooperative members who, after the reduction in the number of members, are left without access to the organic sales market.

Our local implementing or service providing partners must have the opportunity to build their own capacities so that they can inform stakeholders about learning opportunities, guidelines and tools and ensure that information reaches smallholder farmers in their local languages. Strengthening local service providers is essential, which is why INGOs, together with our partners, must focus on building capacity and ensuring smallholder farmers have access to the support they need.

The new EU regulation is an important step towards maintaining quality and trust in organic standards. However, the impact on smallholder farmers in non-EU countries requires our attention to ensure their continued participation in the European organic market.