England’s new Organic Action Plan sets a decade-long direction for expanding domestic organic production, improving supply chains and building demand. Its central ambition is to increase organically managed land from about 3.4 per cent of agricultural area towards 10 per cent by 2036. The plan does not impose a conversion requirement on farmers: it says production choices remain with individual businesses.
Published on 14 October by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the plan was developed jointly with the English Organic Forum. It covers the period from 2026 to 2036 and beyond, and is organised around three connected themes: support for producers and processors, better alignment between domestic supply and demand, and stronger demand for English organic food.
From ambition to farm-level support
The government says organic food sales are worth more than £3.9 billion a year and are rising, while only around 3.4 per cent of England’s agricultural land is currently organic. The plan describes a mismatch: demand has grown, but the domestic production base has remained broadly static, leaving a significant share of demand met by imports. Those figures frame the case for the plan; they do not mean that land area or domestic output has already increased.
For farmers considering conversion, the plan identifies practical barriers including finding clear information, paying the costs associated with conversion, uncertainty about future markets and limited access to advice from experienced organic producers. In its first year, Defra is to maintain and communicate an organic offer within its Environmental Land Management schemes. The plan also calls for clearer signposting on certification, scheme eligibility, financial modelling and routes to market, alongside one-to-one guidance and peer support for prospective converters.
Later work is intended to develop growth activities for horticulture, arable farming, dairy, red meat and poultry. The document also recognises small urban and peri-urban businesses. In the longer term, Defra and the English Organic Forum are to identify innovation priorities and available support, including training, grants where applicable and peer networks. Processing capacity, including small-scale processing and abattoirs, local markets and digital tools for supply chains are among the areas singled out for attention.
Connecting production with buyers
The second theme responds to weak links between producers, processors and buyers. The plan says businesses often lack complete information about what other parts of the chain need, while data on production, trade and consumption are uneven. It proposes better identification of supply gaps and bottlenecks, improved market information and stronger coordination so that additional production can reach buyers.
Public procurement is one route the government intends to explore. Defra will consider how to increase the proportion of public-sector food that meets higher environmental standards, building on existing buying standards. Organic certification is presented in the plan as one route towards meeting those standards. This is an area for further work, not a commitment that public institutions will immediately switch to a specified share of organic purchases.
The plan also aims to broaden consumer awareness and create more opportunities to sell organic products in shops, restaurants and other markets, at home and abroad. Its stated outcomes include narrowing the gap between imports and exports through greater domestic production and manufacturing, increasing organic food’s share of public purchasing, and improving knowledge among farmers, growers and consumers.
How progress is meant to be measured
A monitoring framework is planned to track changes in organic land area and conversion, production by commodity, trade, public procurement and consumer awareness. The plan says an Organic Observatory will help develop new data alongside existing sources. It also envisages periodic reviews so that priorities can respond to market changes, input costs, climate impacts and international trade developments.
The 10 per cent figure is therefore an ambition, not an achieved result or a compulsory target for individual farms. Delivery depends on voluntary business decisions and on whether support, processing, distribution and demand develop together. The document sets out actions and indicative time periods, but its launch does not establish that the proposed support or market changes have already been delivered.
