England Organic Action Plan
Date Published: 20th October 2026
We are delighted by last week’s announcement that the English government have committed to an Organic Action Plan, the first in over 20 years.
It is an ambitious 10 year plan to grow England’s farmland from the current 3.4% to 10% organic. The plan points out that demand for organic food is increasing, but land available to grow organic food hasn’t changed in England and many organic growers have been locked out of public procurement contracts, so the gap is being met by imports, with a particular import dependency on horticulture.
Unlike other non-certified terms, “organic” certification is one of the few ways we can be certain that our food production and distribution systems protect biodiversity, wildlife and human health now and for the future.
We are pleased to see the plan explicitly state that organic food should be a more visible and accessible choice for everyone and that the plan recognises public procurement as a strategic area for boosting the organic market, having heard this very thing from farmers – “if procurement went organic so would I”.
We particularly welcome the section of the plan that says that organic supply can be structured to effectively reach a wider range of people using short supply chains, focusing on what is available/seasonal and supplying directly to very local communities. This sounds to us like a CSA! The plan states that these local opportunities support the government’s food strategy aims, in particular the goal of connecting people to local food systems.
The outcomes of the Organic Action Plan:
1. A year-on-year closing of the gap between imports and exports of organic goods, achieved through an increase in domestic organic production and manufacturing.
2. Ambition to grow the organically managed land area in England to 10% to support growth across the range of organic sectors.
3. An assessment of the contribution of organic production and consumption to government’s Environment Improvement Plan’s 10 goals, and the associated reductions in fertiliser and pesticide use that organic conversion delivers.
4. A sustained increase in the share of organic food within public sector purchasing.
5. Growth in the knowledge and understanding of organic production among farmers, growers, and consumers.
Specifically, within years 2-4 the plan specifies that it wants to address challenges for small urban and peri-urban businesses. These will be developed with certification bodies and the organic sector and will align with the Food and Farming Partnership Board sector growth plans, which includes horticulture agroecology. This will identify production gaps, market opportunities and the support required to help close the gap between domestic supply and demand.
With all our CSAs farming to organic principles and around ⅓ already certified we see possibilities for additional benefits for CSAs. We are already thinking about cheaper and less admin heavy certification within the UK Fruit and Vegetable Coalition for our smaller members. Please fill in our poll if you haven’t already (available on our members what’s-app group and facebook page).
As the plan is designed to complement SFI and ELMS, we continue to campaign for Defra to replace the 3-hectare limit with an alternative so that more CSAs can benefit.
We will keep a close eye on how the plan delivery shapes up plans and continue working with partner organisations to ensure that CSA is well represented.
We welcome the recognition and repetition of the many environmental benefits and solutions that organic farming provides throughout the plan. “Across England, organic farmers, growers and food businesses play an important role in producing high-quality food while caring for soils, wildlife and the rural communities they are part of. In doing so, they also help advance wider goals for nature recovery, cleaner water and greater climate resilience.”
Dame Angela Eagle Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs recognition of organic farms value, as part of the Organic Action Plan
Find the action plan here