The environment secretary, Angela Eagle, said the goal was about "opening up opportunities across the sector, from backing farmers already producing organic food to helping others decide whether it could work for their businesses". She added that organic farming "should not be treated as a niche" and that more people are looking closely at where their food comes from.
The plan, which has been more than three years in development, sets out a vision for growth in the organic sector. Public procurement – in schools and hospitals, for example – is cited as a significant opportunity, and the government already has a long-term ambition for 10% of public sector food spend to meet higher environmental production standards.
Rob Haward, chief executive of organic veg box company Riverford, said the plan reflected the lack of political backing organic farming has had in England compared with the EU, where countries such as France already farm 10.4% of land organically and aim for 18% by 2027. Haward described public procurement as "impenetrable" for small organic farms but said he hoped the plan would be a "catalyst for growth". He called for proper backing including grant funding, and warned that the government's sustainable farming incentive (SFI) needed to be "reliable, successful and secure" to enable the transition. In September, thousands of farmers missed out after SFI funding was spent in six hours.
Gareth Morgan, head of farming policy at the Soil Association, said there had been many discussions with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs about funding, but "there has been a compromise". He said there was an urgent need to reopen SFI to enable farms to move to organic farming, and added that increasing the share of organic land could bring down the price of organic food for consumers.