Implications and Changes of Organic Farming Schemes in the UK

영국 유기농업정책의 변화과정과 시사점

Organic fanning in the UK has been greatly grown for the last decade. Two policies for supporting organic farming introduced in 1994 and 1999 played a crucial role in expanding organic farming area and increase in the number of farmers taken up organic fanning methods. Comparing the two policies, this paper identifies that the significant increase in financial aid to organic fanning in 1999 not only was a key factor to succeed in the scheme but also provided environmental base for further development of rural areas. However, such a national aid scheme should be improved in order to reflect regional specific characteristics in terms of environmental protection and local social and economic development. the experience of the UK suggests that the role of organic fanning in rural economics should be defined before enhancing financial support to farmers.