Analyse de la rentabilité des exploitations agricoles biologiques en Wallonie : état des lieux et perspectives d'avenir

Abstract

Aware of their environmental and social impact, an increasing number of farmers take the decision to convert their agricultural establishment into organic farming. This phenomenon is encouraged by the rising demand of consumers for organic products and by the financial support provided by public authorities. Within the scope of our research, we conducted an analysis in order to have a prospect of the organic agricultural establishments’ viability in the Walloon Region and areas of improvement in precise agricultural sectors. Analysing the profitability of organic farms is to us the best way to try and predict how organic agriculture is going to evolve. We have developed a literature review regarding the motives of the organic conversion, which consist in a combination of environmental, ethical and moral criteria as well as financial and economic ones. Moreover, thanks to our financial analysis and the content of the interviews we conducted, we were able to come up with an overview of the global organic sector, and more specifically, the bovine production. The production of organic beef appears to be a field experiencing rising difficulties. Indeed, a high majority of that production isn’t even sold as an organic product, due to the lack of organic oriented infrastructures and the poor demand. That position tends to put the beef producers at disadvantage. As for the production of organic milk, the situation seems to get by fine. The high selling price as well as the increasing demand make organic milk-producing farms more profitable. Concerning the subsidy system, we have noticed it is still very much necessary to help farmers to be lucrative. Without it, a large amount of agricultural establishments, especially beef producers, wouldn’t be able to generate profits from their activity. Therefore, the political actions regarding the grant system will have a significant impact on the future of the organic sector. Furthermore, we highlighted the need to develop alternatives to sell organic products in order to enable the producers to differenciate their products and to gain more added value of them. Also, it will help to recreate a special and trustful bond between the consumer and the producer, which is essential to the organic sector’s evolution. Finally, it is the global profitability of the sector and the awareness of consumers that are going to be key to support its growth.