Organic agriculture and water consumption in Europe

Background: Organic agriculture expands significantly worldwide, also in water scarce areas. However it seems that water scarcity and water consumption hardly play a role in certification of organic agriculture. The question emerges if this was appropriate regarding the principles of organic farming and with the regulation of the sector.

Aims of the research: This research is to take stock of the role of organic agriculture for water consumption and its expansion in water scarce areas of Europe and the world. Second, the research is to describe schemes that try to introduce considerations concerning water consumption into organic farming certification. It is to elaborate on the difficulties of introducing water consumption issues into certification of organic farming. Finally, it is to research why water consumption does not play a bigger role in organic farming certification. For this purpose, it is to address different arenas of the value chain and of policy making.