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Kathmandu June 24, Organic farming delivers consistent environmental benefits across key indicators, including biodiversity, soil health and reduced chemical use, according to a new Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)-commissioned Review by the Organic Research Centre (ORC).
The analysis, based on more than 300 peer-reviewed studies and farm-level data, found that organic systems show the strongest evidence of achieving Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) goals. The study also found that LEAF Marque demonstrates strong ambition but requires more robust evidence to confirm its impact.
ORC Senior Researcher Dr.Julia Cooper said the review used four main approaches. The study included an AI-assisted review of more than 300 peer-reviewed papers to extract evidence for impacts of organic farming on selected indicators linked to the EIP goals.
She said these included measures of biodiversity, water quality, soil health and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Results were summarised to produce a metric known as ‘proportion of positive outcomes for organic’ (PPOO) for each paper and analysed statistically to generate a probability that organic farming would have a positive effect on each category of indicator.
Dr Cooper said: “We’re really proud of this piece of work. We used robust methods to verify how certified organic systems deliver on the ten goals of the government’s EIP and identified some clear benefits from organic farming. We also considered other environmental farm assurance schemes (e.g., LEAF Marque) and identified aspirations in their standards but were limited by the lack of studies on Integrated Farm Management linked to environmental indicators.”
She said the peer-reviewed evidence was complemented by a landscape and farm-scale analysis of farmer sustainability assessments conducted by the Soil Association Exchange and multi-criteria assessments of organic farms using ORC’s bespoke Public Goods (PG) Tool.
“A critical control point analysis of the standards mapped onto the EIP goals provided a third strand of evidence on the aspirations of environmental farm assurance schemes to deliver on the EIP goals. Finally, a closer look at selected practices including ley phases, genetically diverse seeds and herbicide-free weed control helped to explain how specific organic management approaches may contribute to the EIP goals in practice and where their benefits depend on context, implementation and farm system design.”
The analysis, commissioned by Defra, which combined peer-reviewed literature, farm-scale data and standards assessments, shows that organic farming performs particularly well in promoting biodiversity, improving soil health and reducing chemical exposure. Evidence supporting these outcomes is consistently strong, with organic systems shown to enhance wildlife, build resilient soils and significantly limit pesticide use.
Dr Cooper said that organic farming also demonstrates positive contributions to water quality and climate resilience, particularly through improved soil structure and increased system diversity. However, the study highlights that more research is needed to fully understand its impact on GHG emissions and air quality.
She said: “In contrast, LEAF Marque standards reflect a comprehensive commitment to environmental sustainability across a wide range of EIP goals, including climate change mitigation, resource efficiency and public engagement. Despite this, the study finds limited empirical evidence to verify that these ambitions consistently translate into measurable outcomes on farms.
”While some LEAF Marque farmers report improvements in biodiversity, and standards promote practices such as integrated pest management and nutrient planning, the lack of accessible, farm-level data makes it difficult to draw firm conclusions about overall performance.”
Dr Cooper added that the findings suggest that, while both systems contribute to environmental improvement, organic farming currently provides the strongest evidence of delivering EIP goals in practice. For LEAF Marque, ongoing revisions to its standards and improved data collection – such as enhanced reporting through its Sustainable Farming Review – present an opportunity to strengthen its evidence base and demonstrate real-world impact more clearly.
She said the study concludes that strengthening monitoring, verification and data sharing across all assurance schemes will be essential to fully demonstrate their role in achieving national environmental targets.
Cristopher Stopers, Co-chair of the English Organic Forum and Policy Adviser to Organic Farmers & Growers CIC, said: “This excellent synthesis and analysis of the available evidence for the multi-functional benefits of organic is welcome. Defra must be congratulated for commissioning the experts ORC to undertake it. Organic is widely acknowledged as a well-defined and regulated option for enhancing the environmental outcomes of food and farming. Consumers and citizens know what organic stands for. This review will surely strengthen Defra’s commitment to publish an Organic Action Plan for England and grow the production base.”
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