Inhoudsopgave

Organic farming not only guarantees superior quality products, it is also the only method of cultivation that respects nature.

Growing organically means obtaining safe products with total respect for the environment and biodiversity.

For us at Enecta, becoming 100% organic was a great challenge. We now know for sure that we will achieve our goal within two years. This is a great achievement, which we would like to tell you more about, and above all to stress the great importance of organic farming today.

How important it is to grow organically

Nowadays, it is essential for farms to opt for organic farming methods. This is because conventional farming methods, especially in the context of overproduction, have led to serious side effects for the environment and for humans.

The unbridled use of pesticides, heavy metals and herbicides progressively devastates the soil, the land and the climate.

Besides the environmental impact of course, the use of chemicals also significantly alters the quality of the final product. Whether it is courgettes, potatoes or cannabis sativa, it is a product taken in by humans.

Non-organic farming, therefore, is as harmful to humans as it is to the environment. To continue practising it is irresponsible and countercurrent.

Organic farming, as well as abolishing the use of chemical products, means respecting the rhythms of nature and the balance of the ecosystem and, where possible, restoring them.

As the European Commission reports, these are the advantages of organic farming:

using energy and natural resources responsibly
maintaining biodiversity
preserving regional ecological balances
improving soil fertility
maintaining water quality

What is BIO certification

BIO certification is a quality mark that guarantees consumers a series of control standards. It is a system that was created to protect the environment and at the same time respond to the need for consumers to have access to safe, healthy and natural products.

Organic farming is regulated by legislation, which sets out the criteria for obtaining and maintaining certification. All organic products must be produced without the use of chemical and/or technological aids.

In order to be able to claim organic farming and use the organic label, any farm must undergo rigorous quality controls. Only then, if all the control steps have been passed, can it be certified by the relevant control bodies.

In Europe, the bodies authorised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to issue certification after carrying out checks are those authorised by the Ministry. These bodies are in turn subject to control by the Regions and the Ministry.

The subject of BIO certification is truly complex and full of controversy. This is why the EU has approved new legislation that is still in preparation and is expected to come into force in 2022.

The new legislation on organic farming provides for:

further strengthening the control system for obtaining and maintaining certification
creating new rules to make it easier for even the smallest farmers to convert to organic production
establishing new rules on imported organic products to ensure the same quality standards across the EU

Until the new legislation, organic certification is regulated by EC Regulations No 834/2007 and No 889/2008, which detail all stages of the production chain.

Within 2 years Enecta will be 100% organic

Through our experience with Green Valley, we have learned that when a company decides to practice 100 % organic farming, a 360° conversion process must be initiated.

This process lasts 24 months and does not only concern the conversion of the fields but of the entire production chain. From the conversion of the storage sheds to the material processing methods.

We have therefore prepared ourselves in good time and, given the figures, we can say that in two years' time we will finally be 100% BIO.

During this last farming season, we chose to work with a Spanish agronomist engineer. Marcelo Anscari looks at agriculture from a sustainable and innovative point of view at the same time and helped us to start growing two 100% organic pilot crops.

This is how our Anscari Project was born, whose claim is: 'What you give to the earth, the earth gives back', which fits in well with the principle 'Hemp gives back hemp'.

Within 24 months, all non-100% organic products used for the cultivation of the crops will be replaced with 100% organic products.

The other major objective is that all waste will be used for the preparation of compost, which will serve to prepare and rebalance the soil for subsequent cultivation.

This conversion process will give further quality and prestige to the product, which already has the advantage of growing in an almost uncontaminated environment at the foot of a natural park.

In addition, Enecta, after a more than positive experience with Green Valley, has started to collaborate with the first company recognised at European level for the production of organic products for agriculture.

It is BioTabs, the name of the Dutch company specialising in organic products for the cultivation of cannabis and sponsor of our Enecta Bike Tour.

This is how the BioTabs Project came to life: Green Valley and Enecta started a pilot project in Abruzzo with as many as one hundred 100% organic plants using specific BioTabs products.

The products successfully supported the following processes: