Institutional barriers to organic farming in Central and Eastern European countries of the Baltic Sea region

Agricultural and Food Economics

Table 2 Factors with the largest influence on the development of organic farming (OF) in CEEC

Rank	Type	Factors	Scale
1	F	Public investment in processing of organic products	Domestic	++
2	M	Consumer demand for organic products	Domestic	++
3	F/M	Public investment for marketing of organic products	Domestic	++
4	S	Integration of OF in national rural development plan	Domestic	+
5	F	Area payment for conversion to OF	Domestic	+
6	F	Public expenditure in extension services and training	Domestic	++
7	F	Public investment in research and development in OF	Domestic	++
8	M	Consumer concerns about food quality, food safety, environmental protection and animal welfare	Domestic	++
9	F	Area payment for maintenance of OF	Domestic	+
10	M	Link between producers and retailers	Domestic	+
11	M	Consumer demand for organic products	EU	+
12	P	Availability of organic producers’ association	Domestic	++
13	P	Political power of organic producers’ association	Domestic	+
14	M	Consumer concerns about food quality, food safety, environmental protection and animal welfare	EU	+
15	F	Other financial help (e.g. guarantee loan, compensation for lost crop, etc.)	Domestic	+

Based on questionnaire results. The type (F = financial support, M = market development, S = strategic support, P = production characteristic), the scale at which they function (domestic or EU) and the estimate of how much they need to change (“--“decrease significantly, “-“decrease, “=” do not need to change, “+” increase, “++” increase significantly) are also shown.