Financial outcomes of organic and conventional farms in Spain (2015–2021). An agroecological perspective

Transforming agrifood systems is essential to meeting the Paris Agreement and addressing environmental challenges. Yet Europe is experiencing a decline in small family farms due to generational replacement issues, while farmer protests have intensified since 2023 in opposition to EU agri-environmental measures. At the same time, organic farming is expanding rapidly in Europe and worldwide, but there remains a knowledge gap on whether its financial performance is superior, comparable, or inferior to conventional farming. This study addresses this gap through a multivariate statistical analysis of 62,588 farm-year observations from the Spanish Farm Accountancy Data Network between 2015 and 2021. We model several financial performance indicators, both including and excluding subsidies, while using several control variables across fully organic, partially organic, conventional, and transitioning farms. Results show that return on assets, income per family labor, and other indicators were consistently higher or similar in fully organic farms compared with conventional ones, with even stronger outcomes for partially organic farms. At no point did organic farms perform worse. These findings suggest that distinct business models, cost structures, and trading strategies make organic farms more resilient and profitable, offering insights for agricultural sciences, policy, and public debate.