Legal Support for the Development of Organic Production in the Republic of Belarus

Abstract

Consistent greening of economic activity, introduction of mechanisms of "green" economy in the Republic of Belarus directly affect the agricultural sector, which solves the socially important problem of ensuring food security of the country as well as the task to increase the volume of agricultural exports. One of the ways to reduce the rural economy harmful impact on the environment and to contribute to solving problems related to climate change, nutrition security, health, loss of biodiversity, soil degradation is the development of organic agriculture. For this purpose, Belarus has established the legal framework for the regulation of relations in the field of production, storage, transportation and sale of organic products, the national procedure of voluntary certification of organic products and processes of their production and related requirements for the use of the mark "Organic Product". The article provides an analytical review of the provisions of normative legal acts regulating the production and circulation of organic products, documents of state forecasting and state planning, characterizes the subjects of relations in the sphere of organic agriculture, considers the prospects of creating a common market for organic products in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). On the basis of a critical analysis of the current legislation the paper formulated several proposals for its improvement. In particular, the authors substantiate the need to strengthen the environmental component of the activities for the organic production, taking into account one of the goals of its legal support, to consolidate the corresponding principle in the Law “On the production and circulation of organic products”. The feasibility of creating a more effective legal mechanism for state support for organic producers is justified, and it is also proposed to develop a national strategy for the development of organic agriculture in the context of the formation of a common market for organic products in the EAEU.