Biodiversity protection and well-functioning ecosystems are essential for food production. But the Commission’s proposal on a nature restoration law has faced unjustified opposition when it comes to setting restoration targets for agricultural ecosystems. The organic movement calls on MEPs to support ambitious nature restoration on agriculture land as well preserved natural resources are essential for sustainable agricultural production. Biodiversity in the EU has decreased drastically, pollinators are declining, birds are disappearing, and soil health is deteriorating. Intensive agriculture is one of the main drivers for biodiversity loss. Biodiversity, however, is an important basis for the functioning of many ecosystem processes and functions. It is crucial for natural pest control, pollination, and it is necessary to succeed in climate protection and adaptation to environmental stressors. Eric Gall, IFOAM Organics Europe’s Policy Manager, said: “Biodiversity and healthy ecosystems are essential for the productivity of farming systems. It is urgently necessary to reverse the accelerating biodiversity loss and start restoring nature. Organic farming shows that it is possible to produce nutritious and sufficient food while preserving biodiversity, storing carbon in soils and making our food production more resilient to the increasing impacts of climate change.” Organic farmers refrain from using synthetic pesticides and fertilizers and they have on average 30% more biodiversity on the farm. Longer and diverse crop rotations with leguminous are an essential element of the organic farming system to ensure soil fertility and contribute to soil health. Together with other beneficial management practices such as cover crops and manure application, crop rotations contribute to increased soil organic carbon sequestration on organic farms. Intercropping is another powerful technique to bring nitrogen to the soil and to protect it from erosion, which in turns improve soil water retention capacity, essential as droughts and floods both become more frequent because of climate change. Land-based livestock systems with grazing and lower stocking rates also support biodiversity in grassland.