Workshop "The Contribution of Organic Agriculture to the SDGs: Scientific evidence from comparative research"

The workshop was hosted by the European Commission in the Albert Borschette Conference Centre and took place between 9:30am and 5pm. During the workshop, FiBL scientists presented their results of FiBL flagship projects in regard to the contribution of organic agriculture to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These results were discussed first by a scientific panel and finally by a policy panel that put together the most relevant institutions in the field of sustainable development. Moderators • Frank Eyhorn, IFOAM – Organics International/Helvetas • Gurbir Bhullar, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Switzerland Speakers • Urs Niggli, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Switzerland • Beate Huber, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Switzerland • Irene Kadzere, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Switzerland • Noah Adamtey, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Switzerland • Christian Schader, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Switzerland • Adrian Mueller, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Switzerland • Veronica Seufert, Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam • Stéphane Bellon, French National Institute for Agricultural Research, INRA • Bram Moeskops, IFOAM EU • Carolina Starr, Food And Agriculture Organization (FAO) • Wilem Olthof, Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO), European Commission • Maria Heubuch, Member of the European Parliament, The Greens/European Free Allianc

Food systems and farmers’ bargaining power: The case of "Unfair Trade Practices" in the EU

EU agricultural policies have often been formulated from an “orthodox approach”, without directly tackling the issue of markets structure that tend to lower the power and economic welfare of farmers. This situation reveals a need to better comprehend the long-standing dynamics and processes determining the structural position of farmers to find suitable strategies for pushing forward more sustainable food value chain models. Classical and neo-classical economic approaches to the problem often consider Unfair Trade Practices (UTP) as only cyclical phenomenon caused by temporary disequilibrium on the market. Market forces are intended to stabilise prices and to balance power among value chain actors. Such approaches underestimate the role played for example by capital accumulation in EU food systems. Alternative and more complex analytical frameworks, for instance the Marxist or Chayanovian perspectives, need to be developed to better understand factors determining the lack of power and the weak position of farmers in food value chains, including the way the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has been influencing and could be impacting these aspects in the future. New approaches for dealing with UTP should also be developed to find innovative solutions being able to develop a more sustainable food system. This paper raises the crucial need of increasing awareness and informing policy-makers on potential new policy instruments and tools that could be used to address this problem of power imbalance and of inadequate governance schemes weakening the position of farmers in food value chains and causing or aggravating agricultural crises. The paper aims to outline suggestions to bring this research topic into strategic plans for future EU farming systems

Food systems and farmers’ bargaining power: The case of "Unfair Trade Practices" in the EU

EU agricultural policies have often been formulated from an “orthodox approach”, without directly tackling the issue of markets structure that tend to lower the power and economic welfare of farmers. This situation reveals a need to better comprehend the long-standing dynamics and processes determining the structural position of farmers to find suitable strategies for pushing forward more sustainable food value chain models. Classical and neo-classical economic approaches to the problem often consider Unfair Trade Practices (UTP) as only cyclical phenomenon caused by temporary disequilibrium on the market. Market forces are intended to stabilise prices and to balance power among value chain actors. Such approaches underestimate the role played for example by capital accumulation in EU food systems. Alternative and more complex analytical frameworks, for instance the Marxist or Chayanovian perspectives, need to be developed to better understand factors determining the lack of power and the weak position of farmers in food value chains, including the way the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has been influencing and could be impacting these aspects in the future. New approaches for dealing with UTP should also be developed to find innovative solutions being able to develop a more sustainable food system. This paper raises the crucial need of increasing awareness and informing policy-makers on potential new policy instruments and tools that could be used to address this problem of power imbalance and of inadequate governance schemes weakening the position of farmers in food value chains and causing or aggravating agricultural crises. The paper aims to outline suggestions to bring this research topic into strategic plans for future EU farming systems

Producción ecológica y cómo alcanzar los objetivos de Farm to Fork: el papel de las actividades de formación

En mayo de 2020, la Comisión Europea publicó la estrategia Farm to Fork (De la Granja a la Mesa) como un elemento clave del Pacto Verde Europeo (la nueva estrategia de crecimiento de la UE para 2050)

Producción ecológica y cómo alcanzar los objetivos de “De la Granja a la Mesa”

En mayo de 2020, la Comisión Europea publicó la estrategia Farm to Fork (De la Granja a la Mesa) como un elemento clave del Pacto Verde Europeo (la nueva estrategia de crecimiento de la UE para 2050)

Producció ecològica i com assolir els objectius de “De la Granja a la Taula”

Al maig de 2020, la Comissió Europea va publicar l’estratègia Farm to Fork (De la Granja a la Taula) com un element clau del Pacte Verd Europeu (la nova estratègia de creixement de la UE per al 2050)

Farm to Fork: the role of organic and digital training activities to reach the objectives

In May 2020, the European Commission published the Farm to Fork strategy as a key element of the European Green Deal (new EU growth strategy for 2050)

Securing organic animal and plant breeding through a common cross-sector financing strategy

Organic breeding is the basis for a self-determined, independent organic sector. Despite the benefits provided to the organic sector, the number of dedicated breeding initiatives in Europe is very limited. Currently, the financing of organic breeding is insufficient and fragmented. Therefore, there is a need to place financing of organic breeding on a solid and sustainable basis with shared responsibilities along the value chain. We propose for discussion with the organic livestock sector, a financing concept of joint pre-commercial investment of the organic value chain (0.1 -0.2% organic market turnover at point of sale) into organic animal and plant breeding

Scientific evidence on how organic food and farming contributes to sustainable food security

This briefing aims to summarise the most relevant recent scientific publications that critically assess the productivity and sustainability of organic farming methods. The rapid increase in the quantity of scientific literature on this topic reflects the growing importance of the sector as well as the need for accurate data and analysis to inform policy makers. There are currently 2.7 million organic-certified farmers (of which 350.000 are in Europe) who have committed to sustainable farming practices. Can organic food and farming be upscaled in order to contribute to sustainable food system and food security

Biodiversity of soils and farming innovations for improved resilience of European wheat agrosystems (BIOFAIR)

IOFAIR holistically determines soil biodiversity under different farming practices and environmental stressors to anticipate negative impacts of climate change on belowground processes and provide adaptation strategies. The BIOFAIR project comprehensively addresses the diversity of soil organisms, from microbes to mites, and how they link to soil functioning in terms of disease suppression and carbon and nutrient cycling. On the crop site, a specific focus is given to grain quality parameters such as vitamin and mineral nutrient contents essential for many human body functions, and to technological bread making properties such as flour viscosity, to ensure the crops of the future have a high nutritious value and are suitable for food production