Stimulating the potential for innovation in organic farming by research

Abstract

Organic farming research has been developed over 4 stages: i) Pioneer farmers and scientists, ii) pioneer private research institutes, iii) organic farming chairs at universities and finally iv) organic farming projects and institutes at state research institutions. Today, organic agriculture has become finally accepted within agriculture and food research. The main key players in organic research in Europe are mentioned in the text. Mainly in Europe, public funded research has shifted towards organic farming, whereas the research resources for conventional farming have been cut down considerably. The paper gives an overview of the current status and the future prospects of organic farming research in Europe