EU CAP Network cross-visit ‘Organic farming supply and value chain optimisation’

• Enable peer-to-peer learning and knowledge exchange on the innovations that the involved projects address and on their multi-actor approach, allowing a deeper understanding of the innovation processes, providing further inspiration to participants and fostering synergies between projects;
• Discuss common challenges, research needs from practice, inspirational ideas and potential solutions;
• Exchange and further disseminate project findings across the EU;
• Create opportunities for potential future collaborations and/or partnerships.

Participants

Ongoing or recently finished Operational Group projects on the theme of ‘Organic farming supply and value chain optimisation’.

Organic production and consumption have a key role in the transition to a sustainable food system, with the Farm to Fork Strategy including the objective of ‘at least 25% of the EU’s agricultural land under organic farming by 2030 and a significant increase in organic aquaculture. To achieve this target and to help the organic sector reach its full potential, the Commission has produced an Action Plan for Organic Production in the EU. Short food supply chains (SFSCs) play a special role in organic production. Supply chains of organic products are often considered as alternative supply chains, which are shorter, more locally oriented, and in which the producers and consumers are more tightly connected to each other than those in the conventional food supply chains. Alternative short supply chains for organic products are considered when seeking optimal scenarios to obtain the highest profit for producers, with maximising profit being one of the main reasons for taking up business within this type of supply chain strategy.

In this context, this cross-visit aims to involve different projects working on organic farming supply and value chain optimisations. From tackling common challenges, to testing similar types of solutions, all relevant projects will be considered, particularly, but not limited to, those dealing with:

• Challenges related to optimisation of production processes, economic viability and sustainability of production for farmers, climate and resource management, networking and cooperation, biodiversity, waste management and animal welfare.
• Solutions connected to new technology and cultivation practices (e.g. testing digital based solutions and physical infrastructure), positioning on the market; soil improvement / fertilisation (e.g. increasing soil organic matter, managing fertilisers and chemical nutrients), preservation of autochthonous varieties/seed production, establishment of cooperation networks and social interactions, circular economy (e.g. valorised by-products, new biodegradable packaging from the output of agro-industrial processes), transition to organic farming, biodiversity (e.g. introducing new varieties, crop rotations, new revenue models for biodiversity), traceability (e.g. analytical methods based on NMR and NIR, sustainable organic seed supply chain models), animal welfare (e.g. improvement of the economic position and integration of farms within the agri-food value chain and the production quality/safety).

Selection Process

A minimum of 2 and a maximum 3 participants per OG will be considered.

Priority will be given to project applications where one of the applying OG representatives is a farmer/forester. In general, the group of representatives should come from different backgrounds.

Project applications which come forward as hosts will be given additional credit during the selection process.

Furthermore, applications will be analysed considering the OG project, the applicants and the possibility to host the cross-visit. More concretely:

Selection criteria (projects)

The OGs will be selected based on the relevance of their topic to the cross-visit subject. More specifically:

• The objectives, activities and results of the project should contribute to the main objectives of the cross-visit and directly match the subject of the specific cross-visit:
  • For the topic Organic farming supply and value chain optimisation, organic value chain optimisation practices should be a key aspect addressed by operational groups
• In addition to a common theme, projects with shared characteristics (e.g., tackling the same type of challenge or testing same type of solutions) will be taken in consideration/given priority;
• The projects should not be just starting nor should they be concluded too long ago (maximum 2 years since end of the project).

Selection criteria (individual)

The participants should meet the following criteria to ensure a match between supply and demand of learning needs and motivation:

• be strongly motivated to participate in the cross-visit;
• have intermediate or final results to share and learning needs they would like to fulfil that are relevant to the cross-visit subject;
• have an interest to further exchange and cooperate with other OGs after the cross-visit is concluded.

Selection criteria (hosting project)

The choice of the site(s) to visit/the host(s) will depend on several factors such as, for instance:

• The knowledge needs of participants;
• Accessibility to the host premises from a logistical perspective.

Preference will be given to hosts who can provide a meeting space with capacity for about 30 people.

Application procedure

The call for expression of interest closed on 25 May 2023.