EU organics awards and the push to expand organic agri-food systems

Farming support from the CAP includes a strong focus on organic production systems. Our thematic work on organic food supply chains contributes to these policy priorities as part of the European Green Deal’s emphasis on transforming agri-food systems to be more sustainable from farm to fork. The winners of the first EU organics awards were announced last month. These are the kinds of success stories that help underscore the opportunities available from EU organic production.

Regional initiatives were among finalists receiving accolades during the organics awards ceremony. It is important to note that these types of territorial-scale actions offer many more opportunities for expanding organic agri-food systems. France’s Occitanie region won first prize in the organic awards’ regional category for its strategic commitment to organics. More than 13,000 farms covering nearly 20% of all Occitanie’s agricultural land is under organic farming, with the plan being to increase this to 30% by 2030. A value chain approach helps coordinate the conversion of agri-food production, processing and procurement to organics using a large development budget, including CAP funds.