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Outcomes of the Thematic Group on Strengthening the position of farmers in the Organic Food Supply Chain

Outcomes of the Thematic Group on Strengthening the position of farmers in the Organic Food Supply Chain drew attention to the possibilities and benefits that could be derived from more policy and organic food chain actors collaborating and advancing in the same direction.

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Outcomes of the Thematic Group on Strengthening the position of farmers in the Organic Food Supply Chain drew attention to the possibilities and benefits that could be derived by more policy and organic food chain actors collaborating and advancing in the same direction.

The second meeting of Thematic Group on Strengthening the position of farmers in the Organic Food Supply Chain took place last month, attracting 37 members from 14 EU Member States, including farmers, producer organisations, cooperatives, retailers, consumer organisations, banks, researchers and the European Commission. This collective EU expertise came together to exchange their knowledge and experiences and identify ways to help grow the organic value chain, especially through better cooperation among value chain stakeholders.

Findings from the presentations and group discussions helped to identify potential areas of intervention that can support collective actions across the organic value chain and, in doing so, strengthen the role of organic farmers. Examples of this from EU Member States included a Luxembourgish public procurement initiativeSweden’s organic action plan and Denmark’s success in being a ‘world leading organics nation’.

A common message from the perspective of EU Member States was that, while public support  helps, this needs to go hand –in hand with market-driven consumer demand. Demand will continue to be the most significant stimulus vis-à-vis achieving EU targets to increase organic land coverage.

Other key conclusions from the Thematic Group meeting included: appropriate targets for organics could be useful in public procurement areas; win-win messaging about organics’ local-food characteristics was reiterated as a way to avoid conflicting consumer information; food forums, city and regional food systems, local policy co-creation, market transparency and online platforms facilitating trade and capacity were all additional ideas for building the critical mass needed to help positively sway market signals. Advisory services were recognised as useful for building business capacity, boosting skills in areas such as market access, use of data and new technologies. Initiatives to encourage small retailers to cooperate with local producers were also suggested, with funding through CSPs (including LEADER) playing a role.