Highlights report - 1st Forum on Best Practices in the Agri-Food Supply Chain

The workshop, organised by the ENRD Contact Point in close partnership with the European Commission’s Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI), marked the launch of the ‘Forum on Best Practices in the Agri-Food Supply Chain’ as one of the actions envisaged by the European Commission under the Farm to Fork Strategy. The Forum aims to enhance the cooperation between primary producers and other actors, improving the position of farmers within the food supply chain and increasing market transparency.

The event took place in Brussels in December 2021, and discussed the transition to a sustainable food system and key challenges from the perspective of farmers, producer organisations (POs), and retailers, as well as Member States and the European Commission. It presented and discussed concrete experiences and relevant funding mechanisms available under the current Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and future CAP Strategic Plans (CSPs) to support sustainable agri-food supply chains.

Participants exchanged views and actively engaged in parallel group discussions focusing respectively on policy support for POs, the impacts of POs in rural areas, and the competitive factors of POs to improve the position of farmers within the agri-food supply chain.