Thematic Group on Strengthening the Position of Farmers in the Organic Food Supply Chain
This Thematic Group identified ways in which the role of the organic producer in the organic value chain can be strengthened through cooperation.
Context
A sustainable food system is essential if the EU is to achieve the climate, environmental, social and economic objectives of the European Green Deal. The transition to sustainable food systems, if done effectively, will present economic opportunities and contribute to environmental and climate goals through the facilitation of new business and co-operation models across the food value chain, resulting in improved incomes for primary producers and reinforced supply chain competitiveness that meets consumer expectations.
The CAP strategic plans of the Member States must fully reflect the ambition of the Green Deal, leading to the increased adoption of sustainable practices, such as precision agriculture, organic farming, agroecology, agroforestry and stricter animal welfare standards.
In this context, the Thematic Group (TG) on Strengthening the position of farmers in the Organic Food Supply Chain ran from September to November 2022.
Objectives
The TG aimed to:
- Explore current approaches to cooperation in the organic value chain, e.g. organisational governance and sectoral focus.
- Identify potential areas of intervention (including under the new CAP) that can support collective actions across the organic value chain, e.g. conversion, maintenance, knowledge exchange, innovation, cooperation, and young farmers.
- Share good practices that illustrate the success factors for strengthening the role of organic farmers in the value chain.
Activities
The first TG meeting (16/09/2022) was organised to take stock of the policy and regulatory framework for organic value chains, and to identify the key enabling conditions and barriers to strengthen the role of organic producers in the organic value chain. A highlights report summarises the key findings of the event.
The second TG meeting (24/11/2022) allowed TG members to share Member State policy experiences aimed at growing the organic value chain, and to identify potential areas of intervention that can support collective actions across the organic value chain – thus strengthening the role of organic farmers. A highlights report summarises the key findings of the event.
Informal online exchanges took place between the two formal TG meetings and allowed for further discussion among the TG members and the exchange of experiences and good practices.
The TG produced a series of outputs that are presented in the Related Publications section further down on this page.
Key findings
The conclusions of the TG are explained in detail in a final document (Conclusions and recommendations). In summary, TG members concluded the following:
- It is critical that public policy (from local, regional, national, and EU) adequately takes into account and integrates various facets when thinking about value chains.
- It is highly important to invest in our young people, ensuring that young organic producers can develop and grow with the right market signals in order to support business investment.
- The opportunities for young organic producers should include local markets such as direct sales or farmers' markets, as well as support to help them develop their market and ultimately sell into the wider retail/hospitality environment.
During the TG process, participants highlighted the following:
- Cooperation, including through Producer Organisations, is essential in supporting viable prices, increasing confidence among all market participants, increasing producers' bargaining power and providing for innovative marketing opportunities.
- Product availability, accessibility and affordability are key to success, to make the organic marketplace profitable for producers and affordable to consumers.
- It is crucial to reinforce support to small-scale organic producers, and during producers’ conversion period to organic.
- Young farmers and new entrants should be linked with AKIS actors, who can play a critical role in supporting business development.
- Transparency for consumers is needed, as is effective marketing and communication of the benefits of organics to actors throughout the supply chain.
- Innovation, new technologies and applied research are key to improving farming systems and developing marketing opportunities.
- The circular economy presents opportunities for the organic sector as part of the transition to sustainable food systems.
- Consumers should value organic as the sustainable choice, with organic less niche and competitively priced. Key to this is achieving critical mass through the supply chain.
Learn more
Scroll down this page to find all the outputs of this Thematic Group and relevant resources related to this topic.
You can find other useful resources about this theme in our Publications section and in our Good Practices database.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact us at implementation@eucapnetwork.eu.
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