Development of a national standard for regenerative organic farming (RÖG), approval of its trademark, and introduction into certification practice and subsidy policy
Farmers need to find solutions to the increasing number and complexity of challenges facing our farming systems to halt soil degradation and adapt more successfully to the impacts of climate change. As a result, there is a growing interest in more resilient, lower-input production systems such as regenerative farming.
Building on the similarities between organic and regenerative production systems, the professional organizations of organic farming recognize the potential of regenerative practices to restore soil health, increase biodiversity, and mitigate climate change. They promote regenerative practices that avoid minimum soil disturbance and synthetic chemicals. By strengthening cooperation and synergies between the two production systems, a criteria framework can be institutionalized in form of a national private standard that incorporates the appropriate features of these two systems.
The Ministry of Agriculture (Regulation 26/2018 (X. 1.) AM) has also enabled the development of a new organic private standard and a voluntary certification trademark that builds on the EU organic regulation, but also goes beyond that, adapted to domestic conditions with higher and more detailed technical requirements – which is also among the targets of the National Action Plan for the Development of Organic Farming (ÖCST, 2022). ÖMKi aims to achieve this goal by developing a new regenerative organic farming private standard and trademark which encourages full conversion to organic farming, highlighting the use of regenerative agricultural practices, and allows for the display of regional origin – following international examples such as the Austrian AMA Bio-Siegel and the German Bio-Siegel.
The objective of the project is to formulate, through broad consultation with relevant agri-food actors, a comprehensive private standard for regenerative organic farming in Hungary, along with an associated trademark, and to integrate these into certification practice and subsidy policy.
Activities
- Develop the concept of the national standard for regenerative organic farming, taking into account the requirements and certification processes of international organic standards and relevant regenerative trademarks.
- Based on the concept, conduct broad consultation with relevant agri-food experts through in-depth interviews and an online questionnaire.
- Based on the feedback collected and processed, prepare the first version of the standard.
- Discuss and validate the standard with wide range of stakeholders in an interactive workshop.
- Prepare the final version of the standard based on the feedback received at the workshop.
- Develop the associated certification trademark with the help of external experts.
- Advocate to officially recognize and introduce the standard and its trademark in national certification practice and subsidy policy.
Expected results
- A national private standard for regenerative organic farming is established by 2025 which will set higher professional requirements building on the EU organic regulation, further strengthening existing quality standards and encouraging full organic conversion.
- The associated trademark will improve the market position and professional recognition of committed organic farmers, therefore motivating them to adopt sustainable regenerative practices.
Contact person
Gerda Jónász
Researcher
PhD, Agricultural policy researcher, Area of expertise: agroecology, environmental policy and agricultural policy
The implementation of the research is supported by Hungarian National Rural Network (MNVH): www.videkihalozat.eu
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