OrganicTargets4EU – Boosting organic farming and aquaculture to reach the Farm-to-Fork targets
The overall aim of OrganicTargets4EU is to support the achievement of the organic goals set out in the Farm to Fork strategy by identifying the key drivers and barriers affecting the development of the organic sector and developing possible scenarios to achieve them.
The Farm to Fork strategy aims to increase organic farming by covering at least 25% of EU farmland by 2030. The project will assess the key drivers and barriers shaping the organic sector to create possible scenarios for achieving this goal. Increasing organic production is a question of well-functioning markets, sound knowledge, and adequate investment in research and innovation. The project will analyse the potential for increasing organic farmland and the socio-economic impacts of increasing commodity production, value chains, and markets. It will assess the drivers of demand for organic food, support extension services, identify knowledge gaps and promote the exchange of scientific and practice-oriented knowledge, and coordinate investments in organic knowledge and innovation.
ÖMKi is involved in the following tasks:
ÖMKi is responsible for the Knowledge Exchange and Capacity Building work package, which aims to assess the knowledge needs of the organic sector, expand the knowledge base, formulate recommendations and promote online knowledge exchange, as well as increase the availability of advisory services and capacity building. To this end, Communities of Practice (CoP) on organic transition will be established in the focus countries.
In this context, the ÖMKi will assess the gaps and opportunities in the organic farming knowledge and innovation system in the 8 focus countries with the help of experts and key stakeholders, who will be involved in targeted workshops in each focus country to: i.) facilitate mutual learning and initiate the transformation of existing advisory services; ii.) initiating new transition and ecological advisory services in countries where they are not yet available; iii.) encouraging the development of possible financing mechanisms and public-private partnerships and the expansion of advisory services. The workshop discussions will result in an action plan and policy recommendations to strengthen organic advisory services.