Transition to sustainable farming and food systems
Agroecology and organic farming are approaches with proofed and recognised potential to accelerate the transition to sustainable farming and food systems and to contribute to achieving the objectives set in the Vision for Agriculture and Food and in the EU Action Plan for the Development of Organic production.
Compared to more conventional approaches, agroecology and organic farming place more emphasis on crop diversification and soil management to reduce the use of external inputs. They rely on interactions between plants and/or animals and other organisms, above and below ground, and increase the provision of ecosystem services, which are highly context-specific and not yet well known, such as:
- pollination,
- biological pest control,
- nutrient cycling and
- hydrological services.
Importantly, these approaches have the potential to simultaneously address the social, environmental, climate, and economic challenges of the agricultural sector, and increase its resilience, by seeking cooperation with other parts of the food and non-food supply chains to develop solutions and business models adapted to context-specific challenges.
Research in action
Advancing agroecology and organic farming in Europe
EU-funded research and innovation (R&I) projects are helping find solutions to specific challenges of organic farming, including through agroecological approaches. These initiatives are advancing our understanding of how to practically implement these approaches and assess their environmental, climate, economic, and social advantages. By enhancing knowledge and providing context-specific solutions and tools, research plays a pivotal role in supporting Europe's agroecology transition.
Diversified farming
EU-funded research is helping to achieve the full potential of diversified cropping systems, demonstrating that crop diversification can increase productivity while decreasing the need for chemical inputs.
The following projects offer advice on crop combinations and management, including alternatives for pest and weed control:
The following projects are helping us understand how agroecological approaches like agroforestry, can offer an opportunity for land use to become part of the solution to climate change and land degradation, combined with the delivery of other ecosystem services, such as soil health:
Organic farming
EU-funded research is helping to boost organic farming in Europe, in line with the EU Action Plan on the Development of Organic production. Various projects are tackling sector-specific challenges.
Projects such as the following are identifying promising phase-out pathways for some of the contentious inputs in organic farming and promoting knowledge exchange among farmers, farm advisers and scientists which is a key objective of EU-funded research on organic farming:
EU-funded R&I is also addressing the specific needs of livestock production in organic conditions.
- the project PPILOW has developed solutions to improve animal welfare in organic farming.
The organic sector is also addressed in several other EU-funded research projects focusing on a wide range of aspects.
Knowledge sharing and advice
Boosting conversion to and implementation of organic farming practices requires solid mechanisms for knowledge sharing and advice among farmers and with other actors of the agri-food chain. Research and innovation are supporting this through several projects, which include:
- OK-Net Arable which set up the Organic Farm Knowledge (OFK) platform to make information accessible to farmers;
- OK-Net EcoFeed which has helped organic farmers move towards using 100% organic feed;
- OH-FINE is establishing a pan-European organic farming learning community;
- OrganicAdviceNet is establishing a network of 1 000 organic advisers across Europe.
The importance of ecosystems
Research plays a crucial role in equipping European farmers with tools and knowledge to leverage ecosystem services through sustainable agricultural approaches.
Developing innovative tools to help farmers capitalise on nature and biodiversity and integrate biodiversity into farming practices was at the core of the following research projects, such as:
Research has helped identify sustainable systems based on permanent grasslands through projects such as Super-G.
The Console, Effect and Contracts2.0 projects have developed tools to make payments-for-results schemes more attractive to farmers.
Socio-economic benefits and challenges
Identifying the drivers behind the development of ecological farming, and analysing its socio-economic benefits and challenges, have been at the core of LIFT and UNISECO research projects.
Coordination and alignment of EU and national R&I priorities
The EU is also supporting the coordination of European transnational research in agroecology, organic food and farming, notably through the ERA-Net Core Organic and the Partnership Agroecology.
The co-funded partnership Agroecology, launched in 2024, further reinforces the development of a robust R&I system for agroecology and organic farming in Europe.
Funding opportunities
Actions under other programmes
EU CAP Network
- Agroforestry: woody vegetation
- Non-chemical weed management
- Biodiversity on farmland
- Carbon storage in arable farming
- Mixed farming systems
- Nutrient recycling
- Organic farming
- Permanent grassland
- Enhancing the biodiversity on farmland through high-diversity landscape features
- Workshop ‘Cropping for the future: networking for crop rotation and crop diversification’
- Workshop ‘Conversion to organic farming’
