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Improving yields in organic cropping systems

Abstract

With the European Green Deal, the Farm-to-Fork and Biodiversity Strategy, the EU aims to achieve the target of at least 25% of the EU’s agricultural land under organic farming by 2030. This means tripling the current organic farm area, with estimated 700,000 farmers expected to enter the organic sector. One of the obstacles hindering conversion to organic farming is the lower yields per hectare grown under organic conditions as compared with those produced under conventional farming. Therefore, improving organic yields is a key challenge of the organic sector, which however needs to be achieved on the basis of the principles of organic farming

Against this background, the overall aim of the project is to contribute to a sustainable increase in yields in organic cropping systems through a comprehensive and structured compilation and evaluation of existing knowledge, devising sustainable impact strategies relevant to stakeholders and policy. The project will set up a European-wide network of testing, experimentation and demonstration sites from 11 regions / countries, representing a wide range of pedo-climatic and structural conditions. It will connect actors from science and practice to jointly reflect on organic yield increase strategies. It will draw recommendations for the future research agenda and development of EU policies relevant for organic production. The outcomes of the project will be widely available and disseminated to actors within and beyond the organic community.

Financing/ Donor
  • European Commission
  • State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI)
(Research) Program
  • European Commission, Horizon Europe
Project partners
  • Forschungsinstitut für Biologischen Landbau (FiBL Europe), Belgium
  • CONSULAI, Consultoria Agroindustrial Lda, Portugal
  • ECORNATURASI SPA, Italy
  • Eesti Maaülikool, Estonia
  • Institut fir Biologesch Landwirtschaft an Agrarkultur Luxembourg ASBL, Luxembourg
  • Innovationscenter for Okologisk Landbrug P/S, Denmark
  • International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements European Union Regional Group, Sweden
  • Institut Technique de l'Agriculture Biologique, France
  • Instytut Uprawy Nawożenia i Gleboznawstwa, Państwowy Instytut Badawczy, Poland
  • Ökológiai Mezőgazdasági Kutatóintézet Kozhasznu Nonprofit Kft, Hungary
  • Potsdam-Institut für Klimafolgenforschung e.V., Germany
  • Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet, Sweden
  • Scuola Superiore di Studi Universitari e di Perfezionamento S Anna, Italy
  • Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut, Bundesforschungsinstitut für Ländliche Räume, Wald und Fischerei, Germany
  • Universitat de Barcelona, Spain
  • Universita di Pisa, Italy
  • Forschungsinstitut für Biologischen Landbau (FiBL Schweiz), Switzerland
FiBL project leader/ contact
FiBL project staff
Role of FiBL

FiBL Europe: Project coordination
FiBL Switzerland: Project partners

Further information
FiBL project number 90551, 35262
Date modified 20.03.2024
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