EU-funded researchers work across the country and sector to help organic farming, support farmers and promote shape policies, achieving the target of 25% of European organic farmland and to support a significant increase in organic farming by 2030.
From flashy oat lattes to organically grown produce at local markets, organic food has moved from the niche to the mainstream. However, European farmers are weighing the complex rules and costs of green farming, and are struggling to meet demand.
In 2020, the European Commission set a bold goal. By 2030, 25% of EU farmland was under organic control. However, by 2023, only 11% of the farmland had been converted to organic.
To bridge that gap, EU-funded researchers, 10 EU countries and Swiss farmers and policy experts are working to identify barriers, test solutions and shape policies for the more resilient organic sector. Their research collaboration, Organictargets4EU, is running from 2022 to February 2026.
However, policies alone do not plant or harvest seeds. For farmers, adapting land and business models to organic standards creates uncertainty and requires determining whether risks will be rewarded.
Shifts built on policy, markets and trust
“Farmers need a reason to even consider becoming organic, and they need confidence that it is viable,” says Dr. Nicolas Lampkin, Policy Work Package Leader at the Thünen Institute in Germany, a research institute that advises governments on issues related to agriculture, forestry, fisheries, rural development and sustainability.
That confidence depends on support policies, stable markets and accessible knowledge, he explained.
“If even one of them is missing, the farmers will hehe. In France and Germany, there is a conversion rate. [to organic] Interest is rapidly growing in Greece and Portugal, with improved policy support in Portugal. ”
In Southern Europe, attractive subsidies and better advisory support helped more farmers commit. However, conversion is a very personal decision. Some farmers are worried about finding buyers for organic products or being exposed if demand decreases.
Organic farming also may require more manual labor, different machinery and new skills, especially in the early days. Without a strong network and locally adapted advice, many feel unprepared.
Lumpkin estimates that 16-18% of organic farmland could become more realistic by 2030, but it argues that the target has already set a valuable move.
From Policy to Field
To turn your strategy into a viable solution, you need more than targeting. Collaboration is required at the ground level. That’s why the Arganictargets4EU team is testing solutions directly with farmers.
Eight “practical partners” – organizations in Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy and Romania – run small local language workshops to explore real-world opportunities. In Austria and Portugal, where organic farmland already account for more than 25%, researchers are studying the success factors for replicating them elsewhere.
In Germany, researchers emphasize that drinking water protection agencies support organic farming in the basin region.
The results of the workshop will be fed into a “practice summary” or a public database of farm-friendly summaries in accessible languages.
Retention is also a priority. “We can’t focus solely on new conversions,” emphasized Ambra de Simone, Associate Manager of Research and Innovation at IFOAM Organics Europe, which coordinates the research team’s work.
“It’s equally important to keep current organic farmers in the system.”
Follow-up clinics address real-life challenges, from renewing certifications to diversifying the market, ensuring experienced farmers don’t go back to traditional ways.
Research, innovation, broader vision
However, local solutions are just part of the picture. To promote change across the continent, the Organictargets4EU team is strengthening cross-border research and policy links.
Through a core organic network led by Ivana Trkulja of Organic Food Systems (ICROFS) at Aarhus University in Denmark, the project connects with national funders, ministries, sectoral organizations and researchers.
“Organic agriculture is innovation and knowledge-intensive and requires ongoing research funding and support, both at the national and European level,” explained Trkulja.
She emphasized that organic is part of a wider change in agriculture. “Organic agriculture is not a trend, but a long-term commitment to agriculture transformation built on collaboration and innovation across Europe for 20 years.”
Future scenarios
This ambition applies to organic farming as well. The EU says it wants to see a “significant increase” in organic farming by 2030, but growth appears to have stagnated after a 60% increase between 2015 and 2020.
Through EU-wide reviews and stakeholder workshops, the Organictargets4EU team discovered key barriers to organic fish farming, including costs, bureaucracy and weak incentives. The team investigated various scenarios and supply chain changes to support the growth of organic farming and guided future policies.
For a 25% organic farming goal, the team maps four scenarios on how Europe meets its targets. Some are driven by EU or national environmental policies, others are driven by market demand and grassroots pressure.
“These scenarios help us think through trade-offs and predict which policies will succeed under a variety of conditions,” De Simone said. Their insights will be fed into the draft policy recommendations presented to the European Commission in the second half of 2025.
As the organic European landscape continues to evolve, the focus of the initiative has shifted from action and research to creating lasting legacy.
That final meeting will be held from November 4th to 5th, 2025 at TP Organics Organic Innovation Days in Brussels. It coincides with the following discussion of the Common Agricultural Policy and the EU’s Organic Action Plan.
“We have been working on the European Union’s organic policy for decades,” Lumpkin said. “Now is the time to turn the data around.”
Whether 25% of targets are met or not, Arganictargets4EU lays the foundation for a stronger, better connected organic sector built on shared knowledge, smart policies and cross-border collaboration.
The research in this article was funded by the EU’s Horizon programme. The views of interviewees do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission.
This article was originally published in Horizon, the EU Research and Innovation Magazine.
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