OpenLobby.EU
Explore

European Technology Platform for organic food and farming

TP Organics

TP Organics is the European Technology Platform (ETP) for organic food and farming officially recognised by the European Commission for giving input in research innovation policy and programmes.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Henri Delanghe (Head of Unit Agriculture and Rural Development)

6 Jan 2026 · Exchange of views in relation to the next EU’s Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (FP10), the future European Competitiveness Fund (ECF), and the next strategic approach for agricultural research and innovation.

Meeting with João Cotrim De Figueiredo (Member of the European Parliament)

18 Nov 2025 · Research and innovation in organic and agroecological practices

Meeting with Maxi Espeter (Cabinet of Commissioner Christophe Hansen)

14 Apr 2025 · Introductory meeting

Meeting with Alina-Stefania Ujupan (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager)

27 Mar 2023 · organic food and farming

Response to Sustainable use of pesticides – revision of the EU rules

16 Aug 2022

Agricultural intensification and the heavy use of pesticides is associated with a rapid decline in insects and other species, which is threatening not only our health, biodiversity, water, air and soils but also the climate and future food supply and therefore global food security. We urgently need a paradigm shift in food and farming towards agroecological approaches, including organic agriculture, which are working with nature rather than against it. We therefore welcome the European Commission proposal to cut pesticide use in the EU. However, the proposal should be strengthened in order to reach the needed systemic change in agriculture. A 50% reduction by 2030 is insufficient. We ask the European Commission, Council and Parliament to be much more ambitious. Agroecological food production systems increase yields, whilst protecting biodiversity, soil fertility and human health, improving drought resilience and eliminating the costs for and dependence on pesticides and synthetic fertilisers, which is also crucial in light of increasing prices. The new Regulation on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides should ensure a direct link with the Nature Restoration Law as well as the Sustainable Food System initiative since these are intrinsically linked. In line with the demand from 1.2 million citizens that support the ECI "Save Bees and Farmers", we ask the EU to act towards: -An 80% reduction of synthetic pesticides by 2030, with a system that rewards farmers for working with nature (CAP funding) and without the loopholes that allow Member States (MS) to reduce their national objective to 35%. -A full ban on the more toxic pesticides (i.e. the "Candidates for Substitution"): These should be banned at once since alternatives exist. -The regulation should include a vision for a longer term, with a full phase out of synthetic pesticides by 2035. National Action Plans should be subject to the Commission’s approval, and penalties should be prescribed for those MS who fail to reach targets. -Basic principles of agroecology for sustainable crop management should become mandatory. For instance, 5-year crop rotation should become the norm to dramatically cut pest pressure and reduce the dependence on pesticides. IPM should be very well defined. The SUR regulation should also state what IPM is not: aerial spraying, seed coating with pesticides, new genomic techniques as well as application of pesticides with so-called "precision technology" should not be considered IPM as they do not aim at reducing farmers' dependence on pesticides. -The use of pesticides should be allowed only as a last resort, and only after the preventative, mechanical and biological methods have failed to deliver the desired outcome. This should be documented by the farmers and controlled by public authorities. -A minimum of 10% of fallow land for nature will preserve valuable resources and help fight pests, by allowing the natural predators to develop in these areas. -The proposal by the European Commission of a 3m non-treated buffer zone next to sensitive areas and water courses is by far insufficient. Buffer zones leading to 0-residues outside the field should be set. -Ground water should be better protected. MS, regions and municipalities should be given the possibility to ban pesticides on aquifers to protect drinking water. -The harmonised indicators on pesticides should be reviewed, by better including their toxicity, including that to the environment. -The organic sector needs better guidance on how to deal with contamination with pesticides.
Read full response

Response to European common agricultural policy network, governance

26 Jul 2022

It is welcome that the future CAP network also covers the European Green Deal with cross-cutting CAP objectives, including environmental care, preservation of landscapes and biodiversity, and climate change action. To meet these objectives, TP Organics recommends the following action points: - To reach the EU Farm to Fork target of 25% organic farmland in Europe by 2030, knowledge exchange on organic farming and building organic agricultural knowledge and innovation systems (AKIS) are key. Strong farm advisory services and promotion of knowledge exchange are crucial for both conversion to and maintaining organic farming, as is capacity building along the supply chain for using organic practices, the adoption of which depends on farmers having access to contextualised knowledge and innovations that are applicable to the local conditions. Technical advice and information must be readily available for farmers, including in very remote areas. Building on the new Horizon Europe call "Developing EU advisory networks on organic agriculture", the European Commission should provide support for a European network of organic advisory services, strongly embedded in national or regional AKIS. This network would, inter alia, aim to improve production methods of organic farms and generally increase the standard of living of the farmers and their families and the economical sustainability of their farm operations. It should be complemented with online knowledge exchange. - The new EU FarmBook project will continuously map knowledge flows between actors and connect national AKIS through a network of facilitators/ambassadors covering 27 MS and main production sectors at EU level, including the organic sector (represented by IFOAM Organics Europe, the European umbrella organisation for organic food and farming). Ongoing capacity building and training of key actors is needed, also with regards to differences at Member State level in understanding and capacity to implement the CAP approach, in order to address asymmetries. - IFOAM Organics Europe, representing organic in European policymaking, based on the principles of organic agriculture: health, ecology, fairness, and care for already 20 years, should again get a seat in the Advisory Board/AGRI Subgroup on Innovation (assumed that it continues to exist). With almost 200 members in 34 European countries, IFOAM's work spans the entire organic food chain. - In view of the next (6th) SCAR-AKIS mandate and rolling out of the new European R&I Partnerships, collaboration with SCAR-AE and SCAR Food Systems on partnership development (in particular of the Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems Partnerships) and implementation should be intensified. - As a timely roadmap to reach the 25% target and transition towards more sustainable food and farming systems, the Organic Action Plan provides Member States with the tools to leverage the potential of organic farming. The involvement of national, regional, and local actors is vital for actions related to public procurement and the promotion and implementation of bio-districts. National capitals should implement the OAP through their national CAP Strategic Plans. As part of the Strategic Plans (articles 13 and 72), Member States should set up a dedicated budget to strengthen or set up advisory services that support existing organic farmers, new entrants, and conventional farmers willing to convert to organic agriculture by promoting knowledge exchange through farmers’ networks and on-farm research and assisting in market development. In addition, training of consultants is crucial, as there are not enough well-trained consultants in Europe. - The new Horizon Europe call "Organic farming thematic networks to compile and share knowledge ready for practice", relating to EU Organic Action Plan Actions 9 and 19, will establish and strengthen demo farm networks, with the future CAP network promoting best practices and synergies with the EIP-AGRI projects.
Read full response

Response to Communication on the Global Approach to Research, Innovation, Education and Youth

8 Apr 2021

TP Organics welcomes the European Commission’s initiative to update the current R&I international strategy. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how easily international trade can be affected, underscoring the need for more local production. Reflecting Europe’s green, digital and health-related priorities, the Agricultural Research for Development (AgR4D) agenda as well as international cooperation under Horizon Europe should focus on R&I for organic and agroecology as a transformative solution for more sustainable, climate-neutral, circular, diverse, and fair food and farming systems worldwide. Both organic and agroecology aim at redesigning food and farming systems based on a set of overlapping principles while considering local context and needs. They promote a circular approach, emphasise the importance of soil fertility and biodiversity, optimise performance by building upon natural systems rather than intensifying external inputs, and propose ways to better involve producers and citizens (e.g., direct sales and local short supply chains). When evaluating its multifunctional ecological and social benefits, agroecology frequently outperforms high-input systems (Anderson et al., 2021). With the European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork strategy, the European Commission has set ambitious targets for the EU, including 25% of agricultural land in Europe to be farmed organically, which can inspire change in other countries as well. The Farm to Fork strategy explicitly states that “the EU will support the global transition to sustainable agri-food systems through its trade policies and international cooperation instruments”. The new Organic Action Plan as comprehensive roadmap to increase organic production, consumption, and sustainability in the EU, as well as the new European Partnerships approach can equally serve as inspiration for initiatives in third countries. The candidate partnership on agroecology living labs and research infrastructures recognises the potential of agroecology to address the climate, biodiversity, environmental, economic, and social challenges we are facing, making food systems more resilient and closer to society while delivering sufficient, safe, nutritious and affordable food, respecting planetary boundaries, and rewarding farmers for the public goods they provide. According to CIRAD & AFD (Côte et al., 2019), given the scale and urgency of the challenges of global change, the majority of production methods in countries of the Global South will have to base themselves on agroecology to ensure global and local food security sustainably and become part of economic, environmental and social progress. Yet, despite the huge potential of agroecology to drive development globally, there has been consistent under-investment in R&D supporting agroecological principles and practices compared to narrower, techno-industrial and input-intensive approaches that include reduced national agricultural research funding and capacities, increased private, corporate investment and Public-Private Partnerships, often linked to the interests of large biotechnology firms. This comes with huge costs to communities (greater inequality, poverty), loss of essential biodiversity and natural resources, and reduced resilience in the face of challenges such as climate change (see e.g. Money Flows report by Biovision, IPES-Food & Institute of Development Studies; HLPE report 14). Public authorities should take a leading role in setting the priorities, based on the sustainability agenda (SDGs; EGD). Support is needed for new entrants in organic and agroecological farming. Next to R&I and training in organic and agroecological farming practices, empowering women and young people to drive transition, independent advice and opportunities for knowledge sharing among farmers should be promoted. Focus should be on ‘scaling out’ agroecology, designing transitions together with local communities as part of a broader transformation of society.
Read full response

Meeting with Maciej Golubiewski (Cabinet of Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski)

2 Feb 2021 · Input to the new Organic Action Plan

Meeting with Carlos Morais Pires (Cabinet of Commissioner Mariya Gabriel)

19 Nov 2020 · The role of organic and agroecology in Horizon Europe.

Response to Farm to Fork Strategy

16 Mar 2020

Uniting 110 members – from farmers, researchers, companies to consumers and civil society organisations active in the organic value chain – TP Organics is one of the 40 European Technology Platforms officially recognised by the European Commission. Its mission is to strengthen research & innovation for organic and other agroecological approaches. In the urgently needed transition to sustainable food and farming systems, policy makers have a crucial role to play. TP Organics welcomes that the European Commission is developing a Farm to Fork strategy as a common, integrated and holistic approach that encompasses the whole supply chain. The F2F strategy should prioritise investment for public goods, explicitly tackle climate change and engage diverse actors including civil society organisations and EU citizens in decision making. It should aim at moving towards sustainable and just food and farming systems that are efficient in their use of resources to minimise inputs and environmental impacts. However, efficiency alone will not help address all the challenges. Agri-food systems should also be consistent with the existing ecological balance, the carrying capacity of ecosystems, and the specific territorial, cultural and socio-economic contexts, and they should be based on sufficiency to allow for reductions in production and consumption while sustaining thriving communities. Organic and agroecology are leading the way in the circular economy transition, and contribute to food security and sustainable management of natural resources. Agroecology is an integrated approach that applies ecological processes and social concepts to agricultural production systems. Putting the agroecological principles into practice, the organic sector is working towards fair, environmentally conscious and healthy food and farming systems. To leverage the potential of organic and agroecology to transform our food systems, participatory research & innovation as well as effective advisory services are needed. Research & innovation should address three main areas: climate resilient, diversified farming systems; redesign of food and agricultural policies from local to EU level; and sustainable value chains for better food systems. In addition, specific research is needed to move organics forward in the context of the organic regulation. These research areas are set out in TP Organics’ new Strategic Research & Innovation Agenda (https://tporganics.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/ifoam-sria-full-version-final.pdf), which is the result of an intensive participatory process held in 2018-2019. To transition to agroecological production systems, which are knowledge intensive rather than input intensive, it is essential to establish well-funded farm advisory services that are independent from economic interests and aimed at helping farmers. Already today, organic farm advisory services are relevant and used by conventional farmers. Agriculture Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS) for organic farming must be strengthened and better connected across Member States. To accelerate the uptake of best practices and research results, social, organisational, knowledge and governance innovations must be promoted alongside technological ones. Technologies must be open source and socio-economically sustainable for farmers. Lastly, the so-called “innovation principle” must not be applied. This “better regulation tool” will delay key social, health and environmental policies and regulations, ignoring the fact that regulation is a driver of innovation for the benefit of society. It risks undermining the Precautionary Principle, and consequently social and environmental protections. For innovation to work for the public good, it must uphold human values and not harm public and environmental health by looking beyond technological fixes to the broader social and environmental impacts.
Read full response