Developing an organic research agenda with stakeholder involvement promotes increased relevance in research

Summary

A Swedish organic research agenda was developed by EPOK, Centre for Organic Food and Farming, in an open process together with interested parties in the food chain. The main aim of the research agenda was to provide a well-supported document which would enable decision makers and research funding bodies prioritise future research calls. The agenda took on the most important future challenges and knowledge needs of the organic food chain on the road towards increased sustainability, efficiency and environmental and social benefits. Three cross-cutting themes were identified to describe the overall challenges that face organic agriculture and the organic food chain: Robust systems, Added value for the environment and society and Competitiveness and thriving rural communities. Based of the three overarching themes five prioritised focal areas were pointed out in the research agenda: 1) High productivity with maintained sustainability, 2) Innovative production systems with many functions, 3) Closed-loop cycles and renewable resources, 4) Sustainable enterprises and market development, 5) Healthy food with added value. Involving stakeholders in forming the research agenda promoted early interactions and cooperation between actors within organic agricultural research. Furthermore the involvement of numerous stakeholders enabled a broad view of the need for new knowledge in the organic food chain, from primary production and marketing questions to the performance of organic agriculture in respect of beneficial contribution to environment and society. A dialogue with researchers and agricultural research funding bodies was an important part of the process forming the agenda. The consequence of this cooperation was that the agenda has been used as a basis of a number of research calls.