Information needs and thematic priorities of the organic food and farming sector in France

Summary

A large survey was performed among a wide range of actors covering the areas of experimentation and research, processing and distribution, extension services, education and administration, all more or less committed in OF&F, to identify their information needs. This survey highlights the need for increased information dissemination. This analysis identifies four different publics with specific needs. Professional experience, degree of commitment to OF&F and professional category are structuring variables. Legal and economic information on food quality and processing is generally of interest to senior actors who have the lowest information needs. On the contrary, junior actors actively involved in the developmental and educational aspects of OF&F have the greatest information needs over a wide range of themes. Thematic priorities are also different depending on professional categories and types of information. While technicians and farmers call for scientific and technical information on plant production issues, only young farmers in OF&F give priority to animal production issues.
The dataset must be further analysed but it already provides insights for recommendations on information dissemination and research priority setting.