15/10/2020

An Organic Action Plan: Commission roadmap and public consultation

It is possible to boost organic production and consumption through multiple policies. The Organic Action Plan (OAP) is one of these tools, providing a framework for holistically integrating organic-related policies and initiatives in a broader context. This key tool sets objectives, targets and actions regarding organic agriculture. Stakeholders have the possibility to comment on different parts of the content and development strategy that the European Commission is envisaging:

  • The roadmap was published on 4 September, outlining a general idea of the content of the new OAP (deadline to comment was on the 23 October);
  • The public consultation on the OAP consists of a questionnaire and presents a possibility for all stakeholders to participate and contribute to shaping the new OAP. The consultation will be open until 27 November.

The roadmap recognizes organic agriculture is a well-known and EU regulated food production system. It acknowledges that the OAP should be a tool to reaching the target of 25% of EU agricultural land farmed under organic practices by 2030. To reach this ambitious target, it is crucial to ensure the use of policy instruments in a coherent and integrated manner.

The publication of the new OAP was foreseen in 2020, but will likely be postponed to the beginning of 2021.

The organic movement’s feedback

As IFOAM Organics Europe, we provided feedback to the roadmap for the organic action plan and welcomed the holistic approach laid out in the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies.

Key points to improve the OAP according to IFOAM Organics Europe:

  • Include quantitative, specific, and time-bound objectives with a dedicated budget;
  • Facilitate actions by all Member States including national, regional and local levels;
  • Mandatory targets for organic Green Public Procurement (GPP) supported by promotion policies;
  • CAP that combines conversion promotion, rewards organic farmers for their contribution to public goods through maintenance, with market and sector development and structuration of supply chains;
  • Enable an upscaling of inputs (especially natural substances used for plant protection , organic seeds and organic varieties developed through organic plant breeding programmes) in sufficient quality and quantity;
  • Dedicate at least 25% of the budget for food and farming research and innovation to organic;
  • Mid-term review of the implementation of the organic action plan and evaluation how to close existing gaps.

We will update our members with the organic movement’s feedback to the public consultation. You can provide direct feedback to the public consultation on the EU Commission’s website.

Please contact [email protected] for questions on the Organic Action Plan. Do note that we prioritise our members’ requests.

 
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