OK-Net Arable – Organic Knowledge Network Arable

Start/ending dates	Sunday, 1 March, 2015 to Wednesday, 28 February, 2018
Budget	€ 2,185,377.50
Project acronym / Project code	OK-Net Arable
Status	Active
Contact e-mail	bram.moeskops@ifoam-eu.org
Website	OK-Net Arable
Keywords	crop rotation non-chemical weed control organic farming crop variety non-chemical pest control

Project name (English):

Description (original language):

Organic farming in the EU has recorded substantial growth over the last decade, both in terms of production and market demand. It is a productive form of agriculture which combines food production with care for the environment. However, concerns have been raised whether organic farming is also productive enough given the scarcity of natural resources and expected increases in food demand.

The overall aim of ‘OK-Net Arable’ is to increase productivity and quality in organic arable cropping by improving the exchange of knowledge among farmers, farm advisers and scientists.

To achieve this, 'OK-Net Arable' has three specific objectives:

To synthesize the scientific and practical knowledge available in the area of organic arable farming and to identify the best methodologies for exchanging this knowledge. Based on this easily understandable communication material will be developed.
To create a European network of farmer innovation groups. This network will allow farmers to exchange experiences and provide feedback on the communication material developed by the project.
To create a platform for knowledge exchange in organic farming, offering evidence-based communication material as well as facilitating farmer-to-farmer learning. This platform will be a virtual meeting place for farmers, advisers and researchers all around Europe that would otherwise not be able to meet.

Concrete problems addressed by project (original language):

In the EU, 5.7% of the agricultural area is under organic management. This area represents almost a quarter of the world’s organically managed agricultural land. The annual growth rates of the organic sector in Europe are the highest in the world. Organic agriculture improves soil fertility, strengthens health of crops and livestock, increases agro-biodiversity and minimises negative impacts on the environment.

Organic agriculture may however have lower yields than conventional farming. Scientific studies report a yield difference of 20 to 25% for arable crops in temperate zones. In addition and depending on regions and management practices, organic yields vary a lot more from farm to farm compared to yields in conventional farming. The reason is that organic agriculture works as a complex system and organic farmers therefore need a very high level of knowledge which is not always available to them. Studies and experience show that only the best management practices result in yields comparable to those of conventional farms. This is for example demonstrated by the fact that the longer a farm is managed organically (and hence the more experienced the farmer), the smaller is the yield difference with conventional farms.

But knowledge exchange between organic farmers and technicians remains limited. In addition, the knowledge gap between organic farmers across the EU is considerable. Therefore, promoting knowledge exchange and farmer-to-farmer learning has significant potential to increase productivity in organic arable cropping

Objectives (original language):

1) To synthesize the scientific and practical knowledge available in the area of organic arable farming and to identify the best methodologies for exchanging this knowledge. Based on this easily understandable communication material will be developed.

2) To create a European network of farmer innovation groups. This network will allow farmers to exchange experiences and provide feedback on the communication material developed by the project.

3) To create a platform for knowledge exchange in organic farming, offering evidence-based communication material as well as facilitating farmer-to-farmer learning. This platform will be a virtual meeting place for farmers, advisers and researchers all around Europe that would otherwise not be able to meet.

Target group (original language):

Farmers, farm advisers and researchers all over Europe

Partners:

Organization/Institution name (original language)
IFOAM EU, Aarhus University, AIAB, BioForum Vlaanderen, Bioland Beratung, Bioselena, Con Marche Bio, Estonian Organic Farming Foundation, EUFRAS, FiBL (CH), FiBL Deutschland, FiBL Österreich, IAMB, ITAB, ÖMKI, Organic Research Centre, SEGES.

Funding source:

Horizon 2020