In order to create the foundation for the required policy framework, the BMEL has designed a strategic process to develop its Strategy for the Future of Organic Farming into a 2030 Organic Strategy. Federal Minister Cem Özdemir presented the strategy on 16 November 2023.

Organic farming is a particularly resource-efficient, environmentally sound and sustainable form of agriculture that contributes decisively to the conservation of species diversity and biodiversity in general. Organic farming's system-oriented approach usually generates lower greenhouse gas emissions per area unit (CO₂ equivalent per hectare) than conventional agricultural production. Organic farming does not use mineral fertilisers and hence needs less fossil energy, in turn providing a greater degree of autonomy. Moreover, the organic farming sector has enormous potential to contribute to humus formation and conservation. In livestock husbandry, the sector is a standard-setter in terms of animal welfare. For the production of organic foods, EU law only grants manufacturers a very limited scope for using additives and processing aids. For further information, please refer to the relevant study by the Thünen Institute (available in German only).

What was the aim of the strategic process?

The aim of the process is to further develop the Strategy for the Future of Organic Farming and to draw up a 2030 Organic Farming Strategy that creates a suitable framework and removes obstacles along the entire value chain – i.e. ranging from input provision to production, retail and consumption – in order to achieve the goal of having 30 percent of farmland under organic farming by 2030.

What is the starting point for the strategic process?

The Strategy for the Future of Organic Farming was developed in a joint approach over a period of two years before it was presented to the public in February 2017. It aims to provide the organic farming and food sector with new impetus for growth. It contains five lines of action and 24 action strategies.

Over the past few years, the measures outlined in the strategy have been continuously implemented and further developed. Information on the current state of implementation is available here and here.

Key financing instruments for implementing the Strategy for the Future of Organic Farming include the Federal Organic Farming Scheme (BÖL) and the Protein Crop Strategy (EPS). A new strategy will be able to build on these activities.

How did the BMEL shape the strategic process?

The BMEL was in charge of organising the strategic process. It was supported by the Thünen Institute, with the head of its Institute of Organic Farming, Professor Dr Gerold Rahmann, acting as coordinator. The Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE) provided further assistance, supported by the offices in charge of implementing the BÖL and the EPS.

The advisory committee of the Federal Organic Farming Scheme (BGA BÖL)/advisory group for the Strategy for the Future of Organic Farming (BGK ZöL), which consisted of representatives from the scientific community, trade associations, the consulting sector and the processing sector, provided the BMEL with expert advice to help it implement the federal programme coherently and shape the strategic process. On 4 July 2022, for instance, the BGA/BGK submitted a strategic paper on how to achieve a 30% share of organically farmed land and make the German agri-food sector more resilient (“Strategiepapier zur Erreichung von 30 Prozent Bio für eine resiliente Land- und Ernährungswirtschaft in Deutschland”, available in German only). Although this paper had to be drafted within an extremely short period, it was a cornerstone for the design of the strategy

A parallel process, focusing on several fields of activity, was set up to coordinate with the various stakeholders and enable all steps to be taken for a swift development of the strategy:

Field of activity: "Revision of lines of action and measures adopted under the Strategy for the Future of Organic Farming – initial conclusions"

Even if the measures adopted under the Strategy for the Future have brought about change in the structure of the industry, the current political, economic and social conditions differ considerably from those prevailing at the time the strategy was designed.

It was therefore essential to review the five lines of action and the 24 measures of the Strategy for the Future of Organic Farming that were derived in 2017 to see if they remain crucial for the industry’s development. This led to questions about whether it might be necessary to redefine priorities, close gaps in the implementation of measures or introduce new measures in the respective lines of action.

This evaluation also took account of the results of the stocktaking conference held in 2019. This conference brought together approx. 150 experts to evaluate the implementation status of the measures adopted under the Strategy for the Future and discuss approaches to developing and adjusting measures. The evaluation also incorporated insights gained from discussions with individual experts and expert panels or “excellence teams”. More information on the excellence teams is provided further below.

Field of activity: "Revision of lines of action and measures with a view to designing a national strategy"

With a view to the “2030 Organic Farming Strategy – a National Strategy for 30% Organic Production in the Farming and Food Sector by 2030”, it was also investigated whether new interministerial lines of action should be taken into consideration in addition to adapting the catalogue of measures of the existing lines of action.

This assessment was based inter alia on an analysis of the EU Action Plan for the Development of Organic Production, the member states’ action plans and the federal states’ action plans. Suggestions from the different government departments will also be considered at an early stage.

Field of activity: "Inter-departmental networking"

In order for the “2030 Organic Farming Strategy – a National Strategy for 30% Organic Production in the Farming and Food Sector by 2030” to be developed, it was also necessary to sound out the other ministries on what measures could substantially contribute to the expansion of organic farming by 2030. Against this backdrop, the BMEL established an interministerial working group (IMAG) at the level of the heads of divisions, which it coordinates itself.

The IMAG assembled for the first time on 8 July 2022. It brought together representatives from the Federal Ministries for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), of Justice (BMJ), of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS), of Health (BMG), for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV), and for Housing, Urban Development and Building (BMWSB), as well as from the Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Procurement and the Federal Chancellery. Additional talks followed.

Field of activity: "Participatory involvement"

It is one of the BMEL’s major objectives to closely integrate all relevant stakeholders into the strategic process and make the process itself as transparent as possible. Therefore, regular talks on the strategic process were held with industry, the federal states, science and at parliamentary level.

In addition to that, this platform offered continuous updates on the current state of play in the ongoing discussions and provided an opportunity to participate.

For the BIOFACH trade fair in February 2023, for example, a discussion forum was created that gave all interested parties the chance to reflect and consult with each other on interim results and on an initial draft of the “2030 Organic Farming Strategy – a National Strategy for 30% Organic Production in the Farming and Food Sector by 2030”. A second round of discussions took place at the BMEL Sustainability Conference in May 2023.

What are excellence teams and what is the focus of their work?

In the excellence teams, around 30 experts from the organic sector, science, the federal states, government departments, the BMEL, the BLE and the Thünen Institute deliberated on selected focus topics. Their work aimed to develop concrete proposals for measures to strengthen the percentage of organic food in away-from-home catering, build and expand organic value chains, foster research on organic production and implement educational content regarding organic farming in vocational training along the entire value chain. These proposals, insofar as they had been submitted by early summer 2023, were taken into consideration in the development of the “2030 Organic Farming Strategy – a National Strategy for 30% Organic Production in the Farming and Food Sector by 2030”.

Excellence team on away-from-home catering

An excellence team addressed issues related to increasing the share of organic food in away-from-home catering. At the kick-off event on 22 November 2022, discussed these issues in a four-hour virtual meeting.

In small groups, the team focused on the following questions:

• What are the most urgent challenges in increasing the share of organic food in away-from-home catering?
• What lines of action and measures can be derived from these challenges for the future Federal Government strategy?
• What other actors need to be involved?

Topics mentioned in these talks referred to the following lines of action: collection of market data, customer communication, networking and enhancement of synergies, advanced training and advice, production and procurement, labelling, controls and certification, catering systems and nutrition, as well as awarding of contracts/calls for tenders.

Following the meeting, small groups worked out concrete measures for several lines of action, including awarding of contracts/calls for tenders (with the sub-topics of labelling, controls, certification, market data collection), advanced training and advice (with the sub-topic of customer communication), and production and procurement (with the sub-topic of networking and enhancement of synergies).

In the meeting on 10 January 2023, the outcomes of this in-depth review will be presented and submitted to all participants for discussion.

Excellence team on organic value chains

Another excellence team is focusing on the promotion of organic value chains. The kick-off event for this team was held on 24 November 2022, also in a four-hour virtual meeting format that brought together 26 participants.

In line with the excellence team on away-from-home catering, small groups discussed the following key question

• What are the most urgent challenges in building and expanding organic value chains?
• What lines of action and measures can be derived from these challenges for the future strategy?
• What other actors need to be involved?

The discussion centred on aspects regarding the lines of action of market data overviews, information on the added value of organic products/communication strategy for the organic farming sector, networking between different value-chain actors, education and advice, processing and the craft sector, as well as support and funding.

Here, too, smaller groups elaborated suggestions for concrete measures in the follow-up to the meeting, namely on the lines of action of processing and the craft sector (with the sub-topic of market data overviews) and networking between different value-chain actors (with the sub-topic of information on the added value of organic products/communication strategy on organic farming).

In the meeting on 17 January 2023, the outcomes were presented to the whole team and discussed.

Excellence team on research

As an introductory event to the 16th scientific conference on organic farming that will take place at the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture in Frick, Switzerland, a workshop on the topic of “25% organic farming and more – what kind of research do we need to meet the goal?” was held on 7 March 2023.

There were discussions with representatives from the scientific community, the agricultural industry, the consulting sector and administration on the question of how to shape future research and research structures so as to underpin the expansion of organic farming practices. As there were no restrictions regarding the circle of participants, this brought a new meaning to the term “excellence team”.

What was discussed at the BIOFACH plenary meeting on the further development of the Strategy for the Future of Organic Farming?

The first milestones on the path towards a “2030 Organic Farming Strategy – a National Strategy for 30% Organic Production in the Farming and Food Sector by 2030” were presented to and discussed with roughly 150 physical participants and with others taking part via the BioFach livestream in February 2023. State Secretary Bender introduced the forum by outlining the BMEL’s political guidelines on the 30% organic farmland goal. Dr Karl Kempkens, Head of the Division for the Organic Food Sector at the BMEL, presented the current state of development of the ZöL. Thomas Voß, business director of the LWL hospitals of Münster and Lengerich and member of the excellence team on organic food in away-from-home catering, and Isabella Krause, Naturamus GmbH and member of the excellence team on building and expanding organic value chains, each presented their team’s proposed measures. Subsequently, the participants had the opportunity to debate the measures and introduce further suggestions into the process.

What was discussed during the WITA workshop on “25% organic farming and more – what kind of research do we need to meet the goal?”?

During the scientific conference on organic farming (WITA) in March 2023, roughly 120 stakeholders from practice, administration and advisory services discussed what research topics were relevant and how research and research structures should be shaped going forward in order to promote the expansion of organic farming. Dr Karl Kempkens, Head of the Division for the Organic Food Sector at the BMEL, presented the current state of development of the ZöL. Dr Christopher Brock from the VÖP association for practical organic research (Verbund Ökologische Praxisforschung) opened the workshop with his talk on impetus for practical research and Stefan Lange, research coordinator at the Thünen Institute, held a brief talk on the current research structures. Following these talks, the following topics were discussed in smaller groups:

• Research structures – general/funding-specific
• Knowledge transfer – advisory services, networking between stakeholders, consumer communication
• Environmental and social services of organic farming and transformation
• Quality and safety of organic produce
• Nutrition, consumer expectations and away-from-home catering
• Statistics, processing and retail
• Poultry and pigs: husbandry, animal health and welfare, feeding and breeding
• Ruminants: grassland/grazing, land use, husbandry, animal health and welfare
• Crop cultivation, nutrition and health, incl. soils, plant breeding systems
• Climate adaptation and climate stewardship in organic farming

During the subsequent panel discussion, the participants had the opportunity to debate the proposals from the smaller groups and to introduce additional aspects into the process.

An extensive report on the results of the WITA workshop is available here.

What was discussed at the forum entitled “30% organic farming – what does it take?” at the BMEL Sustainability Conference?

Six potential lines of action and thirty measure proposals for a 2030 Organic Farming Strategy were presented by Prof Gerold Rahmann, Head of the Thünen Institute of Organic Farming in the “Farmers’ House” at Schloss Kirchberg an der Jagst castle. The proposals were subsequently discussed together with Peter Hauk, Minister of Food, Rural Areas and Consumer Protection of the state of Baden-Württemberg, Anja Hradetzky, organic farmer from Brandenburg, Prof Carola Strassner, Head of the department for ecotrophology and facility management, at Fachhochschule Münster university of applied sciences, Tina Andres, Chair of the Organic Food Industry Federation, and Walter Dübner, Head of the Directorate for Organic Food Sector, Agricultural Production, Horticulture at the BMEL. The audience also took the opportunity to engage in a lively exchange.

When was the 2030 Organic Strategy presented, and what’s next?

Following the work done by the excellence teams on organic food in away-from-home catering and on organic value chains as well as the discussions on research questions held within the scope of the 16th scientific conference on organic farming, further consultations were conducted with the relevant industry sector, the federal states, the ministries and in Parliament.

Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir presented the 2030 Organic Strategy to the public on 16 November 2023. Details of the strategy are available here.

The BMEL will continue to report on the implementation of the 2030 Organic Strategy. An interim evaluation is scheduled for 2026, and the final evaluation for 2030.

Released 22. Dec 2023 as basetext