As part of the Horizon Europe project OrganicTargets4EU, the CORE Organic Pleiades Network has launched a ROADMAP 2030 and Action Plan for 2025-2026.
As part of the Horizon Europe project OrganicTargets4EU, the CORE Organic Pleiades Network has launched a ROADMAP 2030 and Action Plan for 2025-2026. To provide recommendations for better alignment of transnational cooperation and research and innovation (R&I) investments for organics, there is a need to face a comprehensive transformation in terms of structural, funding, and thematic research barriers for R&I in organic food and farming.
The CORE Organic Network has supported transnational cooperation in organic R&I since 2024. In more recent years, the network has identified important transitions in the European context and has adopted strategic documents to address them.
Main Aspects Identified:
- Formal shift of the European Commission from the ERA-NETS mechanism to the Horizon Europe Partnerships
- Funding commitments and broader focus of partners to diverse types of sustainable agriculture (e.g., agroecology, regenerative agriculture)
- More focus on funding national activities
- Insufficient time and resources available among the network partners.
The newly published ROADMAP 2030 and Action Plan for 2025-2026 provides a timeline of important structural and thematic transformation that has occurred in terms of funding organic food and farming research from the Horizon 2020 to the Horizon Europe R&I Framework Programmes. The ROADMAP 2030 emphasizes the need for transnational cooperation to address key challenges identified among network members and in the respective national and regional organic action plans. By mapping thematic research priorities, such as building research capacity, fostering knowledge exchange, and addressing the complexities of organic transitions, the document sets the stage for a more coordinated and efficient approach to research and innovation in the organic sector.
The accompanying Action Plan for 2025-2026 outlines the immediate steps the network will take to implement and work towards the ROADMAP 2030’s vision.
Securing Continuity in R&I Investments for Development of the Organic Sector
The Action Plan 2025-2026 contains the transnational cooperation recommendations that the CORE Organic partners have already started to put into practice and aim to implement beyond 2026:
- Participation in European Joint Programming with a focus on increasing research funding for organic food and farming (OFF) on all scales: European, national, and regional.
- Expanding and involving new participants in the CO network (e.g., European funding bodies on national and regional level, public funders funding the private sector, etc.)
- Aligning National Organic Action plans and identified common research priorities to ensure the CO Network’s alignment with national R&I funding for organics and among network partners (Interstellar Tracker).
- Aligning partners’ efforts in organic research, policy, and funding towards reducing the national and regional legal and procedural barriers in relation to organic R&I investments (e.g., by attending internal and external events, capacity-building visits such as the Biofach trade fair for organic food)
- Aligning understanding of current funding commitments that follow a broader focus towards diverse types of sustainable agriculture (e.g., agroecology, regenerative farming, nature inclusive farming) that are often oriented towards funding national activities.
- Participation in and active contribution to new TP Organics “Strategic Innovation and Research Agenda” (SRIA) covering the organic sector’s R&I vision until 2031.
- Participation in and active contribution to the development of OrganicTargets4EU joint policy recommendations towards EU policy actors
About CORE Organic Pleiades Network
The CORE Organic Pleiades Network, covering 27 countries and regions, is focused on increasing R&I funding and preparing for new Horizon Europe funding opportunities. The network aim to overcome institutional barriers, enhance coordination, and ultimately strengthen the organic sector’s contribution to sustainable agriculture across Europe. Read more about the ROADMAP 2030 & ACTION PLAN 2024-2025 here: ROADMAP 2030 and Action Plan for 2025-2026.
Authors Of The ROADMAP 2030 and Action Plan for 2025-2026: Ivana Trkulja, Anna Vaarst, and Mine Lindemann (AU-ICROFS, Denmark)
Contributors: CORE Organic Management Board Members: Astrid Willener (FOAG, CH), Stéphane Bellon (NRAE, FR), Ivana Cavoski (CIHEAM Bari, IT), Ambra De Simone (IFOAM Organics Europe), Maria Gernert (TP Organics).
