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Report2021Open access

Farm to Fork Strategy : implications and possibilities for organic farming in Sweden and at SLU

Pia, Chiara; Röös, Elin

Abstract

The focus of the EU Farm to Fork Strategy is on the redesign of the food system and environmental sustainability, as opposed to the Swedish National Food Strategy priority of increased agricultural production. Sweden has the possibility to realize the Farm to Fork Strategy goals, but when it comes to food systems redesign, more efforts will be needed. Here SLU can play a major role in supporting national policymaking. The Farm to Fork Strategy paints an ambitious plan for the future of the European Union’s (EU) food systems and has many similarities with the Swedish ambitions, which are mainly represented in the National Food Strategy. At the same time, there are several differences between the two strategies, such as the focus of Farm to Fork Strategy on environmental sustainability and system redesign, as opposed to the National Food Strategy priority of creating growth, increased agricultural production and rural employment. If the Farm to Fork Strategy were to set its quantitative targets at country level, such as halving of pesticides and antimicrobials, Sweden would probably not be able to meet most of them, as it already performs better than most countries in the European Union. Regarding organic farming, Sweden has even higher ambitions for 2030, than the Farm to Fork Strategy, Sweden aims for 30 procent of farmland area in organic production in 2030. To reach the 2030 organics goal, Sweden bets on the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) instrument – the eco-scheme and National Food Strategy action plans to implement additional legislation and supportive actions, such as consumer information campaigns, education of all actors in the food chain, and increased exports. Nevertheless, the core of the Farm to Fork Strategy is a food systems redesign, which requires more comprehensive policies. Sweden could take a leading role in the European Union by enacting policies that increase the accessibility of organic foods compared to their conventional counterparts. This might be done by internalizing the negative environmental effects of farming in the cost of foods and rewarding farmers for the provision of public goods. It will also be important to assess the global impact of each measure to avoid exporting the externalities to third countries. SLU can play a major role in supporting national policymaking and encouraging the redesign of the Swedish food system. Sectorial expertise will be needed to assess the best measures in the eco-schemes, as well as their synergies and contrasts with other measures in pillar 2 and national policies. Academia should provide knowledge in underrepresented fields such as interdisciplinary and system change research, which can account for multiple sustainability aspects. There is also a need for increased knowledge in the production side solutions to increase organic production, such as suitable animal breeds for organic livestock rearing, organic fertilizers and pest control methods, and other solutions that will make organic farming more productive, sustainable and applicable. SLU can also contribute to the organic targets by providing knowledge and non-biased communication material to all actors of the food chain, as well as quality education to farm advisors to improve their commitment and understanding of sustainable practices in agriculture. Sweden has the possibility to realize the Farm to Fork Strategy goals and ambitions, especially when it comes to organic farming. However, when it comes to food systems redesign, more efforts will be needed in the coming years to increase sustainability. To this end, SLU is a valuable resource for expanding the knowledge and creating innovative solution relevant for policymakers, industry and other food system actors for making the Swedish food system sustainable.

Published in

SLU Future Food Reports
2021, number: 16:6
Publisher: SLU Future Food, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet

SLU Authors

Associated SLU-program

SLU Future Food

UKÄ Subject classification

Food Science

Publication identifier

  • ISBN: 978-91-576-9885-8
  • eISBN: 978-91-576-9886-5

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/132487