November 11, 2025

AKIS in action: How Knowledge and Innovation Systems Drive Organic Farming Forward

Networking event on October 15, 2025 – Online

As part of ongoing efforts in modernAKIS to interconnect AKIS (Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems) actors across Europe, this event highlighted how AKIS can actively support the EU’s goal of expanding organic farming through innovative approaches to empower farmers to begin and successfully maintain sustainable organic farming.

Ambra de Simone, Project Coordination and R&I Associate Manager at IFOAM Organics Europe, Belgium, presented the AKIS Fact Sheets from OrganicTargets4EU project and the recommendations to the DGs. The Organictargets4EU project aims to support the EU’s ambitious goal of reaching 25% organic farming by 2030. The project looks at past and current developments to identify key drivers and barriers (“lock-ins”) in the sector. Based on this analysis, it builds future scenarios where the 25% target is achieved and then works backwards to understand how these goals can be reached. The OrganicTargets4EU project is developing policy recommendations to strengthen AKIS for organic farming. Through interviews and surveys in eight countries, the project assessed national AKIS structures, identifying strengths and gaps. Key findings show that well established AKIS systems — like in Austria and Denmark—support stronger organic sectors. Recommendations include improving advisory services, promoting peer-to-peer learning, mapping organic advisors, and investing in training and education. These proposals will be finalized and presented at the final conference for the Organic Targets in November.

Gerda Jónasz lead researcher at the agricultural policy team of ÖMKi – the Hungarian Research Institute for Organic Agriculture presented the institute’s approach to supporting the agro-ecological transition through its Living Lab network. ÖMKi’s approach is inspired by the Living Lab concept, which emphasizes user-centred, open innovation and co-creation in real-life settings. A key methodology used is the “mother-baby trial design”. In this model, centrally managed “mother trials” ensure scientific rigor and controlled conditions, while “baby trials” are simpler, farmer-managed versions conducted on individual farms. Farmers test selected treatments and varieties, observe their performance, and provide practical feedback, ensuring their active involvement in the research process. Two Living Lab examples were highlighted: “Inter-row Cover Crop Seed Trials” and “Non invasive Sensor Trials for Pasture-Based Beef Cattle”. The participatory research model benefits all stakeholders—farmers, advisors, researchers, and society. Especially younger generations are drawn to collaborative innovation in agriculture. However, working with Living Labs also presents challenges, requiring multidisciplinary skills, continuous internal and external communication, and ongoing training to support this dynamic, farmer-centred research approach.

Merit Mikk from the Estonian Organic Farming Platform focused on organic knowledge transfer in Estonia, where 22% of agricultural land is organically cultivated by around 1 900 producers. Despite successful organic food programmes in schools and strong organic beef and sheep production, Estonia lacks formal organic curricula and has limited research capacity. To address this, structured knowledge transfer programmes have been in place since 2015, coordinated by the Centre of Estonian Rural Research and Knowledge. These include diverse formats—on-farm trainings, cross visits, online and in-person events, and practical videos—tailored to farmers’ needs across all regions. Farmer feedback helps shape content and formats, ensuring relevance and accessibility. The organic advisory system is still developing, now supported by new regulations that allow researchers and experienced producers to offer advice. Training and cross visits help recruit new advisors. A comprehensive approach combining education, research, advisory services, and knowledge transfer is seen as key to advancing organic farming in Estonia.

Here are a few key takeaways from the discussion:
• AKIS should play a stronger role in connecting farmers and consumers, with education extended across the supply chain.
• Farmers in Estonia highly value international exchange, especially learning from innovative practices in other countries through study trips and foreign expert lectures.
• Combining different learning formats—such as seminars, farm visits, and online trainings—is seen as a success factor, especially considering seasonal limitations.
• Flexibility and variety in training formats are essential to meet the diverse needs and preferences of farmers.
• When analysing organic farming potential, country-specific context is crucial; applying existing methodologies (like in OrganicTargets4EU) can help, but should be adapted to local realities.