.png)
How can strategies be designed to “improve the yield and yield stability of organic cropping systems at the European level”? The decision was made to address this broad and complex objective as a whole, in a systemic way, rather than breaking it down into simpler problems and approaching it in a reductionist manner.
To this end, a coherent and iterative methodological approach was developed around a series of cross-visits: trips oriented to foster exchange and cross-fertilization between peers from different countries.
At the start of this process, in March 2025, the 11 partner countries of the OrganicYieldsUP project were grouped into four clusters, based on similar pedoclimatic environments and differing socio-economic conditions and agricultural knowledge and innovation systems (AKIS), as follows:
- Northern Cluster comprising Denmark, Estonia, and Sweden
- Continental Cluster 1 comprising Germany, Hungary, and Luxembourg
- Continental Cluster 2 comprising Poland and Switzerland
- Southern Cluster comprising France, Italy, and Spain
Each partner established a core Multi-Stakeholder-Peer-Group (core MSPG) to participate in this process, structured in four phases:
- A local diagnostic phase, consisting of an enquiry with the core MSPG, based on a series of semi-structured interviews and a workshop to prepare the subsequent phase
- A series of cross-visits, organized within each cluster according to common guidelines, aimed at comparing the experiences of the different countries
- A phase of capitalization at the local level, based on a reflective workshop with the core MSPG, focusing on the lessons learned from the cross-visits and their implications for the local organic sector.
- A final capitalization phase at the EU level, where project partners will synthesize the experience and results of the process during a final expert workshop that will take place in March 2027.
In the OrganicYieldsUP project, cross-visits are therefore not isolated events: they constitute a key step towards transposing local strategies to the EU level.
To foster trust and informal exchanges, the common guidelines for organizing cross-visits recommend a combination of inspiring and concrete visits to farms, experimental sites, agri-food businesses, local governance initiatives, or value chains, with more informal networking opportunities as well as more formal workshops.
The methodology described above is designed to have a dual impact: to develop strategic recommendations to improve organic farming yields at EU level and, at the same time, to promote the exchange of knowledge, skills and perspectives among all stakeholders involved.
In this series, you will have the opportunity to follow the process and read about the different cross-visits.
Authors:
Ambrogio COSTANZO, Nathan BASCHENIS, Eva LACARCE (ITAB), Jaime VILA TRAVER (University of Barcelona)
Correspondence: ambrogio.costanzo@itab.asso.fr
