Organic Agriculture 3.0 is innovation with research
Gerold Rahmann & M. Reza Ardakani & Paolo Bàrberi & Herwart Boehm & Stefano Canali &
Mahesh Chander & Wahyudi David & Lucas Dengel & Jan Willem Erisman &
Ana C. Galvis-Martinez & Ulrich Hamm & Johannes Kahl & Ulrich Köpke & Stefan Kühne &
S. B. Lee & Anne-Kristin Løes & Jann Hendrik Moos & Daniel Neuhof &
Jaakko Tapani Nuutila & Victor Olowe & Rainer Oppermann & Ewa Rembiałkowska &
Jim Riddle & Ilse A. Rasmussen & Jessica Shade & Sang Mok Sohn & Mekuria Tadesse &
Sonam Tashi & Alan Thatcher & Nazim Uddin & Peter von Fragstein und Niemsdorff &
Atle Wibe & Maria Wivstad & Wu Wenliang & Raffaele Zanoli
Received: 19 May 2016 /Accepted: 17 November 2016 /Published online: 3 December 2016
#
Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2016
Abstract Organic agriculture can and should play an
important role in solving future challenges in producing
food. The low level of external inputs combined with
knowledge on sustainablity minimizes environmental
contamination and can help to produce more food for
more people without negatively impacting our
Org. Agr. (2017) 7:169–197
DOI 10.1007/s13165-016-0171-5
G. Rahmann (*)
International Society of Organic Farming Research, c/o
Thünen-Institute of Organic Farming, German Federal Research
Centre for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fishery, Trenthorst 32,
23847 Westerau, Germany
e-mail: gerold.rahmann@gmx.de
M. Reza Ardakani
Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, Faculty of
Agriculture and Natural Resources, Islamic Azad University,
Karaj, Iran
P. Bàrberi
Institute of Life Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Piazza
Martini della Liberta 33, 56127 Pisa, Italy
H. Boehm
:
J. H. Moos
:
R. Oppermann
Thünen-Institute of Organic Farming, German Federal Research
Centre for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fishery, Trenthorst 32,
23847 Westerau, Germany
S. Canali
Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura l’analisi dell’economia
agraria (CREA), Centro per lo studio delle relazioni tra pianta e
suolo (RPS), Via della Navicella 2, 00184 Rome, Italy
M. Chander
Division of Extension Education, Indian Veterinary Research
Institute, Izatnagar, UP 243122, India
W. David
Program Studi Ilmu Dan Teknologi Pangan, Universitas Bakrie,
Gelanggang Mahasiswa Soemantri Brodjonegoro, Suite GF-22,
Jl.H.R.Rasuna Said Kav. C-22 Kuningan, Jakarta 12920,
Indonesia
L. Dengel
EcoPro, Aurosarjan Complex, Auroshilpam, IND-605101,
Auroville, T amil Nadu 605101, India
J. W. Erisman
Louis Bolk Institute, Hoofdstraat 24, 3972 LA Driebergen, and
VU Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1091, 1081 HVAmsterdam,
The Netherlands
A. C. Galvis-Martinez
Latin American Scientific Society of Agroecology (SOCLA)
(www.socla.co), University of California, Berkley, CA, USA
U. Hamm
:
P. von Fragstein und Niemsdorff
Department of Agricultural- and Food Marketing, Faculty of
Organic Agricultural Sciences, University of Kassel,
37213 Witzenhausen, Germany
J. Kahl
Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Preventive and
Clinical Nutrition, University of Copenhagen, 2200 København
N, Denmark
environment. Organic agriculture not only includes farm-
ing as a production practice but it also includes process-
ing, trade and consumption. Nevertheless, Organic agri-
culture must always evolve to overcome emerging chal-
lenges. Science-based knowledge attained through dedi-
cated research is required to strengthen organic food and
farming as a means to solve future challenges. In 2010, a
global discussion about Organic 3.0 was initiated to
address current problems our agri-food systems are fac-
ing. Many scientifically and practically proven results are
already available to make organic agriculture a strong
tool to solve some of these challenges. However, the
organic agri-food system has to be developed further to
fulfill its potential. The contribution of organic agricul-
ture to help solve current problems linked to food secu-
rity and environmental quality was discussed during the
International Society of Organic Agricultural Research
(ISOFAR) Symposium BOrganic 3.0 is Innovation with
Research^, held September 20–22, 2015, in conjunction
with the first ISOFAR International Organic Expo, in
Goesan County, Republic of Korea. Some of the world’s
most active scientists in organic agriculture attended the
symposium. This paper is a result of their discussions and
aims to give an overview of research conducted and
required to strengthen organic agriculture in its ambitions
to overcome agronomic challenges, contribute to food
security and protect our common environment.
Keywords Organic 3.0
.
Agri-ecology
.
ISOFAR
.
Ecological intensification
.
Organic agriculture
.
Organic
food systems
.
Organic farming research
.
Global food
challenges
U. Köpke
:
D. Neuhof
Institute of Organic Agriculture, University of Bonn,
Katzenburgweg 3, 53115 Bonn, Germany
S. Kühne
Institute for Strategies and Technology Assessment, Julius
Kühn-Institute, Stahnsdorfer Damm 81, 14532 Kleinmachnow,
Germany
S. B. Lee
Organic Agriculture Division, Department of Agricultural
Environment, National Academy of Agricultural Science, Rural
Development Administration (RDA), Nongsaengmyeongro 166,
Wanju-gun, Jeonbuk 565-851, Republic of Korea
A.<K. Løes
:
A. Wibe
Norwegian Centre for Organic Agriculture (NORSØK), Gunnars
veg 6, 6630 Tingvoll, Norway
J. T. Nuutila
Finnish Organic Research Institute. Natural Resources Institute
Finland, University of Helsinki, Lönnrotinkatu 7, 50100 Mikkeli,
Finland
V. O l owe
Institute of Food Security, Environmental Resources and
Agricultural Research (IFSERAR), Federal University of
Agriculture, Abeokuta P.M.B., Abeokuta 2240, Nigeria
E. Rembiałkowska
Department of Functional and Organic Food and Commodities,
Faculty of Human Nutrition and Consumer Studies, Warsaw
University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 159 c,
02-787 Warszawa, Poland
J. Riddle
The Ceres Trust, 150 South Wacker Drive, Suite 2400, Chicago,
IL 60606, USA
I. A. Rasmussen
ICROFS Foulum, P.O. Box 50, -8830 Tjele, DK, Denmark
J. Shade
The Organic Center, Hall of the States, 444 N. Capitol St. NW,
Suite 445A, Washington, D.C 20001, USA
S. M. Sohn
Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, Dankook University,
Cheonan 330-714, Republic of Korea
M. Tadesse
Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research based at Addis Ababa,
P.O. Box 2003, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
S. Tashi
Royal University of Bhutan, Lobesa, Bhutan
A. Thatcher
Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences, Massey
University, Palmerston North 4474, New Zealand
N. Uddin
Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute BARI, Joydebpur,
Bangladesh
M. Wivstad
Centre for Organic Food and Farming (EPOK), Swedish
University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7043, 75007 Uppsala,
Sweden
W. Wenliang
College of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, China
Agricultural University, Yuanmingyuan Xilu Haidian District,
Beijing, PC 1000193, China
R. Zanoli
Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche,
60129 Ancona, Italy
170 Org. Agr. (2017) 7:169–197
Introduction
The future challenges in food production and consump-
tion appear clear: (a) producing sufficient healthful, safe
and affordable food for 9–11 billion people, (b) reducing
pollution and greenhouse gas emissions derived from
food production, processing, trading and consumption,
(c) developing food chains driven by renewable energy
and recycled nutrients, (d) adapting to climate change
and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, (e) protecting
soils, water, air, biodiversity and landscapes and (f)
taking into account current and emerging ethics, food
habits, lifestyles and consumer needs.
Several findings from scientific research and practi-
cal application suggest that organic agriculture can help
in tackling these future challenges (Arbenz et al. 2015).
The Blow external input^ approach, risk minimizing
strategies and ethically accepted production practices
can help to produce more affordable food for an in-
creased number of people while minimizing environ-
mental impacts. However, resource efficiency, low-meat
diets and reducing food waste are also essential factors
that have to be be considered.
From a global perspective, organic agriculture is still
a niche sector, as less than 1% of global farmland is
managed organically and only a small proportion of the
global population is consuming organic food in signif-
icant amounts. Production yields are relatively low, and
the goals of organic agriculture, described in the princi-
ples and standards, are not achieved on every farm. This
needs further development based on scientific evidence
and good management practices.
Discussion about the future global development
needs of organic agriculture was initiated by a number
of farmers in 2010 (Braun et al. 2010; Strootdress et al.
2011) and was named Organic 3.0. The Bioland Asso-
ciation, the largest organic farmers’ association in Ger-
many (Rahmann et al. 2013), continued this discussion
finally introducing the term Organic 3.0 at BioFach
2014 to the global discussion (Rützler and Reiter
2014). Several organic groups subsequently developed
ideas towards Organic 3.0 and formulated strategies.
BioAustria (Austria), Bio Suisse (Switzerland) and
Bioland (Germany) have published a common Organic
3.0 paper (Niggli et al. 2015) in order to define goals for
further development.
The s uggested strategie s for Organic 3.0 include
empowerment of rural areas, ecofunctional intensifica-
tion and development of food for health and well-being
and are therefore in accordance with the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) passed by the UN General
Assembly in September 2015 as BPost-2015 Agenda^
(UN 2015a, b). Two of the 17 SDGs are of special
relevance for Organic 3.0 strategies: SDG 2: BEnd hun-
ger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and
promote sustainable agriculture^ and SDG 12: BEnsure
sustainable consumption and production patterns^.
The Germ an Alliance for Agricultural Resea rch
(Hamm et al. 2016), the International Federation of
Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) EU group
(Barabanova et al. 2015), the Technology Innovation
Platform TIPI of IFOAM-Organic International (Niggli
et al. 2014), the Italian Organic Research Strategy
(Canali 2016) and the EU Technology Platform Or-
ganics (TPorganics 2016) have proposed how research
should be directed and supported to achieve the aims of
Organic 3.0. The International Society of Organic Ag-
ricultural Research (ISOFAR) discussed these strategies
and the role of research during the ISOFAR Symposium
BOrganic 3.0 is Inno vation with Research^
,heldin
Se
ptember 20–22, 2015, in conjunction with the first
ISOFAR International Organic Expo in Goesan County,
Republic of Korea. The aim of this paper is to compile
the outcomes of these discussions and give an overview
of the scientific support for the claim that organic agri-
culture has a significant role to play to overcome the
mentioned crucial challenges.
For this purpose, the authors will highlight the most
relevant global challenges, show results from organic
agriculture research that can be used to cope with these
challenges and give an outline about which research will
be needed to foster the development of Organic 3.0. A
background section describing in brief the scientific
base of Organic 1.0 and 2.0 development phases is
provided (BOrganic agriculture: science based from the
start^) before we discuss global challenges in BThe base
for Organic 3.0 research: future challenges of food and
farming^ and BContribution of organic agriculture in
addressing future challenges^.
Organic agriculture: science based from the start
The Codex Alimentarius Commission of the FAO/
WHO (1999) has defined organic agriculture as follows:
BOrganic Agriculture is a holistic production manage-
ment system which promotes and enhances agri-
ecosystem health, including biodiversity, biological
Org. Agr. (2017) 7:169–197 171
cycles and soil biological activity. It emphasizes the use
of management practices in preference to the use of off-
farm inputs, taking into account that regional conditions
require locally adapted systems. This is accomplished
by using, where possible, agronomic, biological, and
mechanical methods, as opposed to using synthetic ma-
terials, to fulfill any specific function within the
system^.
Organic 1.0
The system of organic agriculture arose in the early twen-
tieth century and has since gone through several stages,
including Organic 1.0 and Organic 2.0, with Organic 3.0
currently u nder development (Niggli and Rahmann
2013). Organic 1.0 is defined as the period of organic
pioneers, developing the vision of organic agriculture
(OA). Organic 2.0 is the period of growth and marketing
of organic, which has taken place in recent history . Finally,
Organic 3.0 addresses future challenges and aims at en-
tering organic agriculture on the global stage. These def-
initions were adopted by the global organic movement
(Rahmann et al. 2013;Arbenzetal.2015; Rützler and
Reiter 2014;Nigglietal.2015), and the stakeholders tried
to define goals for further development from the perspec-
tives of the associations and institutions involved.
Organic 1.0 was marked by several important dis-
coveries and events around the turn of the twentieth
century. For example, one of the first scientific fields
influencing organic agricultural practices was
Bagricultural bacteriology^ developed in the early
1900s. Scientists discovered nitrogen-fixing bacteria
(Hellriegel and Wilfarth 1888;Beijerinck1901), leading
to increased knowledge about biological aspects of soil
fertility and the importance of soil fauna and soil organic
matter. Agricultural measures thought to be beneficial
for soil fertility included the use of farmyard manure,
fermentation or composting of farmyard manure, re-
duced or non-inversion tillage and the use of green
manure.
Around the same time period, Rudolf Steiner ’s
(1861–1925) series of lectures gave birth to the move-
ment of biodynamic agriculture (Paull 2011). Steiner did
not present a ready-to-use science-based organic agri-
cultural system but rather concepts and practices of
farming such as closed cycles, farms as organisms and
holistic and spiritual thinking. Shortly after his death,
farmers and scientists (e.g. E. Pfeiffer, L. Kolisko)
started to apply, verify and improve his approaches on
their farms to develop a more robust system of biody-
namic farming (Paull 2011). Research institutes for bio-
dynamic farming were established, e.g. in Järna, Swe-
den and Darmstadt, Germany.
Another development of Organic 1.0 happened under
the leadership of Hans (1891–1988) and Maria (1894–
1969) Müller, who developed the organic-biological
system in Switzerland based on practical experiences.
In addition to the systems developed from practice,
work was being done on a theoretical background for
the organic-biologic system by the microbiologist Hans
Peter Rusch (1906–1977). Rusch was skeptical about
the use of mineral fertilizers, and his main topics of
interest were soil fertility, soil health and the formation
of humus (Paulsen et al. 2009a, b).
In the English-speaking world, Lady Eve Balfour
(1898–1990) and Sir Albert Howard (1873–1947) in
the UK and Jerome Rodale (1898–1971) in the USA
were the pioneer stakeholders of organic agriculture.
Lady Balfour is known for her Haughley Experiment,
one of the first long-term studies comparing organic
with high external input of conventonal farming. How-
ard worked on composting urban wastes, plant breeding,
plant health and soil fertility in India and was inspired by
the sustainable farming practices he observed in Asian
countries. Rodale, an editor, author and playwright, was
an advocate for organic, popularizing the term to indi-
cate food that was grown without pesticides. These
individuals greatly influenced the organic agriculture
mo
vement in Great Britain and North America through
their farming, advocacy and scientific work (Vogt
2000).
In Italy, Alfonso Draghetti (1888–1960), who
worked at a public agricultural research station in Mo-
dena, published BPrincipi di Fisiologia dell’Azienda
Agraria^ (Physiologica l Princ iples of the Farm) in
1948, in which he discussed how biological principles
support the theory that the farm functions as a whole
(Draghetti 1948). Along with Francesco Garofalo, who
founded the Associazione Suolo e Salute in Turin in
1969, and Ivo Totti (1914–1992), Draghetti is acknowl-
edged as one of the fathers of organic farming research
in Italy.
Organic 2.0
Beyond these early pioneers of organic, well based in
research, many scientists have continued to encourage
farmers to use organic methods through the
172 Org. Agr. (2017) 7:169–197
establishment of the Organic 2.0 movement and founding
of organic research institutes, associations and supporting
groups. The International Federation of Organic Agricul-
ture Movements (www.ifoam.bio) was founded in 1972
and located in Bonn, Germany. The four basic IFOAM
principles (principle of fairness, principle of care, principle
of health and principle of ecology, IFOAM 2005)are
understood as Binter-connected^ andformulatedtoBinspire
action^. These principles offer guidance for research in
organic agriculture.
Because of the support and efforts of individual
scientists and groups such as IFOAM, research facilities
and institutions that conduct research on organic agri-
culture have been established worldwide (Vogt 2007).
To date, most of these facilities and groups are located in
western countries, but more recently, there has been
increased organic establishment in developing
countries.
The first organic agriculture research institutions
were founded privately by individuals. One such insti-
tution was the Rodale Institute (www.rodaleinstitute.
org), established in 1947 in Pennsylvania, USA.
Others include the biodynamic research institute
BForschungsring^, which was started in 1950 in
Darmstadt, Germany ( www.forschungsring.de); the
Forschungsinstitut für biologischen Landbau (www.
fibl.org) which was established in 1974 in Oberwil,
Switzerland, and currently has headquarters in Frick,
Switzerland, with branches in Frankfurt, Germany and
Vienna, Austria; the Louis Bolk Institute in Driebergen,
the Netherlands, which was founded in 1976 (www.
louisbolk.org); the Elm Farm Research Centre (www.
organicresearchcentre.com) in Newbury, Great Britain,
which was established in 1982 and the N orwe gian
Centre for Organic Agriculture in Tingvoll, Norway,
which was established in 1986.
Funding for organic research
Besides private funding in the last three decades, public
funds for organic agricultural research have become
increasingly available especially in Europe. However,
there remains a gap between funds for organic and non-
organic agricultural research. Rahman n and Aksoy
(2014) showed that in 2012, Germany spent about 87
million euros of public money for organic agricultural
research (1.07 euros per capita). While this seems like a
low funding level, other EU and EFTA members only
spent 0.30 euro per capita on organic research, and the
rest of the world spent 0.0005 euro per capita. In com-
parison, in Germany, 4 billion (50 euros per capita) and
globally US$40 billion (US$6 per capita) were spent on
conventional agriculture research. Thus, even in the
country with the highest organic farming research
funding rates, only 2% of the agricultural research funds
were dedicated to organic, and the global average for
organic research funding was only 0.04%. In compari-
son to the organic market share, this is not an equitable
distribution. In Germany, organic food in 2015 had a
share of 3.8% of all food purchases, 6.7% of all farm-
land and 8% of all farms. On the global level, organic
food had a share of 1% for purchases and farmland.
Federally funded organic projects
In the 1990s, the first EU-funded projects were carried
out and a growing number of national research institu-
tions became involved in EU calls. In the following
years, organic ag ricultural research in the EU w as
funded by national or pan-European schemes. The fifth,
sixth, seventh and Horizon 2020 framework programs
of the EU all supported large projects that supported
further development of organic agriculture. Famous ex-
amples incl ude the organic plant breeding program,
SOLIBAM; the market information program, EISfOM
and the review of the European Action Plan for Organic
Agriculture, ORGAP. All these efforts have been re-
corded in the open archive Organic E-prints (Organic
E-prints 2016 http://orgprints.org).
In 2004, the CORE Organic program was initiated as
a European Research Area Network supported by the
EU. By 2016, this cooperation of European funding
bodies financed 33 projects (C ORE Organi c, www.
coreorganic.org). Also, national public funding
programs on organic food systems have continued in
some European countries since the late 1990s, such as
It
aly, Sweden and Denmark and Germany.
In the USA, federal funds have been available for
organic research since 2002, with approximately US$24
million specifically earmarked for organic research in
the 2015 US Farm Bill. This is a significant increase
from 1997, when the Organic Farming Research Foun-
dation (OFRF) published the report BSearching for the
O-Word^. In this report, OFRF searched through more
than 30,000 agricultural research projects in the US
Department of Agriculture’s research portfolio. The re-
port showed that only 34 projects qualified as Bstrong
Org. Agr. (2017) 7:169–197 173