Organic-PLUS

The aim of Organic-PLUS is minimising, and eventually phasing out contentious inputs from certified organic agriculture.

Organic-PLUS is a four-year European project running from May 2018 to April 2022  funded by the EU's Horizon2020 research (grant agreement 774340). It is coordinated by Coventry University’s Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience and involves 10 universities and 15 multi-actors (other research institutions and NGOs) in 9 EU and 3 non-EU countries. The purpose of Organic-PLUS is to find new substitutes for a number of inputs and production methods presently used in organic farming.

Consumer survey

SIFO has been responsible for a consumer survey in 7 European countries carried out in 2019 (France, Italy, Norway, Poland, Spain, UK and Germany). The survey contributes with new knowledge of consumers' attitudes towards organic food in general and the use of various inputs in organic farming in particular. Important questions focused in the survey are: What knowledge do consumers have about organic production methods and contentious inputs, and how do they think organic farming should be developed in the future?

Citizen Juries

The results from the consumer survey will contribute as a knowledge base in the project where various methods in organic farming will be developed and tested. One further method to engage  citizens about these issues is so-called Citizens Juries. This is organized as a series of meetings where a group of citizens (consumers, producers etc.) come together to give their input on the topics covered in the project. Professional experts on the various topics will also participate. These participatory processes will take place in 2020 and SIFO is responsible for the implementation of the Citizens Juries in Norway. Similar consultations will be conducted in the UK and Italy. Coventry University is responsible for this task in the project.

Norwegian partners

There are two Norwegian Consortium Partners: SIFO and NORSØK (Norwegian Centre for Organic Agriculture). Associate partners are Økologisk Norge (member organization including farmers, businesses and ordinary consumers interested in organic food), Norsk Landbruksrådgivning (Norwegian Agricultural Extension Service) and FJORDLAKS.