Both the organic and the agroecological movements started as inspirational and inclusive movements, that continue to inspire change today and that highlight the contribution agriculture can make towards achieving the SDGs.
With this paper, the organic movement wants to stress the importance of the synergies between agroecological and organic practices, and that these practices have the potential to truly and fundamentally transform the current food system, together. It is in the interest of both the agroecological and the organic movements to transform the current food system towards a more sustainable, fairer, and more transparent system that respects natural boundaries and preserves our natural resources. Indeed, The EU and its Member States need to put greater emphasis on short supply chains and agroecology in order to preserve its agriculture and make it more resilient to new challenges, e.g. climate change (EESC, 2019).
Joint action is necessary to achieve further political recognition for both organic and agroecological practices within the organic certification system but also outside of certification, and to advocate for conducive policies. For instance, the Commission’s proposal for a new CAP only mentions agroecology once in the recitals; organic agriculture is mentioned thirteen times (3 times in recitals, 5 in the main text and 5 in the annexes). In the Horizon Europe legislative text, organic and agroecology are each mentioned only once. These mentions are not a significant amount given the contribution that organic and agroecology can make towards sustainable agriculture and more sustainable food systems. In its position paper on the CAP, IFOAM EU advocates for measures that are in line with agroecological principles, e.g. to set the mandatory minimum expenditure in each CAP Strategic Plan at 70% for the environment and the climate. The proposal for the CAP beyond 2020 proposes nine clear objectives: three social objectives, three economic objectives and three ecological objectives. While both agroecology and organic are mentioned as sustainable farming systems in the objective about efficient soil management9, they are for instance not mentioned as such in the objective about agriculture and climate mitigation. This is surprising given the many beneficial effects that organic and agroecological farming have on the environment. As such, both movements should join forces to gain more political recognition in the years to come and to at least be mentioned in policies that are of relevance to both movements.