Call to Action progress - Forum activities

There is no doubt that this system does possess the human know-how and ingenuity, innovation and technology, and natural capital, to not only increase its productivity, resilience, and sustainability, but also to conserve and restore biodiversity and eco-system services as well as reduce its carbon footprint. Indeed, it can also play a vital role in removing billions of tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere and locking it up in soil, forests, peatland and wetlands.

Nevertheless, the global pandemic, which defined the early years of this decade, combined with conflicts, such as the one in Ukraine, and droughts brought on by record-busting high temperatures have served to again remind us of the agri-food system’s potential fragility – a fragility that is likely to come under increasing pressure from global warming and the loss of biodiversity.

It is for these reasons that the Forum for the Future of Agriculture re-committed itself last year to play a stronger role in helping the agri-food system to address these challenges and also to seize the opportunities presented by a transformation built on systemic change.

The Forum’s activity and progress

Call to Action Commitment 1 – Developing and scaling regenerative agriculture, in conjunction with similar approaches, underpinned by common metrics driving enhanced outcomes for productive and environmentally sustainable farming.

Over the past year, the main focus of the Forum’s activity has been its exploration of how to develop and scale regenerative agriculture in Europe and beyond through a series of workshops and interviews and wide-ranging consultation of our network. This involved more than 200 key stakeholders across the agri-food value chain, farmers, policymakers, civil society and the policy-making community across Europe and globally. In particular, the inquiry explored what regenerative agriculture means, the benefits and costs, as well as looking into what stands in the way or could accelerate its development and scaling up.

The key takeaways from the inquiry were:

1. With improving soil health at its core, regenerative agriculture is broadly inclusive and has the potential to unlock a range of environmental sustainability and climate-related benefits whilst increasing long-term farm productivity.
2. A strong scientific evidence base for soil health can and should be used to inform formulation of robust ‘outcome-based’ metrics for regenerative agriculture which will enable the tracking of progress and avoidance of ‘green-washing’ claims
   a. independent verification of outcomes seen as a necessary backstop.
3. A compelling economic case is vital to covering the costs and incentivising growers to make and sustain the transition
   a. requires development of predictable and durable market-based revenue streams, the most likely of which are payments for decarbonizing the value chain (e.g. Scope III emission reductions and for carbon removal credits to be used beyond the value chain),
   b. public funding (e.g. through the CAP) should be simplified, to improve access and alleviate the administrative burden, and the value increased (to cover costs of transition and any ‘yield drag’),
   c. use of data generated by growers, through participation in market-based or public subsidy schemes linked to improvements in soil health/regenerative agriculture could be used to unlock other financial benefits such as preferential rates for farm loans, mortgages and insurance.
4. Policy interventions can and should be part of the equation, by helping to enable or de-risk the transition, particularly increasing access to information and advice, technology and innovation, rules for new market based revenue streams and necessary infrastructure
   a. coherence and consistency are critical and a ‘filter’ through which a policy can be assessed for its impact on enabling the goal of developing and scaling regenerative agriculture to be met would be a positive innovation,
   b. policies assessed to have the greatest impact should be expedited to help achieve the goal quicker.
5. Achieving the goal requires systematic alignment of knowledge sharing, innovation and technology, finance, and collaboration across the value chain with farmers
   and land managers, at the centre
   a. need to combine the various nodes of activity on regenerative agriculture taking place across the value chain.

The final report was published on October 2, 2023 and can be read here.

In addition, the question of how to develop and scale regenerative agriculture has featured regularly on the Forum’s Food Systems podcasts, which can be accessed here.

We were also delighted to host policymakers, industry and NGOs on field visits to our partner farms in Belgium which are already making the transition to regenerative agriculture. This provided the opportunity to share knowledge and key learnings as well as to hear first-hand the pain points which farmers and land managers have and are experiencing in making the transition and catalyse thinking amongst the different stakeholders on how they can contribute to address them.

Call to Action Commitment 2 – Valuing and accounting for the use of natural capital, such as water, soil, air, and biodiversity, by the agri-food system.

Although the Forum’s work on regenerative agriculture (CTA1) and the alignment of public and private incentives (CTA3) certainly considers the valuing and accounting for the use of natural capital, we were not directly active in this area over the past year. Nevertheless, several of our partners were involved in activities over the past twelve months which have contributed to this commitment and it will be a direct focus area for the Forum going forward.

Call to Action Commitment 3 – Contributing to the development and alignment of public funding market-based incentives for nature restoration and delivery of other eco-system services.

One of the key insights from the inquiry on how to develop and scale regenerative agriculture was the need for a compelling economic case to support farmers and land managers to make and sustain the transition. To that end, the Forum has kicked off its work in this area through an interactive workshop in September 2023 which featured policymakers, public and private finance organisations, agri-food value chain representatives, academia and NGOs. In particular, the workshop explored:

• what funding and financing the transition means; why it is necessary and how it could potentially unlock other key enablers of the transition;
• the existing funding and finance options and new opportunities available to the EU/Member States, (including reform of the Common Agricultural Policy) and the agri-food industry to fund the transition;
• the role that emerging revenue streams from eco-system services can play in enabling farmers to make and sustain the transition and the critical success factors.

One of the key takeaways from this initial exercise has been the need to identify, further develop and align, systemically, both public funding and market-based incentives for regenerative agriculture generally and specifically for nature restoration, climate mitigation and other eco-system services.
In addition, the key insights, takeaways and workshop presentations on funding, financing and new revenue streams have been included in a report, which the Forum published in January 2024, entitled Making and sustaining the transition. This can be downloaded here.

Our work on this report was further complemented by a range of other activities including a Forum dialogue on the evolution of eco-system service markets and collaboration with Food+Drink Europe, who also commissioned a report on funding the transition.

Looking ahead, funding and financing the transition to a more resilient and sustainable food and agriculture system, which is climate smart and nature positive, will be a key focus of our work in 2024. We started the discussion at our 2024 Annual Conference in March and it will continue throughout 2024.

Call to Action Commitment 4 – Sharing knowledge and pursue innovation in technology and practices that support both food and environmental security and move away from those which don’t.

Sharing knowledge and pursuing innovation in farm practices, as well as technologies, has always been a core objective of the Forum for the Future of Agriculture. Given that, it made sense to integrate this commitment into our Call to Action and is an area where we have continued to act and make progress over the past year.

The annual Land and Soil Management Award, in partnership with the European Landowners’ Organization and Syngenta, is a highlight of the Forum’s annual calendar putting soil at the heart of the agri-food system transformation. Indeed, one can argue that improving the health of our soils unlocks a plethora of systemic benefits ranging from the improved productivity, profitability and resilience of farms, to gains in water efficiency, carbon sequestration and the conservation and restoration of biodiversity. Yet, until recently, the health of our soils, degraded in so many parts of the world, has seldom received the attention it deserves.

The Award, made in conjunction with the European Landowners’ Organization and six other partners, rewards land use and soil management practices which mitigates risk from erosion, loss of organic matter and biodiversity, diffuse contamination, and compaction as well as salinization, sealing, flooding and landslides. In doing so, the award sheds light on outstanding achievements, encouraging new concepts of land and soil protection and their implementation in land management, as well as enhancing awareness about the importance of land and soil functions, in Europe and extended territories.

The jury, chaired by Professor Martin Gerzabek and members from across the EU institutions, Universities and industry, awarded the 2024 prize to the French project “Halage”. It was celebrated for its remarkable contributions to soil health and biodiversity through innovative practices. Operating within l’Île-Saint-Denis, the sole urban river island city in France, “Halage” has been instrumental in revitalizing soil on a former industrial wasteland. Their eco-innovative activities not only focus on soil remediation but also prioritise social, environmental, and ecological benefits. By fostering biodiversity and engaging in public awareness and education initiatives, “Halage” demonstrates a holistic approach to sustainable land management. The jury was particularly impressed by “Halage’s” commitment to soil health remediation on a contaminated site, the potential for scaling up experimentation on-site, their monitoring of the results, and their inclusive approach to addressing regional needs through social inclusion and community engagement.

The jury also rewarded two additional projects with a diploma of recognition to:
Bokrijk Soil and Heritage Conservation led by Jeroen Franssens from Belgium. The project oversees a 420-hectare domain encompassing forests, meadows, swamps, peatland and old fish ponds. Sustainable harvesting technologies, aimed at minimizing environmental impact, have been adopted, alongside efforts to enhance soil water storage capacity by fortifying its natural sponge effect.

Le Jardin des Saveurs led by Sandrine de Moerloose & Arnaud van der Straten from Belgium. The project focuses on sustainable cultivation, abstaining entirely from chemical usage, including fertilizers, insecticides, and fungicides. Prioritizing biodiversity, they have installed birdhouses for tits, insect hotels, swallow nests, and bat boxes as part of their initiatives.

The Forum also held its annual Solutions Workshops in the spring and summer of 2023. These covered a diverse range of focus areas, several of which are listed below. To find out more about the agenda and speakers at each event, and to watch videos or read summaries of the key insights and takeaways, click on the links below.

• Biocontrols for crop protection
• Sustainability solutions in poultry farming
• Agcelerating Innovation
• Start-ups driving innovation in ag
• Future Forest Initiative

Call to Action Commitment 5 – Integrating sustainability into supply chains and the global agri-food trade system, leaving no one behind.

One of the key questions is the extent to which trade policy can enhance – or block – the drive for a more resilient and sustainable food and agriculture system. Answering this question has become even more pertinent as value chain players have moved to integrate sustainability targets into their supply chains either on a voluntary basis or in response to demands from investors, consumers, and policymakers and NGOs, in Europe and around the world.

To try to answer the question, the Forum joined with its partners in the Global Forum for Farm Policy and Innovation (GFFPI) to organise an in-depth workshop at the OECD, in Paris, in October 2023. The workshop, which was supported by the Permanent Representations of Australia, the Netherlands and Japan, brought together OECD Member States and the Secretariat, together with a cross section of over 80 key stakeholders including farmers and land managers, value chain companies, policymakers and NGOs.

The workshop featured dynamic discussions on actionable solutions, including creating a global platform for knowledge exchange, integrating an outcomes-based approach in trade policy, and developing shared indicators to measure progress. The workshop also emphasised the importance of data and transparency and the need for collaboration between governments and the private sector globally.

Key points identified in the workshop’s report, Advancing the Role of Trade and Agricultural Sustainability, which can be downloaded here include:

• enhancing food systems and trade through outcomes-based approaches to sustainability,
• intensifying global cooperation in support of coherent policies and a global framework for sustainable agriculture,
• optimizing trade to make agriculture sustainable and profitable, and
• harnessing data and technology to transform the way we grow and trade food.

Follow-up roundtable discussions on these findings have already taken place on the fringe of the United States Department of Agriculture renowned Annual Outlook Conference, in February 2024, and take place in Europe, (on the fringe of the Forum’s Annual Conference), Australia and Canada, during the course of this year.

Our intention is to work with our partners in GFFPI to deepen these initial insights and takeaways to inform global policymakers along with all actors in the agri-food system to develop approaches in trade and supply chains that can further enhance agriculture sustainability.

Call to Action Commitment 6 – Informing the development of more coherent agri-food policies at local, national, regional and global level and continue to build public and private partnerships for greater impact.

As the policy environment became more challenging and, arguably, polarised at EU level and in Member States, the Forum used its regional Forum in Madrid, in May 2023, to publish a call for more coherence in agri-food policies to secure a sustainable transition. This work has been further developed through a series of ‘strategic dialogue’ workshops designed to bring together different perspectives on the ideal state for the agri-food system in Europe, what is getting in the way, and what we need to do differently to achieve the objectives.
Working in partnership with other platforms, we will progress this in 2024, which will see elections to the European Parliament and a new Commission take office.

Call to Action Commitment 7 – Enhancing consumer awareness of their role in building a more resilient and sustainable food and agriculture system.

Although the Forum was not directly active over the past year in enhancing consumer awareness of the need for a more resilient and sustainable food and agriculture system, several of our partners continued to support this commitment through their own actions. We were delighted to feature one of them – LoginEKO and their Njamito product – at the Forum’s 2024 Annual Conference.