EIP-agri Focus Group - Organic Farming (2014) Optimising Arable Yields - Final Report. Recommendations and Outputs

This report is the result of the Focus Group (FG) on Organic Farming, Optimising Arable Yields which was launched under the European Innovation Partnership (EIP-AGRI) 'Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability'. The Focus Group brought together 20 experts with different backgrounds and experiences (scientists, farmers, advisers...) to make recommendations on transferable innovative solutions on the topic of “optimising arable crop yields and eco-system services in organic systems (i.e. optimising organic arable farm performance, where performance stands for production, its quality and ecosystem services)”. The Focus Group identified the main causes of the yield gap (the gap between the highest and lowest yielding organic producers and the gap between some conventional and organic crops) in 1) Poor soil fertility management; 2) Inadequate nutrient supply; 3) Insufficient weed management; 4) Pest and disease pressure and 5) Variety choice.
Besides these five specific topics, four horizontal themes were highlighted: the need for a systems approach; the need to enhance knowledge sharing; the development of resilient systems; and the need for a broad cultural shift.