Developing best practice networks of health in organic agricultural systems

Developing an international network of producers, advisors, scientists and other stakeholders, to jointly elaborate new and interdisciplinary approaches to health measurement and health research in ecological agriculture.

Project Aims:

The main aim of the project is to create an international network of producers and scientists in order to initiate new and interdisciplinary approaches to health measurement and health research in ecological agriculture. This will ultimately serve to improve health effects in the entire food system. The second aim of this project is to identify which principles, strategies and methods organic farmers have adopted that make them successful in relation to health management on their farms. This will lead to the identification of best practice examples with regards to health and managing healthy agricultural systems. Building on experience in practice and on findings from a former research project reviewing health concepts in ecological agriculture (funded by the Ekhaga Foundation, code 2011-74), this project will produce a set of transferable strategies to increase the direct translation of organic principles into practice and improve the communication and demonstration of health concepts among all stakeholders. It will further initiate the creation of a best practice network of health in organic agriculture, connecting farmers and researchers for a joint approach to increase health effects in organic agricultural food systems.