For the successful implementation of national policy to promote organic farming

The National Action Plan for Organic Farming, PAN Bio 2025, has been in force since April 2020. Preparations are currently underway at the Ministry of Agriculture for the development of the new PAN Bio for the period after 2025. The four strategic axes defined in PAN Bio 2025 were and remain essential and justified in order to increase the share of organic farming in the total agricultural area in Luxembourg.

The four strategic axes of PAN Bio 2025

• Taking stock of the current situation of the organic agricultural sector in Luxembourg in order to act in a targeted manner.
• Improving the visibility of organic farming within the various population groups in order to boost sales.
• Increasing the attractiveness of organic production methods for producers in order to certify more land.
• Developing and establishing different production, processing and marketing channels to increase supply and demand.

Taken as a whole, all the measures taken under these four pillars have helped to advance the development of organic farming in this country. Initiatives that link production and consumption deserve special attention. After all, at the end of the day, organic farmers are also entrepreneurs who want to sell their products to consumers, while ensuring the sustainable use of natural resources and at fair prices.

Catering: organic, local and zero waste (antigaspi)

The past few years have been used to promote projects in which innovation, fair cooperation and sustainability have top priority. One example of this is the free training for kitchen staff in canteens on the topic of organic, local and antigaspi. This training course, developed on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Viticulture, is aimed at chefs, kitchen staff, educators and those responsible for purchasing in public and private canteens (in schools, childcare facilities and companies).

The programme includes measures to prevent food waste (adjusting portion sizes, planning menu compositions that take into account leftovers that can be reused) and for better use of financial resources (less waste means that less needs to be purchased, and the money saved can be invested in regional and organic food). For Luxembourg’s farmers, and in particular for organic farmers, it is important to develop new markets. Community catering is an important market. In addition, the distance from the farm to the canteen kitchen is extremely short, which is of course in line with the principles of sustainable agriculture, which emphasises the importance of short transport distances.

The educational aspect of these measures, which are all aimed at a greater appreciation of food, should not be underestimated. Schoolchildren are tomorrow’s consumers and their purchasing and consumption behaviour will also influence agricultural production in the future.

As part of these training programmes, there is a revealing exchange with canteen staff about purchasing and working methods, suggestions for optimising the use of food are discussed, and the amount of food that is thrown away is recorded and compared over a period of time. Questioning, measuring and weighing are carried out with the aim of communicating the high quality of (bio)local and seasonal food to consumers of all ages.

Creating and expanding production chains

In addition to designing and optimising the framework conditions for organic farms, projects that have set themselves the goal of creating or expanding production chains have been and continue to be funded. In principle, primary production must have a strong position in cooperation with processing and trade. This must be accompanied and promoted by the collaboration of producers and the formulation of clear, common goals. In this context, milestones have been set in the marketing of organic meat. Years of cooperation, involving farmers, processors, retailers, buyers, the administration and the ministry, have made it possible to create a fair and functioning organic meat market in Luxembourg that represents a win-win situation for all parties involved.

A functioning and solid market is therefore, in addition to bio-friendly framework conditions, the basis for offering existing organic farms and those willing to convert a perspective. It is also a prerequisite for keeping future generations in agriculture. Since November 2023, the name of the ministry has included ‘food’ in addition to ‘agriculture’; this is a further recognition of the fact that production and consumption are 100 % interwoven. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Viticulture is thus predestined to represent the interests of all farmers and all consumers.

Promoting innovation and research

Another aspect of the successful implementation of the policy to promote organic farming is the support of innovation and research. Of course, organic agriculture is also confronted with many challenges. It requires continuous dynamism and significant financial resources to find answers to questions and solutions to problems in organic farming and to implement them.

One such innovation project, funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, is the ‘Development of a value chain from the cultivation of durum wheat to its processing into pasta’. The aim here is to bring a new pasta product with the highest possible proportion of Luxembourg durum wheat to market. This would expand the range of organic food produced in Luxembourg.

A balanced food policy

A nutrition policy that is balanced in the most diverse respects will be the result of a successful combination of primary production and consumption. The holistic approach will be the means of choice to combine all aspects of economy, ecology and social issues in such a way that we can all have a place in this very complex structure.

There will be no easy answers to difficult questions. Rather, a willingness to compromise and mutual understanding will be needed to move forward together, always taking into account the real conditions under which the various actors work. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Viticulture advocates respectful pragmatism, goal-oriented action and a feasible transition to shape this togetherness.

Support for organic farming

As in 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture has again provided financial support this year to the ‘Vereenegung fir Biolandwirtschaft Lëtzebuerg asbl’ for the realisation of the campaign for the Organic Farming Week (www.biowoch.lu), which took place in September 2024.

In 2024, the Ministry of Agriculture has so far (end of September) provided funding from the budget of PAN Bio 2025 and the Agricultural Fund for 19 individual organic projects, totalling around 700,000 euros.