Development of Organic Farming in Europe at the Crossroads: Looking for the Way Forward Through System Archetypes Lenses

Abstract

The growth of the European organic farming sector brings along many challenges, jeopardizing its sustainability. How to move organic farming in Europe forward and maximize its contribution to sustainability? As organic farming in the EU is a highly complex and dynamic food system, the question cannot be answered with the single dimensional tools of the past. In this study, we explored the usefulness of system archetypes. The analysis revealed that organic farming sector faces many problems related to unintended side-effects of one-dimensional solutions. System archetypes allowed us to identify of the root causes of the problems and formulate effective strategies.