BIOFORUM

Their core work

BIOFORUM is the Flemish sector organization for organic agriculture in Belgium, representing organic farmers, processors, and retailers. They contribute practical field knowledge and farmer network access to EU research projects focused on sustainable farming, animal welfare, and crop diversification. Their core value in consortia is bridging the gap between research findings and on-farm adoption — they bring the voice of organic producers into multi-actor research processes. They also engage in food system transformation work including school food procurement and climate-neutral farming practices.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

BIOFORUM's early H2020 work (2015-2018) centered on foundational organic farming topics — arable crop knowledge sharing, plant nutrition, and general livestock husbandry practices. From 2019 onward, their focus shifted markedly toward animal welfare (particularly pigs and poultry in outdoor/organic systems), participatory co-creation methods, and systemic sustainability concerns including climate neutrality and business model development. The most recent projects (2022+) show expansion beyond the farm gate into food system transformation, including school food procurement and climate-neutral whole-farm assessment.

BIOFORUM is moving from farm-level organic practices toward whole food system approaches — expect future involvement in climate-smart agriculture, sustainable public procurement, and consumer-facing food transitions.

How they like to work

BIOFORUM never coordinates projects — they join as a participant (4 times) or third party (2 times), contributing practical organic sector knowledge rather than leading research agendas. With 173 unique consortium partners across 26 countries, they operate in large, multi-actor consortia typical of EU food system projects. Their consistent role as a practitioner voice in research-heavy consortia makes them a reliable, low-friction partner who knows the EU project format well without competing for scientific leadership.

Extensive European network spanning 173 unique partners across 26 countries, built through participation in large multi-actor food and agriculture consortia. Their Belgian base and organic farming mandate give them strong connections to both Western European farming networks and EU-wide research institutions.

What sets them apart

BIOFORUM occupies a specific niche as a national organic sector body that actively participates in EU research — they are not a university, not a company, but the organized voice of Flemish organic producers. This makes them uniquely valuable for projects that need genuine farmer engagement and on-the-ground dissemination to the organic community. For consortium builders, they offer something hard to find elsewhere: credible practitioner representation with a decade of EU project experience and direct access to organic farming networks across Belgium.

Highlights from their portfolio

• PPILOW
  Largest funding (EUR 206,671) and most thematically rich project — combining animal welfare, genotype-environment interactions, and co-creation methods for organic pig and poultry systems.
• DiverIMPACTS
  Five-year project on crop diversification with value chain integration — represents BIOFORUM's deepest engagement in arable cropping systems beyond their organic farming core.
• SchoolFood4Change
  Signals a strategic expansion beyond farm-level work into public food procurement and school meal transformation — their newest thematic direction.