Switzerland's premier organic agriculture research institute, spanning crop systems, livestock, soil health, and farmer knowledge networks across 35 EU projects.
FiBL is Switzerland's leading research institute dedicated to organic agriculture, operating across the full spectrum from soil science and crop breeding to livestock systems and farm policy. They develop practical, farmer-ready solutions for organic and sustainable farming — covering everything from replacing contentious chemical inputs to improving animal feed, breeding resilient crop varieties, and optimizing nutrient cycles. Their work bridges the gap between agricultural science and on-farm practice through participatory, multi-actor research approaches that directly involve farmers and advisors. They are also deeply engaged in agricultural knowledge and innovation systems (AKIS), helping translate research findings into actionable guidance for European farming communities.
Coordinated RELACS (replacing contentious inputs in organic systems) and participated in LIVESEED, OK-Net Arable, OK-Net EcoFeed, UNISECO, BRESOV, and BIOFRUITNET — all focused on improving organic agriculture.
Major involvement in LEGVALUE, Legumes Translated, ReMIX, DiverIMPACTS, DIVERSIFOOD, and SolACE — spanning legume agronomy, species mixtures, and crop rotation strategies.
Participated in GenTORE (genomic tools for livestock resilience), SMARTER (small ruminant breeding), ROADMAP (antimicrobial reduction), MIXED (mixed farming), and coordinated RELACS covering animal husbandry.
Contributed to iSQAPER (soil quality assessment), LEX4BIO (bio-based fertilizers), SEA2LAND (fertilizers from fisheries waste), and SUPER-G (permanent grassland ecosystems).
Active in NEFERTITI (demonstration networks), PLAID (peer-to-peer learning), LIAISON (rural innovation networks), i2connect (advisory services), and DESIRA (digitisation in rural areas).
Coordinated SustainSAHEL — their largest single grant (EUR 1.87M) — focused on crop-shrub-livestock integration and resilient socio-ecological systems in the Sahel region.
In the early period (2015–2018), FiBL focused heavily on soil science, ecosystem services, crop simulation, and foundational organic farming systems — projects like iSQAPER and SolACE reflect a research orientation toward understanding agricultural fundamentals. From 2019 onward, the focus shifted decisively toward livestock systems, resilience, protein crops (legumes, feed), and applied knowledge transfer through farmer networks and AKIS. The emergence of SustainSAHEL as their largest coordinated project signals a new geographic and thematic expansion into tropical agroecology and development-oriented research.
FiBL is expanding from its European organic farming core into global agroecology (Sahel) and increasingly applied, farmer-facing knowledge transfer — expect future projects blending resilience science with practical advisory tools.
FiBL overwhelmingly operates as a trusted consortium partner (31 of 35 projects), bringing deep organic agriculture expertise into large multi-actor consortia rather than leading them. Their two coordinator roles — RELACS and SustainSAHEL — came later in the timeline, suggesting growing confidence in project leadership. With 568 unique partners across 47 countries, they function as a highly connected hub in European agricultural research, making them an excellent bridge organization for building diverse consortia.
FiBL has collaborated with 568 unique partners across 47 countries, making them one of the most extensively networked organic agriculture institutes in Europe. Their reach spans the full EU and extends to Africa (via SustainSAHEL) and China (via iSQAPER), giving them unusual geographic breadth for a Swiss research centre.
FiBL is one of the world's few research institutes exclusively dedicated to organic and sustainable agriculture, giving them a depth of expertise that university departments or general agronomic centres cannot match. As a Swiss foundation operating extensively within EU frameworks, they bring a non-EU perspective combined with deep EU network integration — valuable for consortia needing associated-country partners with top-tier credentials. Their combination of hard science (genomics, soil chemistry, breeding) with participatory farmer-engagement methods makes them uniquely able to deliver research that actually reaches the field.
