OKOLOGISK LANDSFORENING

Their core work

Økologisk Landsforening is Denmark's national organic farming association, representing organic farmers and advocating for the expansion of organic agriculture. In H2020 projects, they contribute practical farmer knowledge and facilitate participatory research — bridging the gap between academic research and on-farm adoption. Their role centers on dissemination, farmer engagement, and ensuring that research outputs on intercropping, mixed farming, and organic inputs are tested and validated with real farming communities.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their early H2020 work (2017) focused on plant-side innovation — specifically agroecology and intercropping through DIVERSify. By 2018-2020, their focus broadened considerably to include livestock, animal husbandry, mixed farming systems, and policy development (RELACS, MIXED). This shift from crop-only diversification to whole-farm system integration — combining plants, animals, and decision-support tools — shows a clear move toward more complex, systems-level organic farming research.

Moving from crop-focused diversification toward integrated mixed farming systems with stronger emphasis on farmer decision-support tools and policy influence.

How they like to work

Økologisk Landsforening operates exclusively as a partner or third party — never as a coordinator — which is typical for a national farming association contributing practical knowledge rather than leading research design. With 68 unique partners across 22 countries from just 3 projects, they join large, pan-European consortia where their role is to represent the farmer voice and facilitate on-farm dissemination. They are a reliable practice partner rather than a research driver.

Despite only 3 projects, they have connected with 68 partners across 22 countries, reflecting participation in large Research and Innovation Action consortia. Their network spans most of Europe, with natural strength in Nordic and Western European organic farming communities.

What sets them apart

As Denmark's national organic farming association, they offer something research institutes cannot: direct access to a large network of practicing organic farmers willing to test and validate research outputs on their farms. For consortium builders, they provide the critical "multi-actor" component that Horizon calls increasingly require — genuine farmer participation, not token involvement. Denmark's position as a European leader in organic market share adds weight to their dissemination role.

Highlights from their portfolio

• DIVERSify
  Their largest funded project (EUR 141,754), focused on intercropping — a topic now gaining mainstream traction as the EU pushes crop diversification in the Farm to Fork strategy.
• MIXED
  Their most recent project (2020-2025), addressing the complex challenge of integrating crops, livestock, and agroforestry — with explicit focus on decision-support tools and policy development.