At the closing of a meeting on organic agriculture in France, Stéphane Travert, French Minister of Agriculture, unveiled the completed Organic Ambition 2022 plan, announced earlier this year.
The plan is a more complete version of a roadmap released this spring, and is organized around seven major axes. Here is summary of the overall approach to encouraging organic agriculture in France:

Axe 1: Develop production to reach 15% of agricultural surface area dedicated to organic agriculture

This goal, coming out of the Estates-General for Food, is to make France one of the leading nations in agroecology on the planet. In order to achieve this goal, more visibility and tools will be given to organic agricultural producers, as well as to those who wish to transition to organic agriculture. Apart from financial help, technical and environmental expertise will also be made available.

Axe 2: Organize the industry

– Currently provided with 4 million euros, the Organic Future fund will be increased to 6 million euros by 2018 and progressively increased to 8 million euros by 2022, and will aim to:

– Develop security tools for all actors in the industry, including in institutional catering (contracting, industry contract agreements, dialogue tools, best practice guides)

– Identify priorities in terms of territorial production to develop a balance between supply and demand

– Develop within Agence Bio, the French agency in charge of organic products, a shared information system between all parties (including at regional level) in order to improve market knowledge of organic production in the territory by industry as well as European and international markets

– Pursue work with interbranchorganizations to put in place industry plans established as part of the Estates-General of Food, while ensuring coherence in strategies between industries, all while taking into account questions related to animal welfare and biodiversity.