Political hotspot February 2022 newsletter

Promotion policies, an important funding opportunity for organic – Deadline calls for proposals 21 April
On 16 December, the European Commission presented its 2022 promotion policies, aiming to inter alia open new markets and opportunities for organic in the agri-food sector. Just under 40% of promotion policies’ budget (€70 million) is dedicated to promoting sustainable and organic products.

Promotion policies support actors of the sustainable and organic food sector, either by assisting existing projects or accompanying the creation of new businesses. Created in 2014, promotion policies did not always focus on organic. This changed in 2021, when the Farm to Fork Strategy set the objective of promoting organic agri-food products. To help realise this, the European Commission has put organic in the spotlight by creating a specific budget for promoting organic products inside and outside the EU.

43% more budget for promoting organic than in 2021
This year, the European Commission allocated €185.9 million on promoting European agri-food products. Just under 40% of this budget (€70 million) is dedicated to the promotion of sustainable and organic products. This is a 43% increase compared to the 2021. This shows the dedication with which the organic movement has seized this opportunity last year, as the Commission adjusts the proposed amounts annually, based on the previous year’s submissions.

What programmes does the Commission support?
Promotion programmes may consist of:

‘Simple’ programmes: Submitted by one or more proposing organisations from the same Member State; and
‘Multi’ programmes: Submitted by at least two proposing organisations from at least two Member States or one or more Union organisations.

Programmes are also divided among those aimed at:

Promoting projects within the internal market (IM); and
Promoting projects within third countries (TC).

It means that four types of programmes exist:simple programmes in the internal market, simple programmes in third countries, multi programmes in the internal market, and multi programmes in third countries.

The allocated budget for simple programmes promoting organic and sustainable products is €27 million. The allocated budget for multi programmes promoting organic and sustainable products is €43 million.

This budget has been established in coherence with figures from last year. For example, the 2022 budget for simple programmes in the internal market has been more than doubled due to a high demand in 2021. The 2022 budget for simple programmes in third countries has been lowered, due to more modest application rates in 2021.

Can you receive support? Who’s eligible to apply
Trade or inter-trade organisations, producer organisations, agri-food bodies can apply for funding for their activities planned to be implemented over a period of at least one but not more than three years. These activities should consist of promotional activities and information campaigns. For example, public relations, advertising, points of sales activities, participation in events and fairs of national, European and international importance, social media activities, online promotion campaigns, etc.

What is the procedure to apply?
The call for proposals to apply for promotion policy funds was published on 20 January (Searching for “AGRIP” may help in finding the calls for proposals faster).

The deadline for submitting projects is 21April 2022 at 17:00 CET, and the Commission issues its decision regarding which projects will be co-financed in October 2022. The Research Executive Agency (REA) manages the allocation of funds.

For a more detailed agenda, the Commission has created an infographic about the life cycle of promotion programmes.

Useful links

European Commission’s presentation summarizing what promotion policies are and how to apply;
The REA’s website dedicated to promotion policies;
REA’s FAQs on promotion policies (updated in April 2021).

Promotion policies are a crucial moment for the organic movement. Let’s not miss the opportunity!
IFOAM Organics Europe members have access to the following useful tools on our member extranet:

New EU Campaign to stimulate organic purchasing behavior in supermarket
Also Sweden, Finland, The Netherlands, and Belgium are joining forces to stimulate the sales of organic products. This four European Countries started a project to increase the impact on organic growth, aiming at achieving a higher organic market in line with the European Commission Action Plan.
Read more about this project on our dedicated article and take action!

For information about what you can gain from being a member, read our membership page and contact [email protected]. You can contact the same email address for access rights.

For more information on promotion policies and IFOAM Organics Europe’s work on this issue, please contact [email protected]