Voll Regional: Bio Rote Bete für den Berliner und Brandenburger Markt. Foto: Hermannsen 2014

Vegetable Forum

More organic vegetable growers from Brandenburg! Streamlined cooperation in the value chain.

The EIP project “Regionales Bio-Gemüse aus Brandenburg” (Regional Organic Vegetables from Brandenburg) aims to reduce the discrepancy between supply and demand for organic vegetables and organic potatoes – from the region for the region. In 2018, an operational group (OG) with 25 members from the fields of primary production, processing, trade, wholesalers, academia and organisations was founded for this purpose. The aim is to establish and develop competitive, sustainably profitable and scalable organic vegetable production in Brandenburg. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to overcome barriers to organic vegetable production and to coordinate the production, storage, processing and logistics processes between the farms and the downstream phases of the value chain. In some cases, completely new structures have to be created, for example in the area of storage and post-harvest processing. In other areas, the aim is to use existing structures in a different way, for example in logistics. To create market transparency and enhance skills in organic vegetable farming, new formats for sharing ideas and experiences are being developed and know-how from other regions is being incorporated.

The project goals are being implemented with established organic farms and young farmers together with retailers, processors and providers of community catering and food services. The aim is to coordinate crop planning between farms, initially for potato. And then to expand planning to include other vegetables later on. Production will be adapted to the specific requirements of the supply and demand side. The flows of goods and information are coordinated by software to be developed or converted into efficient logistics solutions by adapting existing software.

Vegetable field schools and formats for market discussions are developed and tested as instruments for professional dialogue. A mentoring model helps young farmers and diversification farms to develop their skills.

Contacts at the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development:

Charis Braun (charis.braun@hnee.de)

Prof. Dr. Anna Maria Häring (anna.haering@hnee.de)

In Kurzform: Projektblatt des Ministeriums (2018). Link zur Pressemitteilung der FÖL e.V.

Bewilligt! Feierliche Übergabe und freudige Gesichter! v.l.n.r: M. Wimmer, A.M. Häring, H. Rieken, A. Bangert, C. Braun, A. Riediger, J. Vogelsänger | Foto: Beblek 2017

Sekt darf bei einer Feier nicht fehlen | Foto: Rieken 2017