Summary

One contract about provision of organic grapes; the initiative is connected to specific labels, advertised to the domestic and export markets, to enhance the image of the company. The overall target is to expand organic wine production in an emblematic area that influences greatly the Spanish wine market.

It is a value-chain related contract solution, where only grapes produced ecologically are bought by the winery Herederos del Marqués de Riscal, S.A (from now on, Riscal), to produce two selected varieties: MARQUÉS DE RISCAL ORGANIC and MARQUÉS DE RISCAL SAUVIGNON BLANC ORGANIC.
In the Rueda case study, grape producers are not associated, however, they are integrated into the value chain by complying to the winery standards and have periodic controls on quality and residues, and have a strict protocol of organic production of high standards.

Public Goods

Summary

The initiative called “Farming for species diversity (Landwirtschaft für Artenvielfalt)” aims to increase the diversity of wild flora and fauna on organic farms. A result-oriented approach with participation of the value chain is pursued. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania the WWF Germany and the federation of organic farming named Biopark have started the initiative together with the retailer EDEKA. A new standard going beyond the requirements for the organic certification has been developed with scientific support.
The nature protection certification is based on a credit point system with a broad range of over 100 measures. Its central element is a catalogue of measures with credits allocated to each of them. Together with a specialised nature protection advisor, the participating farmers choose the measures that are the most suitable and can be best integrated into their agricultural production. Factsheets provide detailed information on the implementation of the measures, suitable locations and potential indicator species.
The whole farm with all its land and the surrounding landscape elements is eligible. If the farmer reaches a minimum of credit points, he gets a supplement for selected products (pork, beef, lamb, and potatoes). The farmer is compensated for his nature protection efforts through the higher priced premium organic product sold with a particular label. The consumers actively support species diversity by purchasing these products.

Public Goods

Summary

The contract is ongoing since 2015 and includes on one hand collective contract between the farmers, and on the other – a contract with the distributor of the honey – “Harmonica” (it is also the name of the brand for natural, eco-friendly products). It also has the features of a value-chain contract, given that the honey and honey products go from the farmers to the processor (a small processing plant for organic honey) and distributor (“Harmonica”).
The farmers within the organization are 30 at the moment and are situated in Southeastern and Northwest Bulgaria within the natural reserves of the Stara Planina Mountain. The honeybee products are distributed as high-quality, pesticide free and eco- friendly products with responsibility for the bees and the ecosystems. The contract terms doesn’t include specific amount of honey that should be delivered to Harmonica, but it is specified on a yearly basis. The payments are dependable on the type of honey and are between 6.50-11 euro per kilogram of processed honey.

Public Goods

Summary

Due to the fragmented nature of forest ownership, groups of private forest owners and managers (Forest Groups) have been established in Flanders (Belgium). These forest owner associations oversee voluntary co-operation between the large number of private forest owners and sometimes
public forest managers. Their objective is implementation of improved and more coherent forest management practices. The 11 active Forest Groups in Flanders cover the whole territory and have almost 13.000 members (about 13% of all forest owners). The interests of the owners contracting membership are vested in the coordinated management of their forest parcels and the professional expertise and service they receive from the Forest Group. This represents i.a. administrative support, coaching and technical support, organization of joint wood sales, voluntary participation to projects or the setting up of combined management plans.

Public Goods

Summary

About 700 farmers throughout Austria, as well as students from 14 agricultural and forestry schools are observing the diversity of plants and animals on their own meadows and pastures. The program “Farmers keep an eye on plants and animals!” is part of Austria’s program for rural development since the period 2007-13 and also in 2014-20.
The program stands for the annual monitoring and documentation of plants and animals, as well as for the willingness to care for and sustain the extensive grassland. The program is part of the education measures of the rural development program, with the aims to raise awareness, to build knowledge among farmers about biodiversity on their meadows as well as to inspire them for biodiversity monitoring. This helps to better understand the relationship between grassland management and the abundance of certain indicator species Regulations are not part of the program but only monitoring activities. Monitoring observations and management measures are reported on an online reporting portal.
Farmers are paid a compensation for their monitoring activities, if they take part in further measures of Austria’s Agri-Environmental-Program ÖPUL, namely CODE WF (€39/ha with a maximum of 3ha) or biological farming (lump sum of €57).

Public Goods

Summary

The network was initially set up by a farm advisor who had good contacts with farmers, local authorities and other large landowners. Land managers in this area have previously struggled to access funding because it is not located in a National Park or Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty which receive additional funding from the Government. This is further compounded by the small size of many of the farms which makes it hard for them to apply to certain farm support payment schemes.
A particular highlight of this network was working with a local council that had been allocated £2 million following the 2015 floods. The group worked to ensure £500k was allocated to an Agri-Environmental Scheme (AES) which the network developed and Calderdale Council oversees. The network has also worked with the Woodland Trust to enhance the woodland creation offer.

Public Goods