Establishment of the OH-FINE OFC: Establishing the foundations for a dynamic and interactive Organic Farming Learning Community (Deliverable 3.2)

Deliverable 3.2 outlines the establishment of the OH-FINE Organic Farming Learning Community (OFC), a central component of the OH-FINE project designed to act as the operational backbone of OH-FINE connecting all pillars – knowledge mapping, knowledge exchange, co-creation, training, DSS development and dissemination- into a coherent system, to accelerate the adoption of organic farming practices across Europe.
The OFC provides a permanent, pan-European ecosystem where farmers, advisors, researchers, policymakers, and value-chain actors collaborate through both digital and physical channels. Its structure enables the translation of research and multi-actor insights into accessible, practice-oriented knowledge aligned with on-farm needs.
At the heart of the OFC are five Regional Knowledge Hubs (RKHs) established in Ireland, Lithuania, Poland, Bulgaria, and Spain. These hubs function as decentralised platforms for farmer engagement, training, field trials, networking, and co-creation activities adapted to regional climatic, agronomic, and socio-economic conditions. Each hub is developed using a structured stakeholder mapping methodology and benefits from clear guidelines for workshop organisation, engagement processes, and activity planning. Dedicated RKH spaces have been integrated into the OH-FINE digital platform to ensure seamless alignment between physical and digital knowledge exchange.
The OFC’s digital environment has been designed as an integrated architecture connecting the RKHs, Decision Support System (DSS), and community services. Work included defining governance, content workflows, user experience prototypes, and digital communication channels.
The OFC’s thematic focus will be grounded in a comprehensive needs assessment from WP2 complemented with new emerging needs during the activities, highlighting farmers’ priorities related to EU policy, organic compliance, soil and pest management, labour-saving technologies, market access, and animal health. A dynamic European stakeholder database will be developed to support multi-actor involvement.
Additionally, progress includes the successful organisation of the first OH-FINE Forum, the creation of a detailed OFC monitoring framework, and the preparation of tailored awareness-raising guidelines. Next steps concentrate on platform operationalisation, content integration, outreach, and continuous monitoring to ensure long-term impact and community growth.