Strengthening Farmers’ Position in EU Food Value Chains

Strengthening the bargaining power of farmers in Food Value Chains (FVCs) is a key EU policy objective. Strength2Farm brings together experts from the social sciences (agricultural economics, law and policy studies, marketing, and behavioural science) and computer science to contribute to this objective. The project will develop a comprehensive conceptual and analytical framework of EU FVCs to improve the understanding and the analytical capacity of FVCs. Moreover, Strength2Farm will assess and develop solutions for improving farmer bargaining power. Different types of solutions are included: (i) horizontal collaboration in cooperatives and producer organisations; (ii) vertical coordination along FVCs; (iii) regulatory and policy solutions; (iv) digital tools. Novel technologies, such as machine-learning techniques, are used both in the research activities and in the development of the digital tools. Impact of the project is ensured by leveraging consortium linkages with networks, such as AKIS advisory networks, the EU CAP Network and the Rural Pact.