Towards CAP post 2027: evidence on nudging farmers to leverage more sustainable practices and behaviours

According to the prediction of the Food and Agriculture Organization, food supply must increase by almost 70% by 2050, with tremendous consequences in terms of land depletion, natural capital and resource use, and greenhouse gas emissions. The current agri-food system is inadequate to the need to cope with this increased demand while also preserving the environment.[[ Can nudging improve the environmental impact of food supply chain? A systematic review - ScienceDirect.]] Although the EU has made strides in improving the sustainability of agriculture, substantial efforts are still needed to achieve the ambitious targets of the European Green Deal, in particular the bioeconomy strategy, EU farm to fork and biodiversity strategies 2030, the communication on sustainable carbon cycles, farm to fork strategy, circular economy action plan (CEAP) and the objectives of the 2023-2027 CAP. The common agricultural policy is a key tool to achieve a sustainable transformation, and it puts farmers at the core of its actions. We currently know very little about the role of behavioural factors in determining farmers choices and whether non-pecuniary mechanism, such as policy nudge[[ Nudges is defined as an intervention which leads to a predictable change in behaviour by reinforcing the intentions to act in a sustainable way or by indirectly suggesting adoption of new practices that are easy to implement and do not fundamentally change the incentives of individuals or groups of individuals.]], can be used effectively in policy design. Evidence about the adoption of nudging tools in promoting environmentally sustainable practices along the food supply chain, including the role of circular bio-based options[[ Complementary to the topic HORIZON-CL6-2023-GOVERNANCE-XX: Revitalisation of European local (rural / peri-urban) communities with innovative bio-based business models and social innovation]], are still relatively sparse. In particular, nudges that have been proved to work efficiently on the consumer side (e.g. default nudges, social norm nudges, choice architecture) do not translate well to farmers, and farmers may respond to nudges in a heterogeneous manner, based on their specificities[[ https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC122308.]].

An in-depth understanding of farmers’ nudges is key to spurring large-scale and lasting shifts to sustainable farming systems.

Proposals should take a comprehensive behavioural approach and investigate proximal and distal factors to better understand farmers’ behaviour in decision-making, in order to inform the design and implementation of EU policies (in particular the CAP) and the European Green Deal initiatives with particular focus on farm to fork, biodiversity strategies and climate action.

Proposals should:

• Investigate whether green nudges are able to generate robust and durable behavioural change in farmers and foresters and look into existing and efficient nudging practices in agriculture and forestry sectors to create best practices and develop recommendations for EU policymakers on nudging in public policies of concern for farmers and foresters.
• Investigate, identify and test innovative nudging practices to help farmers and foresters move into sustainable farming systems, also considering behavioural factors that could influence farmers/foresters deciding or not to engage in these practices.
• Investigate these behavioural factors and identify innovative tools to enlarge knowledge in this field and to improve farmers and foresters’ self-regulatory capacity. Test appropriate policy mechanisms for incorporating the perception of farmers and foresters in decision-making and assess the potential for upscaling innovative nudging practices.
• Create policy recommendations to the decision-makers, including to the AKIS Coordination Bodies in member States, to adapt and tailor CAP AKIS interventions accordingly.

Proposals should explore social innovation and innovative forms of cooperation, including multi-stakeholder/multi-actor partnerships along the value chains, as well as how interactions within value chains/sectors contribute to or hinder the adoption of relevant sustainability-oriented innovations. The proposals are expected to use the multi actor approach. See definition of the multi-actor approach in the introduction to this Work Programme part.

The JRC participation could involve contributing to the investigation, identification and design of nudging practices and eventually participate in the testing phase in one country.

Proposals should include a dedicated task, appropriate resources and a plan on how they will collaborate with other projects funded under this or other topics (i.e. but not limited to projects funded under topic HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-08)

Beyond open access to scientific publications and research data, open access to software, models, workflows, etc. is required to ensure accelerated uptake of innovation, increase research transparency, support immediate and extensive re-use of research materials, and support collaborative and interdisciplinary work, among others.