This report sets out the BOND Project’s activities and findings in two Central European countries – Poland and Czech Republic – focusing on small scale organic farming.

Both countries share a common history as part of the Eastern bloc after WWII and then post-soviet reality from the end of the twentieth century. Both joined the European Union in 2004 and have been implementing the Common Agricultural Policy since then. They also have important differences, and all these factors and sometimes turbulent histories have heavily affected these countries’ agriculture and farmers. Participation in BOND provided an opportunity to conceive of new ways to bridge not only the slightly different local situations in Central Europe but also created a stronger links between individual, diverse actors in the agricultural sector, with different experiences and needs. The reality for many of these voices is that are not always heard, yet small scale farmers are entrusted with building sustainable agroecological farming from the bottom up. This report summarises three years of work by the project consortium. It focuses on seven active representatives from the farming sector and their approaches to collective action under the BOND scheme, through its three main stages – SEE, LEARN, TELL.

The report identifies several barriers to progress:

• lack of knowledge of problems hindering collective action by small scale organic farmers in Poland and Czech Republic, compared to other European countries;
• lack of trust, confidence, cooperation or good advice among farmers;
• lack of capital;
• restrictions and limitations on food processing in small scale farms;
• restrictions on growing their own seeds.

A number of recommendations emerge from BOND activities. Full recommendations are listed in Chapter 5. The report concludes with a perspective on the place of Poland and Czech Republic small scale organic agriculture in Europe. It also gives the background of the agroecology what will be an essential form of the agriculture in the next decades according to the EU Green Deal Policy and Farm to Fork Strategy.

The BOND Project (Bringing Organisations & Networks Development to higher levels in the Farming Sector in Europe) has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research & Innovation programme under grant agreement N° 774208.