Organic farming offers a sustainable alternative for environmentally and health-conscious consumers and farmers, while also aiming to preserve soil fertility and biodiversity. However, transitioning to organic farming requires knowledge and experience, as this new approach often involves risks. This is precisely why credible examples that demonstrate in practice how organic production can succeed—and how environmental and economic sustainability can be combined with independence from external inputs—are crucial.
What Are Lighthouse Organic Farms?
The Lighthouse Network of Organic Farms, initiated by the Research Institute for Organic Agriculture (ÖMKi), was launched in spring of 2026 with the goal of providing tangible examples and opportunities for personal engagement with sustainable agricultural practices for farmers, agricultural advisors, and consumers.
The EU Mission Soil and the Living Labs Framework
The Mission Soil will put in place a network of 100 Living Labs and Lighthouses in rural and urban areas by 2030 to support the transition towards healthy soils. Living Labs and Lighthouses play a crucial role in accelerating the adoption of sustainable practices by users and in fostering the development of solutions tailored to specific local conditions. Lighthouses are sites for demonstration of exemplary solutions, training, peer-to-peer learning, and communications related to improving soil health. They are individual sites, such as an individual farm, forest exploitation, industrial site, or urban city green area.
(Source: https://mission-soil-platform.ec.europa.eu/living-labs).
ÖMKi’s Lighthouse Network of Organic Farms were chosen from their On-farm Network, across the country. They will provide a platform for inspiring farmers to share their knowledge and motivate others. In the next 12 month, there will be two events per farm, and a video series combined with a social media campaign. The aim is to reach as many farmers and consumers as possible.
Criteria for ÖMKi’s Organic Lighthouse Farms
The set of criteria for ÖMKi’s Organic Lighthouse Farms: applies innovative practices that are exemplary from an organic farming perspective regarding soil health, input reductions, plant protection, crop production, water retention, greenhouse gas emission reduction, harvesting, storage, processing, waste & energy reduction, biodiversity support, habitat restoration, animal welfare, technological advancements, fair economic systems, economic viability, social justice, knowledge sharing, and involvement in innovation projects. Read more about the project.
Lighthouse Organic Farms and the PHITO Project
The Network very much aligns with the aspirations of the PHITO project. According to the PHITO project plan, for each food system (FS), potential lighthouse farms are to be identified which make advances along the aspired transformational pathway, to base the development of transition pathway feature, analysing and establishing a nodal network of steps to be considered. Practical examples on lighthouse farms will be selected for showcasing as PHITO stories was well, to promote the transition to sustainable agriculture. SMFs that have made steps in farm sustainability through new business ideas or greener production processes will be found in all FS; these examples can be complemented by truly inspirational lighthouse farms from other FS too.
From the eight Lighthouse Organic Farms, more of them are active members of the Phito Community.
Gál Farm: A Jewel Box in Kiskunság National Park
„László Gál, one of ÖMKi’s on-farm partners, switched to organic farming in 2002. Due to the conditions of the sandy soil and dry climate, they have to carefully select which crops to grow and which technologies to use. At Gál Farm, no-till farming and direct seeding are the main methods used. In addition to crops, gray cattle and racka sheep also add color to the farm. Gál Farm is a jewel box in the heart of Kiskunság National Park.” His Farm hosted Phito’s first Hungarian event in April 2024.
Antal Biofarm: Regenerative Methods on the Great Plain
Antal Biofarm is also located on the Hungarian Great Plain.
“We have been cultivating the surrounding fields since 2013, and since 2015 we have been producing exclusively according to the rules of organic farming. We believe that only healthy, living soil can produce food with real nutritional value, which is why we use regenerative, environmentally conscious methods to preserve the biological diversity and long-term productivity of our farmland. Over the past few years, we have gradually built up our processing capacity, so that today we no longer sell a significant portion of our harvest to wholesalers, but process it locally as small-scale producers. Our goal is to add as much value as possible to the food we produce and deliver it directly to consumers whenever possible. This way, we can not only track the raw materials from sowing to packaging, but also take full responsibility for quality. We believe that a short supply chain is not only more sustainable, but also more personal and reliable—and we want to achieve this with every single product we make.”
Source: https://www.antalbiofarm.hu/bemutatkozas
Building Resilience Through the Lighthouse Organic Farms Network
They all face the same problems in the Great Plain of Hungary, where droughts are becoming increasingly concerning. Farmers are actively looking for ways out of this crisis: networking, offering mutual aid and sharing knowledge. It is more important than ever to have a platform where they can connect. Their feedback is also invaluable to develop the necessary features of the Phito App.
The Network’s hope is that Lighthouse Organic Farms’ ability to adapt to current challenges, including digital solutions, is motivational to other organic and conventional farmers.
