There’s no shortage of opinions when it comes to the future of agriculture. Across Europe and beyond, the debate is often framed as a clash of philosophies: on one side, the chemical-intensive, efficiency-maximising model of conventional farming; on the other, the organic, regenerative, agroecological movements fighting to restore balance and sustainability.
But this binary framing oversimplifies the challenge and threatens to slow progress at the very moment we need to accelerate it.
Let’s be honest: a radical redesign of our food systems is essential. But the way forward isn’t to demand that every farmer immediately leap from one extreme to the other. The way forward is to reframe how we think about change, starting not with ideology, but with design.
Resilience first, not efficiency first
Today’s dominant agricultural systems have been designed to optimise efficiency above all else. And that narrow focus has come at enormous cost: to ecosystems, to communities, and to the farmers themselves.
We propose a new hierarchy for redesigning food systems:
- Resilience
- Sufficiency
- Efficiency
Resilience comes first. Not just climate resilience, but social, inspirational and economic resilience too. Can this farm survive the next flood, heatwave, or price shock? Can the farmer earn a dignified income? Can the next generation imagine themselves thriving in this profession?
Next, sufficiency. Are we producing enough, without over-extracting from people or planet? Are we staying within planetary boundaries while meeting social expectations, such as fair wages and clean water? Do we respect local cultures and values?
Only once these two are secured should we talk about efficiency: how we deliver what’s needed with precision, innovation, and as little waste as possible.
This may sound intuitive. But when we look at how most policies, technologies, and debates are structured, we find the reverse: a race for efficiency that often undermines resilience and skips the critical question of what ‘enough’ really means.
The danger of extremes and the power of first steps
Too often, the pressure to pick a side: organic or conventional creates paralysis. Farmers feel accused, communities feel divided, and the result is resistance, not transformation.
Real change doesn’t start with moral judgment. It starts with small, credible steps that invite farmers on a journey, not away from who they are, but toward what’s possible.
Take the Farm Gebroeders Ham in the Netherlands. A 100-hectare farm began its transition by converting just two hectares to a self-harvest garden. That modest shift not only matched the income from the remaining 98 hectares of monoculture onions in rotation with sugar beets; it also inspired the farmers to imagine more, explore alternative uses of fertilizer at the remaining 98 hectares, open a farm shop and educate young children about the food that grows on the farm. Small steps, well supported, can be catalytic.
At Climate KIC, we support this approach through our RISE4AGRI framework. The design principles of resilience, sufficiency, and efficiency sit within this broader frame, and they must include space for creativity, curiosity, and entrepreneurship; eventually providing the 4 returns: inspiration, environment, social wellbeing, and economy.
Inspiration isn’t fluff. It’s what fuels generational renewal, something Europe’s ageing farming population desperately needs. It’s the sense of connection to the land and territory that often compels young people to stay, care for the soil, produce food, and become stewards of the land by choosing to farm.
Shared responsibility, systemic impact
The resilience–sufficiency–efficiency model works best when it’s supported throughout the food system, not just by farmers, but by every actor in the value chain.
- Farmers play a core role by designing for resilience first — but they can’t do it alone.
- Municipalities shape land-use and permit decisions that can support or hinder resilient practices.
- Banks and investors can offer preferential terms for farmers who commit to resilient system design.
- Consumers and communities shape the cultural and economic signals that drive adoption.
This is not a prescriptive hierarchy, it’s an open dialogue. Progress means building partnerships that reward resilience and position farmers as allies, as stewards of the land, in shaping a just and sustainable food system.
Designing change together
Technology will play a key role, but not as the driver. Efficiency tools like feed additives, precision fertilisation or data-driven monitoring are crucial but most effective when they serve systems that are already designed for resilience and sufficiency.
We’ve seen what happens when the opposite occurs: overproduction, overextraction, and unintended ecological harm, even with ‘efficient’ sustainability methods.
At Climate KIC, we’re working to support the brave first steps, not just celebrating the ultimate transformers. That’s why we’re investing in platforms like Green Horizons: a pan-European farmer network where peer-to-peer learning and storytelling can replace blame with support.
Because the truth is, the first step is often the hardest and the most important.
A call for systemic humility and ambition
We don’t need more ideological entrenchment. We need systemic humility and serious ambition. That means letting go of false binaries, and leaning into complex, context-sensitive solutions that meet the moment.
It means acknowledging that climate-resilient farming is not a destination, but a design process. One that starts not with what we think is right, but with what will actually work, wherever farmers are starting from.
So, let’s stop drawing battle lines and start drawing design maps. Let’s build a food system that’s resilient, sufficient and efficient (in that order) and is inspirational enough to bring the next generation farmers along.
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