BIOFACH 2021

With the Farm to Fork Strategy and its target to reach 25% EU organic land by 2030, the Commission put organics at the heart of a transition to sustainable food systems.  Policymakers and the organic movement will discuss how the new EU Organic Action Plan, the Organic Regulation 2018/848 and the CAP must be adapted to reach 25%, and the impacts these initiatives may have in the EU and abroad.

Opening speech:
– Maria do Ceu Antunes, Minister of Agriculture, Portugal

Speakers:
– Wolfgang Burtscher. Director-General – DG Agri, European Commission
– Aina Calafat Rogers. International Project Manager – SEAE
– Thierry Stoedzel. CEO – ECOCERT France
– Jan Plagge. President – IFOAM Organics Europe

Closing speech:
– Janus Wojciechowski, Commissioner of Agriculture, European Commission

Moderator:
– Eduardo Cuoco. Director – IFOAM Organics Europe

The LIVESEED project (Improving the performance and competitiveness of the organic sector by boosting organic seed and plant breeding efforts) will present & discuss the scientific controversies and the regulatory issues related to New Plant Breeding Techniques (NPBTs) as well as the results of a European survey on consumers attitudes and preferences on NPBTs in organic farming.

Speakers:
– Dr. Monika Messmer. Head of Plant Breeding Group – FiBL Schweiz
– Martin Sommer. Policy Coordinator on GMOs, Patent and Seeds – IFOAM Organics Europe
– Prof. Raffaele Zanoli. Professor – Università Politecnica delle Marche (UNIVPM)

Moderator:
– Dr. Susanne Padel. Researcher – Thünen Institut

Currently, there are good but rather scattered examples of governments that have been developing conducive and innovative policy instruments to introducing and implementing agroecological and resilience principles. This session will connect those efforts in order to increase learning between policymakers, as well as enriching the discussion on the role and instruments for country-level action.

Speakers:
– Alex Lwakuba. Commissioner Crop Production – Department. Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries of Uganda
– Sundar Anbalagan. Chief Executive Officer – Government of Sikkim
– Prem Thapa. Executive Director – Nepal Permaculture Group
– Dhan Bahadur Kathayat. Agri Extension Officer – Ministry for Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperative, Karnali Province

Moderator:
– Gábor Figeczky. Senior Manager Global Policy – IFOAM – Organics International

Join in and discover the new statistics from 2019 in the organic sector, global market development and trends, development of regulations.

Speakers:
– Barbara Jäggin. Senior Policy Advisor – SECO
– Cornelia Kirchner. Senior Guarantee and Policy Coordinator – IFOAM – Organics International
– Amarjit Sahota. Founder and Director – Ecovia Intelligence
– Dr. Helga Willer. Department of Extension, Training and Communication – FiBL – Forschungsinstitut für biologischen Landbau

Moderator:
– Louise Luttikholt. Executive Director – IFOAM – Organics International.

We will explore the market information from the IFOAM – Organics International/FiBL statistics book and deepen into trends and strategic market positioning from several parts of the world.

Speakers:
– Dr. David M. Amudavi. Executive Director – Biovision Africa Trust
– Alexis Carey. International Trade Manager – Organic Trade Association (OTA)
– Manoj Kumar Menon. Executive Director and CEO – International Competence Centre For Organic Agriculture (ICCOA)
– Dr. Helga Willer. Department of Extension, Training and Communication – FiBL – Forschungsinstitut für biologischen Landbau
– Amada Vélez Méndez. Managing Director

Moderator:
– Louise Luttikholt. Executive Director – IFOAM – Organics International

The new EU Organic Regulation will enter into application in 2022 and changes are expected for organic international trade. The session will focus on two aspects for which changes are significant: 1) Change of approach from equivalency to compliance, with a focus on group certification, 2) Re-negotiation of Equivalency Agreements with Third Countries.

Speakers:
– Florentine Meinshausen Smallholder Group Certification Expert, IFOAM Organics International
– Antoine Faure. Board member – EOCC
– Luis Martin Plaza. Policy Officer – Organics Unit, DG AGRI, European Commission

Moderator:
– Emanuele Busacca. Regulation Manager – IFOAM Organics Europe

Participants can expect to get an understanding of markets and consumption patterns based on a thorough analysis of 8 focus countries and 3 selected value chains. Recommendations of interventions how to boost Organic Trade in Africa will be presented and discussed in alongside the question of: What is mostly needed? Who commits to take a lead, responsibility and investment? And How to best achieve the goal?

Speakers:
– Dr. David M. Amudavi. Executive Director – Biovision Africa Trust
– Markus Arbenz – Freelance consultant – Organics & Development strategies
– Geertje Otten. Senior Consultant – ProFound
– Fortunate Nvakanda. Executive Director – Zoppa Trust
– Barbara Zilly. Senior Manager Capacity Development -IFOAM – Organics International

Moderator:
– Samia Maamer. Direction Generale – Ministère de l’Agriculture Biologique

Combined with shifts in diets and production, agroecological food systems can contribute to reducing GHG emissions and provide many co-benefits for biodiversity, soil carbon sequestration and adaptation to climate change. This session will showcase concrete examples form farm to fork showing how and why organic farming should pay a key role when discussing how to curb emission in the food sector.

Speakers:
– Helmy Abouleish. CEO – Sekem Group
– Adrian Müller. Department of Socio-Economic Sciences FiBL – Forschungsinstitut für biologischen Landbau
– Thomas Roland. Head of department, responsibility – Coop Danmark A/S
– Sybille Kyed. Head of Agriculture and Food Policy – National Organic Association, Denmark
– Cris Panerio. National Coordinator – MASIPAG, The Philippines

Moderator:
– Gábor Figeczky. Senior Manager Global Policy – IFOAM – Organics International

Horizon Europe, the EU’s Research & Innovation Programme, will start in 2021. You will learn about funding opportunities for the organic sector, and organic food companies in particular. You will get inspiration from two CORE Organic research projects that contributed to improve organic food processing (SUSORGPLUS, ProOrg). They will share their experiences and ideas for further research.

Speakers:
– Hans-Jörg Lutzeyer. Scientific Officer – DG Research & Innovation, European Commission
– Gardis von Gersdorff. PhD Student – University of Kassel
– Flavio Paoletti. Senior Researcher – Research centre for food and nutrition of the Council for Agricultural Research and Economics – CREA, Italy
– Hugo De Vries. Research Director, Science Direction Food and Bioeconomy – French National Institute for Agricultural, Food and Environmental Research (INRAE)

Moderators:
– Bram Moekskops. Research and Innovation Manager – IFOAM Organics Europe
– Eduardo Cuoco. Director – IFOAM Organics Europe

Strategies of H2020 projects LIVESEED, BRESOV and ECOBREED on boosting organic seed and breeding across Europe. Showcase the new EU organic seed router database, which will increase transparency and reduce administrative burdens. Seed supplier can manage their seed offers to all EU Member States with one single login. National authorities can revise seed offers and update their national databases.

Speakers:
– Prof. Dr. Branca Ferdinando. Associate Professor of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops – University of Catania, Italy
– Dr. Meglič Vladimir. Head of the Crop and Seed Science Department – Agricultural Institute of Slovenia

Moderators:
– Msc. Xenia Gatzert. Business Unit Manager – FiBL Germany
– Dr. Monika Messmer. Head of Plant Breeding Group – FiBL Schweiz

Due to the big growth of organic certified surfaces & operators and thanks to new technologies such as blockchain, other IT technologies and satellite imagery, control & certification processes in organic farming & production is going to change. Remote controlling is something the sector has started to experience due to the COVID-19 pandemic. How will organic certification change in the following years?

Speakers:
– Michel Reynaud. Board member – IFOAM Organics Europe
– Georg Eckert. President – EOCC
– Paschalia KOUFOKOTSIO. Team Leader – Organics Unit DG AGRI, European Commission