BIOFACH 2023

The session will analyze and discuss the latest development of the organic market sector. This session will investigate challenges and opportunities for the organic sector to support consumption of organic food and products. The session will focus on Italian and German markets and include the experience of France, through the intervention of speakers from Federbio, Naturland and Agence Bio.

Speakers:
Marco Santori – Member of the Director committee/representant, AssoBio/Alce Nero
Laure Verdeau – Director, Agence Bio
Steffen Reese – General Manager, Naturland

Moderator: Eduardo Cuoco – Director, IFOAM Organics Europe

Location: Istanbul room

What are diet, nutritional health & food security outcomes of organic food systems and how can they be part of a transformation to sustainability? We contextualize the farm-to-fork concept and implementation through case studies and research data, and provide a framework for study and measurement of the benefits, challenges, and the dynamics involved with the birth and growth of such systems.

Speakers:
Patricia Flores – Global Academy Manager, IFOAM Organics International
Liliana Stefanovic – Acting Head, Department of Organic Food Quality and Culture at University of Kassel
Salvatore Basile – Presidente, IN.N.E.R.
Julia Baudry – Nutrition epidemiologist, Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team, University of Paris, France

Moderator: Jostein Hertwig – Board member, OFSP SC

Location: St. Petersburg room

Regulatory frameworks for the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in agriculture vary widely depending on national contexts – so this session draws crucial lessons learnt from Canada to feed into the debate in Europe.

Speakers:
Jan Plagge – President, IFOAM Organics Europe
Tia Loftsgard – Executive Director, Canada Organic Trade Association

Moderator: Eric Gall – Deputy Director, IFOAM Organics Europe

Location: Kiew room

Which policy tools and upcoming EU legislations can increase the demand for organic products and influence consumers behaviour? From a proper implementation of the EU Organic Action plan to organic in public procurement and new food labelling systems, this policy day will explore political solutions to support the organic market in a challenging economic context.

Speakers:
Silvia Bender – State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Germany
Elena Panichi – Head of Unit, DG AGRI, European Commission
Jan Plagge – President, IFOAM Organics Europe
Jérôme Cinel – Director, Interbio Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Sybille Kyed – Head of Farm and Food Policy, Organic Denmark
Nic Lampkin – Researcher, Thünen Institute

Moderator: Eduardo Cuoco – Director, IFOAM Organics Europe

Location: Shanghai room

At this session, the latest data on organic agriculture worldwide (area, producers, retail sales), as well as information on the latest developments in organic policies and regulations, will be presented.

Speakers:
Silvan Hungerbühler – Program Manager, State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO
Amarjit Sahota – Founder and Director, Ecovia Intelligence
Helga Willer – Scientist, FiBL

Moderator: Marco Schlüter • Interim Executive Director, IFOAM – Organics International

Location: Seoul room

Following IFOAM Organics Europe’s Policy Day event, BEING ORGANIC in EU project invites you to a networking reception to taste organic food and drinks. The project coordinators from Federbio and Naturland will present the project goals and activities, and it will be an occasion to network and exchange knowledge with the European and national policymakers, as well as to promote the new programme on promotional campaigns.

Location: Event room next to room Shanghai

In response to the urgent need to mitigate climate change, carbon has become a key focus – with policymakers, brands and consumers all looking to the food and farming sector to prove their positive credentials. This session will provide an update on the latest legislative developments. We’ll also hear why it’s important to go beyond carbon and learn from initiatives taking a holistic approach.

Speakers:
Sigrid Griese – Project Manager, Bioland e. V.
Prof. Dr. Knut Schmidtke – Director of Research, Extension and Innovation, FiBL Deutschland e.V.
Hanna Winkler – Policy Officer on Climate Change and Biodiversity, IFOAM Organics Europe
Steven IJzerman – Quality Manager, UDEA

Moderator: Sarah Compson – Associate Director, Standards Innovation, Soil Association

Location: Shanghai Room

Experts from the U.S. and E.U. will provide an update of current policy initiatives that aim to combat climate change. Each speaker will give a brief presentation on current U.S. and E.U. climate policies that include agriculture. The session moderator will lead a discussion on U.S. – E.U. policy updates and opportunities for collaboration, followed by audience Q & A.

Speakers:
Johanna Mirenda – Farm Policy Director, Organic Trade Association
Adam Warthesen – Director of Government & Industry Affairs, CROPP Cooperative | Organic Valley | Organic Prairie
Hanna Winkler – Policy Officer on Climate Change and Biodiversity, IFOAM Organics Europe

Moderator: Chris Anderson – Vice President, Sustainable Strategies

Location: Oslo room

As food prices increase, it is more important than ever to strategically communicate the value of organic produce, what it delivers for people and the planet as well as contributions to the public good. We will explore successful cases, opportunities to improve and discuss current challenges in the sector.

Speakers:
Alex Cullen – Commercial and Marketing Director, Soil Association Certification
Oriol Urrutia – Co-Editor, Bio Eco Actual
Iris Kazazi – Albanian Association of Marketing

Moderator: Andrés González • Senior Digital Media Coordinator, IFOAM – Organics International

Location: Istanbul room

The new Regulation (EU) 2018/848 fundamentally changes the EU’s system for organic imports from third countries, with particularly strong implications for certified smallholder supply chains. We will highlight the state of implementation, key challenges and opportunities for smallholder supply chains and discuss the potential implications on organic imports from EU traders’ perspective in a panel.

Speakers:
Franziska Bringe – Einkaufsmanagerin Kaffee, GEPA mbH
Christoph Eisenbeiss – Certifications, Pronatec AG
Florentine Meinshausen – Senior Expert Group Certification, FiBL
Maren Peters – Sourcing Development Manager Africa, Tradin Organic Agriculture

Moderator: Vladyslav Zhmailo – Policy and Guarantee Coordinator, IFOAM Organics International

Location: Istanbul room

The global organic market develops dynamically and in different ways around the world. We take a closer look at market information from the IFOAM – Organics International/FiBL statistics book and reflect about trends and strategic market positioning from several parts of the world. Expect first-hand market information from country experts from different regions of the world.

Speakers;
Karen Mapusua – President, IFOAM – Organics International
David Amudavi – Executive Director, Biovision Africa Trust
Dr. Helga Willer – Scientist, FiBL / Forschungsinstitut für biologischen Landbau
Julia Lernoud – Vice President, IFOAM – Organics International
Miyoshi Satoko – World Board Member, IFOAM Organics International

Moderator:
Marco Schlueter – Interim Executive Director, IFOAM – Organics International

Location: St Petersburg room

2023 will be an important year for seeds, with the Commission’s proposal for new seed marketing rules on the table of policymakers in Europe. We would like to give the audience an overview of what is at stake with new legislation and what kind of changes (organic) seed breeders and producers could expect with new legislation on the horizon.

Speakers:
Gebhard Rossmanith – Consultant, Consulting agency for organic seeds and breeding
Werner Vogt-Kaute – Project Management, International Development, Naturland e.V.
Barbara Maria Rudolf – Director, Saat:gut e.V

Moderator: Eric Gall – Deputy Director, IFOAM Organics Europe

Location: Oslo room

Here you will see examples from Albania, Serbia and Ukraine on how international market cooperation, through Public-Private Partnerships supported with public investment, can build on the capacities of local organic sectors and local communities’ livelihoods, especially in vulnerable areas, with better incomes, more job opportunities and fairer relationships in supply and demand.

Speakers:
Silvan Hungerbühler – Program Manager, State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO)
Alejandro Espinoza – Senior Project Coordinator, IFOAM – Organics International
Jürn Sanders – President, FiBL Europe
Petra Heid – Head of Sustainability, HALBA
Luis Bidaj – General Manager, Bidaj SH.P.K.
Martin Ritter – Managing Director, Organic Life GmbH

Moderator: Andrea Bischof – Senior Advisor sustainable Agriculture and Trade, Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation

Location: St Petersburg room

The session will put the spotlight on sustainable organic food innovation labs, which play a crucial role in finding smart solutions for challenges within organic value chains, for example producer cooperative to develop local organic food markets. The inspiring presentations will be followed by a brainstorming workshop with the participants and a panel debate with the European Commission.

Speakers:
Kerstin Rosenow – Head of Unit, Research and Innovation, DG AGRI, European Commission
Iyad Abu Awad – General Manager, Good Food Mood Co.
Prof. Dr. Katrin Zander – Head of Agricultural and Food Marketing, University of Kassel
Ivana Cavoski – Senior Researcher, Lecturer & Analyst, Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (CIHEAM Bari)
Marie Populus – Founder & Sourcing & Sustainability Team Coordinator, SuperCoop Berlin
Ivana Trkulja – CORE Organic Coordinator, ICROFS, Researcher at All-Ready Project

Moderator: Eduardo Cuoco – Director / Head of Secretariat, IFOAM Organics Europe / TP Organics

Location: Oslo room

Despite the strengthened voices calling for more subsidies for synthetic inputs due to the crisis, we have examples of government initiatives in African countries going down another path. National strategies for agroecology, organic agriculture and farmers’ seed systems hold the promise of a long-term solution that brings economic and climate resilience to African farms.

Speakers:
Dr Karim Abu Bakarr – Minister of Agriculture & Forestry Sn. Presidential Advisor Trade & Investment Ambassador at Large, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security, Government of Sierra Leone
Jeanine Milly Cooper – Minister of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of Liberia
Fredrick Samuel Gibson – UNIDO Liberia Focal Person, UNIDO

Moderator: Paul Holmbeck – World Board Member, IFOAM Organics International

Location: Istanbul room

Sustainability labelling will be high on EU policymakers’ agenda in the years to come, but the methodology that is currently considered by the European Commission favors intensive production instead of supporting a transition towards sustainable food systems. What does this mean for organic and beyond? And which methodology does the organic sector propose instead?

Speakers:
Judith Faller-Moog – President, BioPlanet
Sabine Bonnot – President, ITAB

Moderator: Eric Gall – Deputy Director, IFOAM Organics Europe

Location: Shanghai room

A presentation from policy-makers and experts on the main challenges and opportunities of the new EU Organic Regulation after one year of implementation.

Speakers:
Elena Panichi – Head of Unit, DG AGRI, European Commission
Marian Blom – Vice-President / Project Leader, IFOAM Organics Europe/ Bionext
Michel Reynaud – Vice-President, ECOCERT SA

Moderator: Emanuele Busacca – Regulation Manager, IFOAM Organics Europe

Location: St Petersburg room

EU organic aquaculture production has grown by 60% between 2015 and 2020 (74.032 t or 6.4% of the total production). The EU’s “Farm to Fork” strategy aims at further expansion of the organic aquaculture sector. How realistic are these expectations in the current market and regulatory environment? How can a growth be achieved in line with organic principles? The session will also look into organic aquaculture in Third Countries and their relevance for the EU market.

Speakers:
Christopher Atkinson – Chair IFOAM Aquaculture Group, Soil Association
Lucas Herry – Market Analyst, European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture Products (EUMOFA)
Patrizia Pitton, DG AGRI, European Commission
Annabel Schuhn – Team leader aquaculture & fisheries, Naturland e.V.

Moderator: Udo Censkowsky, Bluesensus

Location: Seoul room

Exchange with experts on the future possibilities of certifying organic products in 5-10 year time from now.

Speakers:
Jan Wicher Krol – Policy Advisor, SKAL Bio Controle
Marian Blom – Vice-President / Project Leader, IFOAM Organics Europe/ Bionext
Michel Reynaud – Vice-President, ECOCERT SA

Moderator: Emanuele Busacca – Regulation Manager, IFOAM Organics Europe

Location: Kiew room

Debates on food security have heightened in the context of the war in Ukraine and COVID. Both revealed systemic vulnerabilities of industrial agriculture. One solution is to build local sustainable food systems: develop small local farms, agricultural cooperatives and direct cooperation between producers and consumers. Organic production has proven to be stable in such circumstances.

Speakers:
Jamila Loukili – CEO, Bioassil
Bram Moeskops – Research & Innovation Manager, IFOAM Organics Europe
Kateryna Shor – Coordinator, OrganicInfo.ua (ICO “IC “Green Dossier”)

Moderator: Toralf Richter – Senior Consultant International Market Development, FiBL, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture

Location: Istanbul room