News
14/12/2021
GMOs
Commission event: Can New Genetic Engineering Techniques (NGETs) be sustainable?
The European Commission invited stakeholders, public officials, and politicians for a high-level event to discuss their plans to launch new…
Alternatives for contentious inputs: Research well on track, 30 November 2021-1 December 2021
On 30 November and 1 December, the Organic Innovation Days 2021 entitled “Better inputs for organic agriculture” took place online. In 2021,TP Organics’ annual public event,…
6th European Conference on copper in Plant Protection, 17-18 November 2021, online
2021 was an extremely rainy year, posing challenges for copper minimization on farms with permanent and specialty crops. As it…
Organic’s approach to plant health: Webinar with MEP Eric Andrieu - 16 November 2021, online
On November 16, IFOAM Organics Europe and French Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Eric Andrieu (S&D) co-hosted a webinar…
15/11/2021
Knowledge for organic
Using blockchain technology in organic
Ever wondered how blockchain technology can be used by the organic sector? Check out the highlights of the innovation experiment…
Mainstreaming organic plant breeding – celebrating 20 years of organic plant breeders
‘How to make organic plant breeding mainstream’ – was the guiding question of the 20th anniversary event of the organic…
Last chance to register for the event on research and innovation for organic! 30 November-1 December, online
These are the last weeks to register for the Organic Innovation Days 2021, the only EU event on research &…
Welcome note October 2021 newsletter
Dear readers, Autumn has reached Europe, and unlike nature at this time of year, our work is not slowing down.…
Political hotspot October 2021 newsletter
26 October marked the final day for final contributions to the Commission’s inception impact assessment (roadmap) on the Sustainable Food…
Review of events
On 22 September, the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) organised a workshop to discuss the potential role of public policies in…
Preview of events
On 16 November, from 10:30-12:00, MEP Eric Andrieu (S&D) will co-host our website on the organic approach to plant health…
18/10/2021
Knowledge for organic
Intercropping for boosting organic farming in EU – ReMIX policy brief
The European Green Deal addresses the challenges of a fair sustainable food system. To realise the EU Green Deal, the…
18/10/2021
Knowledge for organic
Take part in EIP-AGRI workshop on farm data!
Are you a farmer, an adviser, an Operational Group member, or a tech company using farm data solutions? Applications are…
18/10/2021
Knowledge for organic
The role of Demo Farms in Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems: a workshop for policy makers
The family of FarmDemo projects – NEFERTITI, PLAID and AGRIDEMO – organised a workshop to raise awareness among local and…
15/10/2021
Knowledge for organic
Copenhagen Food System Centre’s work supporting organic development - Interview with Line Rise Nielsen
Our colleagues, Joanna Wierzbicka, Strategic Initiatives Manager, and Bérénice Cau, Project and Fundraising Assistant, met with Line Rise Nielsen, Food…
15/10/2021
Knowledge for organic
Enlarge your organic farm knowledge through videos
A versatile collection of video content from the Organic Farm Knowledge Platform is now available on its own YouTube channel,…
14/10/2021
Knowledge for organic
LIVESEED and OK-Net EcoFeed highlighted to be EU-funded research projects demonstrating potential of more sustainable alternatives
The EU Green Deal and its related Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies identified agroecology and organic farming as one…
Watch RELACS’ new video about copper replacement in oil rose plantation
A new RELACS video explores the work and research currently pursued in the Rose Valley in Bulgaria. Organic farmers are…
12/10/2021
GMOs
Participate in Commission Public Consultation to keep (new) GMOs regulated and to protect organic
As covered in the last edition of the newsletter, the Commission is considering a new legal proposal for so-called “New…
Over 1 million signatures demanding a restoration of biodiversity & support for farmers
Across Europe, more than 1 million citizens are calling for a reduction of 80% in the use of synthetic pesticides…
The future of organic food: Ten take-aways of the Organic Food Conference 2021
Our Organic Food Conference 2021 was a success, and we are happy to share the ten key take-aways. The European…
04/10/2021
Knowledge for organic
LIVESEED project comes to an end after 52 months
The LIVESEED project came to an end on 30 September 2021, after 52 months of activities. Started in June 2017,…
28/09/2021
Knowledge for organic
Digital Excellence in Agriculture Contest: Organic Farm Knowledge platform awarded first prize in Category 2!
The online platform Organic Farm Knowledge was awarded the first prize of the ‘Digital Excellence in Agriculture in Europe and…
28/09/2021
GMOs
Public consultation for new legal proposal upcoming
On 29 April 2021, the European Commission published a study on the status of New Genomic Techniques under Union law…
Last Commission consultation before presentation revised Sustainable Use of pesticides Directive
On 5 October, Mathilde Calmels, IFOAM Organics Europe’s Policy Coordinator on Pesticides, Natural Inputs and Fertilisers, will be one of…
Upcoming vote on the Regulation on Statistics on Agricultural Inputs and Outputs (SAIO) in AGRI Committee
On 2 February 2021, the Commission published its proposal for a Regulation on Statistics on Agricultural Inputs and Outputs (SAIO),…
09/09/2021
Knowledge for organic
Emerging eco-friendly solutions to plant & animal protection inputs - RELACS scientific publications
The RELACS project recently released two new scientific papers on promising plant and animal protection methods and strategies for reducing…
08/09/2021
GMOs
The debate about new GMOs in Europe: Our Policy Coordinator in conversation with Slow Food Europe
In their podcast series on European food and farming policies, Slow Food Europe brings together experts to discuss hot matters…
How are cities engaging with food system transformation? FoodSHIFT webinar, 13 September, 15:00-16:00
City councils – either led by the city government itself or by citizens – are key to involve citizens and…
Organic production of milk and meat - Join RELACS & Organic-PLUS at meeting of European Federation of Animal Science
The Horizon 2020 projects RELACS and Organic-PLUS will organize a session (#51) on “Organic production of milk and meat” on…
Have your say! IFOAM Organics Europe provided feedback to the Commission’s EU School Scheme roadmap
As announced in the Farm to Fork (F2F) strategy, the Commission will “review the EU school scheme to enhance its…
Boosting organic seed & breeding - Policy and stakeholder recommendations
As the LIVESEED project is coming to its end, it has released a synthesis of all its results and recommendations.…
15/07/2021
Knowledge for organic
Organic Farm Knowledge platform finalist in Digital Excellence in Agriculture Contest
The online platform Organic Farm Knowledge was nominated as one of the finalist ‘Digital Excellence in Agriculture in Europe and…
Info Days on Horizon Europe Cluster 6 - 7-8 July 2021, online
Under the Pillar 2 of Horizon Europe, Cluster 6 – Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture & Environment is central to…
Welcome note June 2021 newsletter
Dear readers, I am glad to tell you that IFOAM Organics Europe organised another successful digital edition of our European…
EUREKA summer consortium meeting - 15-17 June 2021, online
On 15-17 June, all EUREKA’s partners virtually met at the project’s annual meeting to update and exchange about the project’s…
18/06/2021
Knowledge for organic
End of OK-Net EcoFeed project
Over the past three years, 19 organisations from 12 European countries have taken part in the Horizon 2020 OK-Net EcoFeed project to help farmers achieve 100% use of organic…
18/06/2021
Knowledge for organic
SmartAgriHubs’ Open call (RESTART & EXPAND)
In July 2020, SmartAgriHubs opened the RESTART and EXPAND open calls, assigning up to €5,000,000 funding for Digital Innovation Hubs…
Curious about alternatives to contentious fertilisers? Read RELACS’ new practice abstracts
The RELACS project just released two new practice abstracts on promising alternatives to fertilisers suitable for organic farming. Struvite as…
Getting food on the climate agenda - FoodSHIFT2030 webinar - 15 June 2021, online
Climate change policy debates fail to consider the interconnected nature of food systems and involve a wide range of actors.…
09/06/2021
GMOs
European retailers take a strong stand against deregulating new GMOs
On 26 May 2021, European retailers took a strong stand against deregulating new GMOs in a joint resolution. One of…
07/06/2021
Knowledge for organic
Are you involved in agriculture or forestry multi-actor projects? Take part in EUREKA’s impact assessment survey!
The EUREKA project launched a survey to collect information on how multi-actor projects (MAPs) perform impact assessments and evaluation. The…
Replacing antibiotics in organic - Handbook on Animal Health and Welfare Protocol (AHWP)
Do you know mastitis (inflammation of the udder) is one of the main reasons for antibiotic treatments on European organic…
Vitamin B2 supplementation and copper reduction in organic farming - New RELACS practice abstracts
The RELACS project recently published three new practice abstracts (practical guidelines) on: Vitamin B2 supplementation for laying and parent hens…
19/05/2021
GMOs
New GMOs in Europe? Slow Food Europe podcast with our Policy Coordinator
Slow Food Europe just launched a podcast series dedicated to European food and farming policies, gathering experts to discuss hot…
Welcome note May 2021 newsletter
Dear readers, It is spring, a period I associate with birth and budding blossoms, the energetic execution of gardening plans…
05/05/2021
GMOs
Political hotspot May 2021 newsletter
On Thursday, 29 April, the Commission released their long-awaited in-house study on the ‘status of new genomic techniques under Union…
29/04/2021
GMOs
Organic movement raises red flag on assumed benefits deregulating new genomic techniques
BRUSSELS, 29 APRIL 2021 – The organic food and farming movement criticises the Commission’s plan to work on a new…
28/04/2021
Knowledge for organic
Stimulating digital innovations through SmartAgriHubs’ open calls – PREPARE, RESTART & EXPAND
In July 2020, SmartAgriHubs opened the RESTART and EXPAND open calls, assigning up to €5,000,000 funding for Digital Innovation Hubs that are supporting diverse stakeholders in the agri-food economy. On 18 March 2021, SmartAgriHubs announced…
26/04/2021
Knowledge for organic
Organic-farmknowledge.org: New information available for organic farmers & advisors
The Organic Farm Knowledge platform provides organic farmers and advisors with practical information. Initially, the platform was set up covering…