The Conclusions of Conference A: “Organic Farming, Good Agricultural Practice, Protection of the Environment”

Conference A of the fourth year of the Bioacademy addressed the current issues of organic agriculture and environment protection with an emphasis on soil and water. A number of papers pointed out that the need to demonstrate positive environmental effects of organic agriculture would increase in the future, especially in connection with the EU subsidies. These are mostly aimed at the protection of the environment. If its effects are not proven unambiguously, the financial support may decrease.

In the first phase of the system evaluation, it is necessary to choose suitable indicators that might answer these questions. Therefore, a number of papers discussed these issues while giving specific examples. As far as water resources are concerned, German researchers have proved a decrease in nitrogen seepage. In most of the documented examples, which were monitored over a number of years, a minor surplus of nutrients was observed, as well as their lower seepage in comparison with conventional agriculture. In some research reports and in practice, however, we may encounter examples of a higher loss of nutrients, which are usually related to an improper management of soil, for example when the growth is ploughed under at inappropriate times. Therefore, it is necessary to avoid the counterproductive losses of nitrogen by optimising the crop cultivation and synchronizing the supply of nitrogen originating from the plant remains and from the soil with the current needs of the plant nutrition. Apart from the conclusions stemming from exact farming experiments (which included a number of recommendations), large-scale projects from the Baltic countries were documented, which addressed the issues of the protection of natural resources including water. These agricultural practices entail the recycling of organic matter.

Following the research results, the issues of the protection of water resources utilizing the methods of organic farming are beginning to be dealt with by water resources management worldwide. As an example, a large-scale project from the Munich area was mentioned, whereby water companies themselves initiate and co-finance the transfer to organic farming. As a result of the EU legislation and the Nitrate Directive, the Czech Republic has to address the issues of the contamination of water resources as well. There was a discussion of the organic agricultural practice and the requirements of the Nitrate Directive, especially in the vulnerable areas. It is obvious that organic farming fully conforms to these requirements.

Optimal plant nutrition and the losses of nutrients from the system are closely related to the quality of soil. These issues drew a considerable attention, as maintaining and/or improving the fertility of soil is one of the most important aims of organic agriculture. The revitalized soil has to be considered a certain integrated organisms with a number of processes going on in it. The quality of soil during the transfer to organic farming and during its long-term operation was addressed in small-patch experiments carried out in Switzerland, which were published in the prestigious Science magazine.

Organic agricultural systems thus demonstrate a highly effective approach to natural resources. However, we cannot expect the changes in soil, (e.g. a higher contents and quality of organic matter and higher biological activity) to occur immediately after transferring to these systems. Changes in physical, chemical and biological qualities of soil occur after eight years or more. In this respect, it seems necessary to discuss suitable indicators by means of which we could describe and assess these changes in practice. These issues does not only concern the Czech organic farming practice and were paid due attention in papers and ensuing discussions.

The influence of agricultural systems on the environment and the possibilities of its protection is very topical nowadays, which is testified by the fact that two ministers – the Austrian Minister of Agriculture and the Environment and his Slovak counterpart – took an active part in the conference. Apart from of the impacts of the expansion of European organic agriculture on the environment and natural conservation, the Austrian Minister addressed the issues of supporting this system on the basis of supply and demand. He made a clear statement about the genetically modified organisms, which are rejected in Austria. Compared to Austria, Slovakia has a lower percentage of organically farmed land, and it is necessary to educate the public on the quality of organic products to make the customers ready to pay a higher price for them. Attention was paid to the issues of environment protection and organic farming as a vehicle of harmony between people and nature in this contribution as well.

All lecturers participated in the closing chaired discussion, which addressed the issues of good agricultural practice in organic farming, the necessity of new conceptual approaches to the development of this system and the need of new systematic knowledge, which is essential for managing a functioning competitive system capable of producing quality food products. These are in demand not only in Western Europe, but in the Czech context as well. Apart from the production issues, the new approaches have to address the position of the system in environment protection and landscape conservation, which will become increasingly important in the future.

The Conclusions of Conference B: “Organic Farming as a Business”

Conference B addressed the issues related to running an organic enterprise. It was divided into three sections: Farm Economics, Marketing, and Policies and Institutional Methods. The following conclusions were made at the individual sections:

Farm Economics

One of the main assets of creating the European Action Plan for Organic Food and Farming is the codification of the support of organic farming in an official document that can be referred to during the negotiations with the European Commission.

More political attention should be focused on the development of the market and its necessary tools (stock exchanges, logistics, processing capacities, etc.), not only on the production support.

The relevant policies should be more well-balanced: a recommendation was made to introduce other means of supporting the demand (tax allowances, market regulations, etc.)

It has been shown that organic enterprises can be profitable (even without support for some products) but it is necessary to look for new distribution routes. In any case, it is desirable to market the production at a premium.

To improve the decision processes at farms, it will be necessary to determine basic economic indicators on the individual level (especially the costs) in the same way as in conventional agriculture.

To ensure the stability of organic farming on the national level, it is desirable to encourage the cooperation between producers, processors and traders in order to support the local consumption and limit massive imports.

Marketing

The market with organic products is imbalanced. Some products are in shortage (vegetables, eggs, pork), others in surplus (milk, beef). It is therefore necessary to focus on the market development, especially in the CEE countries, where a rapid growth in production can be expected. It is essential to finish building the instruments necessary to run the market and focus the current policies on this aspect of organic farming.

The cooperation between organic farmers and the formation of marketing initiatives have proved successful in a number of countries. Essential in this respect is especially professional management, the specification of aims, as well as motivation and innovation. It is advantageous to market the products in bulk (which is cost-effective) and focus on the regional market. Key words like “fresh” are very important.

To increase the sales, especially in the new EU member countries, it is essential to improve the farmers’ business skills and to overcome the lack of advisors and market information in this area.

A number of positive examples from various countries have shown that organic products can be launched successfully.

The new member countries should focus on overcoming their unwillingness to cooperate and to create strategic documents, such as action plans, etc.

Policies and Institutional Methods

The CAP is still oriented mostly towards supporting the conventional production and thus in fact prefers conventional agriculture.

Research has shown that the state pays an important role in the development of organic farming, as does the level of cooperation of the participants in the movement.

Even though there are opinions that organic farming should be subsidized primarily if it launches its products on the market (the transaction costs are lower in that case), its support is legitimate even if this is not the case, since the very method organic farming has positive effects on natural resources and thus it represents a positive service to the community.

The liberalization in the EU as well as worldwide will be favourable for organic farming (especially for the viable and diversifying farms), but less so for the conventional farms. This holds true on the assumption that acreage-based payments will continue.

Agricultural policy plays some role in the European organic farming but its position is not essential. The motivation to create the EU was not political and the driving force of its development should not only be favourable policies. For this reason, new ideas in organic farming are needed to strengthen the movement internally.