SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS OF BIOACADEMY 2008
The main topics of the 8th Bioacademy held on 3rd – 5th September in Lednice na Moravě, CZ, were new findings in science and research on organic farming and trends in its development
The starting point of discussion was the shift of organic agriculture from marginal sector to the position of potential leader in the sustainable farming system and the real reasons for low production of Czech organic foodstuffs. Emphasis was put on the necessity to communicate the danger that organic agriculture faces in its co-existence with the GMO production system. A number of European research institutions presented the latest results of their research projects at the Scientific Conference which, for the first time, was a part of this year’s Bioacademy.
Organic agriculture has no ambition to produce foodstuffs only for the chosen few. It aims to be a fully-fledged answer to key issues such as the change of climate, reduction of biodiversity or sufficiency in safe foodstuffs,” said Urs Niggli, director of the Swiss FiBL, Research Institute for Organic Agriculture, who introduced a newly prepared project by the European Technological Platform for Science and Research on Organic Agriculture. “Instead of endless cultivation of more and more ‘perfect crops’, organic agriculture strives to improve the whole agroecosystem,” he drew attention to the principal difference in approach to problems such as the lack of drinking water or extreme weather fluctuation.
“Real co-existence of GM crops and organic agriculture is not possible,” said Thomas Dosch, chairman of the German Bioland Association of Organic Farmers, and pointed out the necessity to actively inform and educate farmers and specialists on the issue of such co-existence. In discussion participants shared the experience of Percy Schmeiser, the winner of the Mahatma Gandhi Award 2000 and laureate of the alternative Nobel prize 2007 (Right Livehood Award) for protecting biodiversity and continuous defence of small farmers’ rights.
The contribution on the reasons for stagnating organic production in the Czech Republic pointed out the persistent problems in Czech organic agriculture such as its low efficiency, small arable acreage or insufficient marketing. Without substantial changes in the system of support it will not be possible to achieve at least 60% Czech produced organic foodstuffs of the total organic consumption in the Czech Republic by 2010, which is the aim set by the “Organic Agriculture and Organic Food” programme of the Czech Ministry of Agriculture. “Methods of collecting, analysing, evaluating and interpreting data are not sufficiently established to be able to provide objective evaluation of results, especially relating to creation of jobs in rural areas, development of processing on farms or support of small family farms and their development. For this reason the measures adopted so far bring no desired change,” said Mr. Roman Rozsypal of EPOS Association of Advisors in Organic Agriculture. Systematic cooperation of specialist organizations with the Ministry of Agriculture should contribute to the resolution of individual problems.
New implementation rules relating to Council Regulation No. 834/2007 coming into force on 1.1.2009 were also presented at the conference. The use of the unified European logo will be obligatory from 1.7.2010. With regard to the new legislature, emphasis was put on the need to maintain the integrity of organic foodstuffs in relation to their basic value. There was also discussion on the approach of the organic movement to the issue of transporting organic food from developing countries versus the obvious social benefit to the country of the producer. A new sales company – PRODEJ BIO, founded by PRO-BIO Association in cooperation with the German BIOLAND Association was introduced to conference participants.
More than 200 guests from over 20 countries from all around the world took part in this year’s Bioacademy which was held under the auspices of IFOAM EU and the Czech Ministries of Agriculture and the Environment. The main organizers of Bioacademy were PRO-BIO Association of Organic Farmers and Bioinstitut, in cooperation with BIO Austria, with the specialist cooperation of FiBL and UP Olomouc. Financial contributions were provided by the Czech Ministry of Agriculture, the Czech Ministry of the Environment, the Austrian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, the Environment and Water Management and the Slovak Ministry of Agriculture. The main sponsors were “Ja! Natürlich Naturprodukte“, Lower Austrian Insurance and the Avalon Foundation.
Karolína Dytrtová
EDITORS
UP Olomouc: Prof. Dr. Ing. Boivoj Šarapatka, CSc., Ing. Marek Bednář
Association of Organic Farmers PRO-BIO: Ing. Jiřina Pavelková, Ing. Vladimíra Červená
The publication of the CD was supported by the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic.
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UP Olomouc, PRO-BIO, Czech Republic