IFOAM EU has gathered together the top ten take-aways from last week’s 2019 European Organic Congress, held in Bucharest, Romania.
The Congress brought together organic leaders, policy makers, farmers and producers from across Europe to discuss this year’s theme ‘Innovation and technology: How organic improves, inspires & delivers’. The two-day Congress also provided a platform for the official launch of ‘We Unite’, a 12-minute video produced by IFOAM – Organics International that offers a window into the lives of two organic farmers and the reasons why they join the yearly ‘We are Fed-Up’ demonstration in Germany.
Those top 10 take-aways
- Representatives of the Commission, conventional agriculture, civil society and organic farming agreed that public money should go to public goods.
- Organic can improve through political support. By setting mandatory minimum expenditure of 70% for the environment and climate in each CAP Strategic Plan, organic will be able to deliver at its fullest.
- Work on the Implementing and Delegated Acts of the European Organic Regulation is in progress. The European Commission will start working on controls this year.
- Technology such as the Internet of Things (IoT), big data analytics and artificial intelligence can work with ecology rather than control it. It is important that we can adapt technology to natural cycles and to agroecological systems. When it comes to technology, data and its ownership are key challenges.
- There are great examples of using the Internet of Things (IoT), big data analytics and artificial intelligence in (organic) agriculture. The organic movement is very engaged to thoroughly discuss social, economic, environmental, ethical, technological & political aspects of new technologies. Input collected at the Congress will feed into an IFOAM EU position paper on the matter.
- Innovation goes beyond technology. Social, management and know-how innovation play an important role in transforming food and farming. Successful communication and a trans-disciplinary approach in organic are key! This showed in the examples of the Vermigrand farm, the consumer organisation Bio Sud Ouest France and the organisations part of the Leading Organic Alliance
- We should all unite for good food at fair prices, access to land, and a better future for us all! This is the message from IFOAM – Organic International’s short film that was officially launched at the European Organic Congress http://bit.ly/WeUnite
- 160 participants of 21 different countries attended the Congress
- Do you want to relive the Congress? Read through the Twitter Moments and have a look at the gallery on Facebook.
- Thank you to our co-organisers, sponsors & media partners. You made the Congress possible!