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IFOAM Delegation Positions Organic Agriculture at the FAO |
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April 20, 2005
IFOAM Delegation Positions Organic Agriculture at the FAO |
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At the occasion of the “Committee on Agriculture” (COAG) session, which took place from April 14th to the 16th at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), an IFOAM delegation advocated increased support for organic agriculture. In addition to actively participating in the plenary session and promoting organic agriculture, the delegation met with supporters of organic agriculture in several FAO departments. IFOAM targeted the further integration of organic agriculture in FAO’s policies through the Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development (SARD) process. |
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Represented by Antonio Compagnoni (World Board), Bernward Geier
(Director for International Relations) and Cristina Grandi (IFOAM
Liaison Office to FAO), the IFOAM delegation focused its attention on
the 19th COAG session. COAG is a governmental advisory structure of the
FAO that sets the political agenda and plans future activities. One
thematic focus of this year’s meeting was FAO’s program on Sustainable
Agriculture and Rural Development (SARD). The SARD process originated
at the 1992 environmental summit in Brazil, and is an initiative led by
civil society, supported by governments and convened by the FAO. The
initiative was renewed at the last World Food Summit in Johannesburg
three years ago, but thus far has lacked momentum.
The FAO’s recent preoccupation with the arbitrary theme “Good
Agricultural Practice” (GAP) has been subsumed under the SARD umbrella,
and swiftly came to dominate the agenda. IFOAM’s Director for
International Relations Bernward Geier took a critical stand on this
development, emphasizing, “There are at least forty references to GAP
in the SARD document for this meeting, yet just two for organic
agriculture. More and more people and governments agree and support
organic agriculture’s ambitious goal for not only good but also best
agricultural practices. When it comes to agricultural practices, SARD
is and ought to be much more than GAP.” The plenary statement also
announced an increased commitment of the organic movement and IFOAM to
make much more use of the potential of organic agriculture as a
solution within the SARD process.
In a special session on SARD and civil society, the IFOAM delegation
stressed again the relevance and importance of organic agriculture and
expressed major concern that the initiative has not taken any position
so far on whether GMOs are considered by SARD to be part of sustainable
agriculture or not. Apart from the sessions, meetings and spontaneous
lobby contacts on the floor, Cristina Grandi, Manager of IFOAM’s
liaison office in Rome, had arranged a specific work program for the
delegation to meet established partners within the FAO and other
employees interested in learning more about organic agriculture and
potentially joining the interdisciplinary working group on organic
agriculture in the FAO. Under the coordination of Nadia Scialabba El
Hage, this group is the platform to implement FAO’s Priority Area for
Interdisciplinary Action on Organic Agriculture.
IFOAM’s liaison office coordinator Cristina Grandi commented on the
importance and success of the delegations involvement by stating ”there
is an increasing interest in FAO, both by staff and government
representatives, in collaborating with IFOAM, especially for jointly
organizing international events that discuss the most relevant issues
regarding organic agriculture.”
The activities in Rome also provided the opportunity to meet with
partners in the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD),
which is also an UN institution situated in Rome. Preceded by the
successful joint publication of a study on organic agriculture in Asia
(with a focus on India and China), the delegation discussed further
opportunities for cooperation. IFAD showed great interest in
participating actively at the IFOAM Organic World Congress in September
and has already become a new and important partner for the
international organic movement and IFOAM.
More details about IFOAM and the FAO can be found on IFOAM’s web page www.ifoam.org.
IFOAM Press Release, responsible Bernward Geier (Director for International Relations)
IFOAM Head Office:
Charles-de-Gaulle-Str. 5, 53113 Bonn, Germany
Tel: ++49-228-926 50 10 - Fax: ++49-228-926 50 99
www.ifoam.org, E-Mail: headoffice@ifoam.org
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