{"id":48943,"date":"2021-06-30T08:41:41","date_gmt":"2021-06-30T06:41:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bioecoactual.com\/?p=48943"},"modified":"2025-04-10T13:54:25","modified_gmt":"2025-04-10T11:54:25","slug":"ifoam-eoc-2021-organic-european-green-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bioecoactual.com\/en\/2021\/06\/30\/ifoam-eoc-2021-organic-european-green-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"EOC 2021: Putting organic at the heart of the European Green Deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

The EOC 2021<\/strong> (European Organic Congress) is a key annual fixture for the European organic movement, an invigorating \u2018ideas factory\u2019 where the industry debates the biggest issues of the moment \u2013 and, crucially, engages policy makers on them.<\/p>\n

\"EOC
Jan Plagge (IFOAM Organics Europe President) and Janusz Wojciechowski (Commissioner in charge of <\/span>EU Agriculture & Rural Development policy) at 2021 EOC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

EOC 2021: towards a more sustainable food system<\/h2>\n

With its overarching theme of \u2018Organic’s contribution to the European Green Deal\u2019<\/strong>, this year\u2019s Congress focused on ways to ensure that organic is installed at the heart of Europe\u2019s transition towards a more sustainable food system.<\/p>\n

Although the three day event, organised by IFOAM Organics Europe, was a largely digital affair (with some physical sessions hosted by Agrobio in Lisbon, marking Portugal\u2019s presidency of the Council of the EU), it produced a powerful sense of community. There was an added urgency about this year\u2019s discussions too, and a sense that the organic movement must seize the moment.<\/p>\n

We all need to take responsibility<\/h3>\n

After welcoming statements from IFOAM Organics Europe Director, Eduardo Cuoco<\/strong>, the organisation\u2019s president, Jan Plagge<\/strong>, set the scene for the Congress, signalling the need <\/em>for urgency: \u201cTime is running short to tackle the enormous problems we face on climate catastrophe, biodiversity loss, soil erosion, water stress and social challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said that many different concepts and approaches were being proposed as solutions \u2013 agroecology, carbon farming, regenerative farming and welfare-friendly farming, among them. If these terms were familiar to organic farmers and producers, he said, it was because many aspects of them were already embedded in organic approaches. \u201cWe have a solution, the time-tested organic systems approach\u201d, Plagge explained. \u201cIn fact, if organic didn\u2019t exist already, we would need to invent it to tackle the problems the world faces<\/strong>,\u201d he added. But he insisted that the organic community had \u201cto take responsibility to deliver, and to engage and discuss our concepts and solutions with all stakeholders\u201d.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s Congress focused on ways to ensure that organic is installed at the heart of Europe\u2019s transition towards a more sustainable food system<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Plagge said that the European Commission had \u201cchosen to use that tool, that system\u201d, and that that was \u201cclearly stated\u201d in the European Green Deal and flagship Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies \u2013 and backed up by the EU Organic Action Plan. The question of whether all Member States were fully signed up to the Commission\u2019s ambitious target for organic was another matter, and a subject to which the Congress would return to.<\/p>\n

Time for urgent discussions about organic<\/h3>\n

But first, we headed to Portugal to hear from Maria do C\u00e9u Antunes<\/strong>, Portugal\u2019s Minister for Agriculture. She said that the pressing challenges that society faced meant that it was \u201curgent now to be discussing organic methods, and how we can support and promote this system to growers and producers\u201d.<\/p>\n

The minister said that new data from Portugal demonstrated the country\u2019s commitment to organic, and showed that between December 2019 and March 2021 the extent of organic farmland in the country doubled as a result of rapid uptake of organic conversion incentives. She added that organic farming helped develop the \u201cbalance\u201d in food and farming systems that was vital for true sustainability.<\/p>\n

The new CAP and Green Deal – ambition and reality<\/h3>\n

The first session of the Congress \u2013 \u2018The New CAP and European Green Deal: How far apart?\u2019<\/strong> \u2013 brought together a panel of big hitters to assess how well aligned EU Member States are with the bold objectives of the European Green Deal, in particular the target to reach 25% organic land by 2030.<\/p>\n

It quickly became clear that ambition and reality were not necessarily the same thing. Some panellists warned that a \u201cpushback\u201d from conventional food and farming interests posed a significant threat to the EU\u2019s 25% organic target.<\/p>\n

While there were examples of good practice \u2013 Denmark and Sweden were cited \u2013Jan Plagge said that a worrying picture was emerging in some countries where \u201cit is clear some stakeholders want to keep the status quo (and are) applying pressure on national governments to create disadvantages to organic farmers\u2019 income\u201d. He cited France as an example, where organic groups recently warned that they are set to lose 66% of financial support<\/a> under current CAP Strategic Plan proposals.<\/p>\n

Other panellists also warned that organic groups were being shut out of the Strategic Plan process. Aina Calafat Rogers<\/strong> from the Spanish organic farming body SEAE (and Deputy Council Member of IFOAM Organics Europe) told the Congress that \u201cthe organic sector in Spain wasn\u2019t involved in the consultation process on the design of the Spanish CAP Strategic Plan\u201d. She said Spain was seeing similar issue to France, with a concerted \u201cpushback here to keep the status quo\u201d.<\/p>\n

Celia Nyssens<\/strong>, Policy Officer for Agriculture at the European Environmental Bureau, said that targets were a useful \u201cfirst step towards change\u201d but if they remained as mere political ambitions they would be ineffective. She said the targets in the Farm to Fork strategy \u2013 including the 25% organic goal \u2013 should be made \u201cbinding and integrated into the future of the CAP and EU law\u201d. She added: \u201cThe current proposal is funding business as usual, rather than climate and organic goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe organic sector in Spain wasn\u2019t involved in the consultation process on the design of the Spanish CAP Strategic Plan\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But Tassos Haniotis<\/strong>, Director for Strategy, Simplification and Policy Analysis at DG AGRI, advised the organic sector not to become preoccupied with budgets and targets, and focus instead on \u201cvalue added\u201d. He said he remained confident that the EU would get very close to its 25% target, even if it didn\u2019t quite meet it by 2030.<\/p>\n

Jan Plagge concluded by saying that he wanted to see \u201ca strong alliance between the European Commission, the organic sector and from the engaged people in the regions and in the member states, to take the measures for organic farming inside the Strategic Plans as an obligation<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speakers:<\/h4>\n