Work Sessions

(Subject to change! Last updated 16.11.2007)

The Congress will centre around 5 work sessions on Tuesday 4th December from 14.15 - 17.45 

Session A: Organic Production and the CAP (Ground floor, room: Marco Polo)

Rapporteur: Mette Meldgaard, IFOAM Vice President

• Tassos Haniotis, Head of the Agricultural Trade Policy Analysis, Directorate General for Agriculture, European Commission: 'Where is the CAP going? - Between CAP health check and budget review'. Cancelled. (presentation)
  
• Nic Lampkin, Director, Organic Centre Wales:'What lessons can be learned from the European and national organic action plans for the CAP review and a future policy for organic food and farming?'. (presentation)
• Ariel Brunner, EU Agriculture Policy Officer, Birdlife International:'Public money for public goods - the way forward for the CAP'.

15.45 - 16.15 Coffee break

Session A2 16.15-17.45
New policy tools to further develop organic food and farming

Moderation: Elizabeth Guttenstein, Policy Director, ISEAL Alliance

• Leonardo Nicolia, Directorate General for Environment, Unit B1 (Agriculture, Forests and Soil), European Commission:'Between economic and environmental constraints - the long term integration of environmental objectives into the CAP'. (presentation)
• Lutz Ribbe, Director of the Office for Environmental Policy at the European Natural Heritage Fond:'A vision for the CAP beyond 2013'. (presentation)
• Stephan Dabbert, Managing Director, Institute for Farm Management, University Hohenheim:'Dynamic agricultural markets and policies: Do we need new approaches to organic farming policy?'. (presentation)

Session B: Consistent policies for organic farming  (1^st floor, room: Stanley)

Session B1 14.15-15.45
Organic production for thriving rural areas

Moderation: Allessandro Triantafyllis, Chair of the IFOAM EU Group policy committee

• Michael Pielke, Unit F3 (Consistency of Rural development), Directorate Generale for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission: 'State of play of the new rural development programmes (2007-2013) with emphasis on measures related to organic farming'. (presentation)
  
• Patrizia Pugliese, Scientific Manager of The Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari:' The contribution of organic farming to sustainable rural development in the Mediterranean area' (presentation)

      Examples of rural development programmes:

• Poland: Dorota Metera, Director, Bioekspert. (presentation)
• Austria: Thomas Fertl, Head of Department Agricultural Policy, Bio Austria. (presentation)
• France: Vincent Perrot, Director, FNAB. (presentation)
• Romania: Ion Toncea, President, National Federation of Ecological Agriculture. (presentation)

15.45 - 16.45 Coffee break

Session B2 16.15-17.45
Policies to protect GM-free farming

Moderation: Alexandra Pohl, IFOAM EU Group

• Andreas Gumbert, Directorate Generale for Agriculture and Rural Development, Unit F1 (Environment, GMO and genetic resources), European Commission:' EU policy for the co-existence between GM crops and conventional and organic farming'. (presentation)
• Andrea Ferrante, President AIAB:' The Italian model for GM free farming as an example for Europe'. (presentation)
• Helen Holder, Campaigner, Friends of the Earth: 'European Policy needs for GM-free agriculture'. (presentation)

Session C: Research for competitive organic food and farming (1^st floor, room: Vasco da Gama)

Session C1 14.15-15.45

Research to enhance organic production - meet the needs of the sector and develop a vision

Moderation: Marco Schlüter, Director IFOAM EU Group/Head of Platform Secretariat

• Daniele Tissot, DG Research, Unit E4 (Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Aquaculture), European Commission: 'The contribution of an organic research vision to the 7th Framework Programme'
• David Hammerstein, MEP/Member of Committee on Industry, Research and Energy: 'Why Europe needs an organic research vision and a technology platform for organic production' (speech)

Stakeholder round table: Contribution of an organic research vision and platform to key challenges in agriculture

• Johannes Nebel, Chair of the advisory group on organic farming
• Arnd Spahn, Secretary General, EFFAT
• Urs Niggli, Director FiBL
• Claude Weinber, Director of the EU Regional Office Heinrich Böll Foundation
• Daniele Tissot, Unit E4 (Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Aquaculture), DG Research, European Commission
• David Hammerstein, MEP/Member of Committee on Industry, Research and Energy

15.45 - 16.15 Coffee break

Session C2 16.15-17.45

Develop an organic research vision for Europe

Moderation: Niels Halberg, Head of Research Centre DARCOF

• Urs Niggli, Director FiBL & Anamarija Slabe, Vice president of EEB: 'A vision for organic food and farming research 2025 – presentation and discussion' (presentation 1 & presentation2)
  

Session D: The New Organic Regulation (8th floor, room: Galileo)

Rapporteur: Louise Luttikholt, Strategic Relations Manager of IFOAM

Session D1 14.15-15.45
The new organic regulation - making it work for the sector

Moderation: Jean-François Hulot, Head of unit Organic Farming, Directorate-General for Agriculture, European Commission

• Herman Van Boxem, Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, Unit F5 (Organic Farming), European Commission: The new regulation - what will change for the operators, what will remain?' (presentation)

• Marianne Schoenning, Vice-President IFOAM EU, Dairy farmer, Sweden: 'What does the new organic regulation imply for small farmers?' (presentation)

• Henri de Pazzis, Chairmain and CEO of Pro Natura: 'Challenges for organic trade and processing within the new regulation' (presentation)

15.45 - 16.15 Coffee break

Session D2 16.15-17.45
Two challenges: Worldwide harmonisation and integrity

Moderation: Francis Blake, President IFOAM EU Group 

• Gunnar Rundgren, International Task Force on harmonisation: 'The state of play on harmonisation of organic standards worldwide and what EU policy makers should do to facilitate the process' (presentation)
• Beate Huber, FiBL: 'How to safeguard integrity within organic systems under the new regulation'. (presentation)
• Hans-Georg Borowski-Kyhos, Head of Section, Supervision Authority on Organic Agriculture Baden-Wurttemberg: “The responsibilities between competent authority and certification body within the new organic regulation” (presentation)

Session E: Ethics, principles and the market (1^st floor, room: C. Colomb)

Session E1 14.15-15.45

Future challenges for processing and the organic market

Moderation: Muriel Huybrecht, Probila

• Arjon Kalter, Quality Manager of Tradin: 'What are the main challenges to maintain/increase quality and authenticity of organic products in a growing market?' (presentation)

• Burkhard Ahlert, University of Applied Sciences, Fulda: 'How much regulation is necessary? How to find an adequate way between food safety, food diversity and premium quality?' Cancelled!
• Alex Beck, Association of Organic Food Producers, AÖL: 'Organic processors between consumer perceptions and regulatory framework.' 

Moderation: Martien Lankester, Executive Director of the Avalon Foundation

Initial statements with following panel discussion:

• Nikolai Fuchs, Demeter International: 'What future challenges need to be matched to safeguard the integrity of organic production as well as increasing organic markets?' (presentation)
• Ari de Kimpe, Director of Ariza: 'How to maintain high quality organic processing?' (presentation)
• Carol Haest, Consultant for Sustainable Development of the Delhaize Group:'Maintaining of organic principles in big scale sales points - a challenge?' (presentation)
• Phil Stocker, Head of Food and Farming, Soil Association: 'Soil Association accepts air freighted if organic food benefits poor farmers' (presentation)
• Kath Dalmeny, Deputy Co-ordinator of Sustain – The Alliance for Better Food and Farming: 'What benefits organic products have to deliver to continue to attract consumers?' (presentation)