More research needed on organic farming, Commission told
More funds need to be urgently dedicated to organic farming research in both the present Fifth Framework and the forthcoming Sixth Framework programmes (FP5 and FP6), according to a letter that has been sent to the European institutions. The letter was drawn up by IFOAM (international federation of organic agriculture movements) following the conclusions of a European conference entitled 'Organic food and farming - towards partnership and action in Europe' held in Copenhagen earlier this year. Highlighting the key role that research plays in the development of organic farming, the IFOAM letter claims that there is insufficient attention paid to this both at present and 'for decades'. To address this, it recommends that a separate programme designed specifically for organic farming research and development be incorporated into EU Framework programmes. It would also like to see evaluation procedures for national and EU research funding take into account the specific characteristics of organic farming research. Echoing some of the provisions already identified in the proposals for FP6, the letter says that centres of competence in the sector should be established and that networking of these centres of excellence should take place. The letter claims however that the present draft of FP6 proposals present organic farming research as being funded only in relation to food safety problems. It adds that this is too narrow a line of research for all of the issues relating to organic farming research and instead recommends that it be given its own research key action point with a budget of 100 million euro. Without this, the target set of 15 to 20 percent organic farming in Europe within the next ten years is unrealistic, with the result that European competitiveness in this sector will be impaired, argues the letter. As well as highlighting the needs of organic farming research in the future, the letter also cites a lack of focus on the issue in existing research. It points to key action 5.1.1 (sustainable agriculture), which has financed only four projects directly linked to organic farming. The letter states that this 'represents only 2 per cent of the 220 projects funded in total.' It puts the blame for this largely on the evaluation procedures and personnel, which it claims have shown inadequate understanding of the approach and methodologies of organic farming research. The position stated in the letter was adopted by the IFOAM European Union group at its meeting on 9 and 10 September in Lyon, with the letter being sent to the European institutions a month later.