An EU view of organic farming
Organic farming offers a number of benefits to society and the environment, but the laws governing it are different across Europe. The EU-funded project Channel aimed to harmonise processes, legislation and economic framework with respect to organic farming. It built a database on the key aspects of organic farming in all countries that participated in the project. This initiative covered different themes such as plant protection, organic seeding, animal husbandry, agrotechnology, weed management and soil fertility. Accurate data gathering was achieved through various questionnaires for governments, decision makers, farmers' associations, researchers and other stakeholders. In addition, Channel established a website that served as a discussion forum and fostered exchanges on the topic. The results of the questionnaires were also published on the website for use by national representatives from different countries. In summary, the project successfully collected valuable data on organic farming in several European countries and consolidated the results for experts, policymakers and students to exploit. The overall conclusions and recommendations of Channel were unveiled to a wider European audience during the project's final conference. It is worth noting that the project enjoyed strong ties with the Danish organisation Sustaining Animal Health and Food Safety in Organic Farming (SAFO). Dissemination through events, leaflets and a popular website has already boosted harmonisation of practices and standards among European nations, a development that is likely to continue.
