Call for farmers and farm advisors to set future priorities for organic production

On 28-29 May 2015, the European Commission is organising a conference on ‘Organic production, Research and Innovation: setting priorities for the future’ in Milan. It will gather researchers, farmers, farm advisors and others involved to shed light on the research needs and priorities in this sector. Joao Onofre from the organic unit of the European Commission: "We are looking for organic farmers and organic farm advisors who are interested in participating actively in the conference. They will add to setting priorities for research and innovation in the organic sector." The call is opened until 25 March 2015.

Looking for organic farmers and organic farm advisors

The European Commission is looking for organic farmers and organic farm advisors who are interested in participating actively in this conference, who are involved in research and/or innovation and are able to provide a meaningful contribution to one of the topics of the parallel sessions.

Applicants are invited to express their interest to AGRI-B4@ec.europa.eu 

Please mention the following:

• your country 
• your sector of activity (e.g. crop production, animal production, fresh and/or processed products)
• farm size (for farmers)
• in what way you contribute to innovation

Seats will in principle be attributed on a first-come, first-served basis. However, the Commission will try to ensure a certain balance of representation between countries, production types and farm sizes. Therefore, some selection may be needed.

This call is opened until 25 March 2015. All applicants will be informed at the latest on 31 March 2015 on the results of their application. Those who have been selected will be sent an official invitation letter at a later stage.

All travel and accommodation costs will be covered by the European Commission.

The conference

This conference is organised on 28 and 29 May 2015 in the context of the Universal Exhibition in Milan "Feeding the planet – energy for life" (Expo Milano 2015). It will bring together researchers, farmers, farm advisors and other stakeholders to discuss and share ideas and knowledge on research and innovation in the organic production sector. This conference should cast light on the needs and priorities in this sector and will provide the necessary input for the European Commission to further develop its research and innovation policies. 

In addition to plenary sessions, there will be 5 parallel sessions on the following topics:

1. plant production, including soil and plant protection issues
2. seeds
3. animal production, including breeding, feed, aquaculture
4. food and feed processing
5. means of stimulating the exchange of knowledge (cross-cutting)

For the plenary sessions interpretation will be provided in English, French, German and Italian, whereas the language for the parallel sessions will be English only. Therefore, the applicants should be able to communicate in this language.