BIOACADEMY 2008 – PROCEEDINGS BIOAKADEMIE 2008 – SBORNÍK New Developments in Science and Research on Organic Agriculture Nové poznatky vědy a výzkumu v ekologickém zemědělství 3. – 5. 9. 2008 Lednice na Moravě, Czech Republic Lednice na Moravě, Česká republika Bořivoj Šarapatka, Pavlína Samsonová (eds.) Bioacademy 2008 – Proceedings Bioakademie 2008 – sborník New Developments in Science and Research on Organic Agriculture Nové poznatky vědy a výzkumu v ekologickém zemědělství Bořivoj Šarapatka, Pavlína Samsonová (eds.) Překlad / Translation Ina Leckie, Jim Leckie Technická redakce / Technical editor Milan Matoušek Vydal / Published by Bioinstitut, Křížkovského 8, 771 46 Olomouc, CZ, www.bioinstitut.cz Vytiskl / Printed by Trifox Šumperk, CZ Text neprošel jazykovou úpravou / Text in its original form without correction 1. vydání / 1st Edition Olomouc, 2008 ISBN 978-80-904174-1-0 INTRODUCTION / 5 Dear friends and colleagues, We are meeting for the 8th year of Bioacademy which, since the year 2000 has been gaining the support of a wide range of farmers, research and academic institutes, government bodies and many other specialist organisations. Over the years we have focused on many current issues in organic farming relating to the development and support of this agricultural system in the EU, non-chemical protection of plants, growing vegetables, grassland in organic farming, animal welfare, food quality and other topical themes. With the passing years Bioacademy has not only become a meeting place for those involved directly with production, but also for researchers. This led to a change in the character of this year’s conference and the introduction of a scientifi c part which will deal with current issues of research. For the whole Bioacademy, we have chosen the broad topic of “New Developments in Science and Research on Organic Agriculture”. Within this topic, the Conference for Practitioners will put emphasis on the transfer of up to date information directly into practice, while the Scientifi c conference will enable scientists of various specialisation to exchange the latest research fi ndings from this agricultural system reaching into the related areas of landscape and the environment. Nevertheless, we have no intention of dividing Bioacademy into two “camps”– scientifi c and practical. We believe in mutual communication, inspiration, meeting needs and listening to the opinions of individual groups. New scientifi c knowledge should aff ect current organic farming and, on the other hand, researchers should listen to practical needs and problems. In this discussion we can reveal problems limiting the development of organic farming, problems which it will be necessary to solve in the future. The Proceedings you are now reading consist of several parts according to language. We have placed the English version at the beginning, as Bioacademy is an international event, as shown in its title – the 8th European Summer Academy on Organic Farming. Within individual language versions, the contributions are given according to the order of the programme. This refers to the Plenary Meeting, Conference for Practitioners “A” (abstracts from these two parts are published) and Scientifi c Conference “B” (opposed contributions in the form of scientifi c articles are given only in the English section of the Proceedings). Before you start reading this material and listening to lectures, I would like to thank all the organisations that participated in the preparation of Bioacademy and whose logos are printed on the cover of the Proceedings. I would further like to thank all members of the organisational team and scientifi c committee of the conference. I also thank all opponents from various countries, whose names remain anonymous, as the opponency of scientifi c articles is anonymous, too. We deeply appreciate their demanding work and we hope that, as with our organisational team, they will continue to work as our colleagues in the future. I am sure that this new model of practical and scientifi c conference will prove eff ective and will attract an ever-widening range of specialist public. Please, excuse any possible “teething troubles” in the new structure, the preparation of which required a lot of eff ort from the organisers. I hope that, in a pleasant atmosphere in Lednice, we will enjoy three days fi lled not only with a specialist programme, but also numerous accompanying events. I am already looking forward to meeting you all again in 2009 Prof. Bořivoj Šarapatka Chairman of the Scientifi c Committee of the Conference 6 / BIOACADEMY 2008 THE MAIN CURRENT TOPICS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF ORGANIC FARMING IN THE EU 2008/2009: FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF IFOAM BLAKE, F.1 Key words: regulation, research, climate change, CAP Abstract A key topic for the IFOAM EU Group in the last three years has been the revision of the EU organic regulation (2092/91). We have analysed, publicised, consulted, responded to and generally pressurised the authorities to amend and improve the new framework regulation (834/2007) (stage 1) and then the implementing rules (stage 2). We have had some success, but the mandatory EU logo remains a major negative. We are now well into stage 3 – the new areas of aquaculture, seaweed and wine. We have also started considering stage 4 – picking up all the loose ends and unresolved issues, including poultry standards, review of inputs against the new criteria, review of processing rules against the new principles, etc. The IFOAM EU Group is planning to publish early next year a dossier that will explain the new regulation in a way that ordinary stakeholders will be able to understand. We are still looking for the fi nal few responses to be partners in this project. Looking wider, we co-ordinate the organic research technology platform. This is important to ensure a clear direction for organic research in the EU and to infl uence its research agenda. Looking wider still, we are facing the global challenges of climate change, impending peak oil and increasing food prices. Organic farming can contribute signifi cantly to meeting these challenges, so we need to intensify our lobbying for a reform of the CAP – to ensure it really does encourage the development of a truly sustainable agriculture. We must also look to ourselves. How should we change to ensure organic will be able to operate optimally in a very diff erent world? From more or less emulating conventional systems, we need to really start applying organic principles. As the paradigm moves in our favour, we must move with the paradigm – if we do that, then there is a bright future ahead. 1 President, IFOAM EU Group, rue Commerce 124, 1000 Brussels, Belgium, E-Mail [email protected], Internet www.ifoam-eu.org PLENARY MEETING / 7 VISION FOR AN ORGANIC FOOD AND FARMING RESEARCH AGENDA TO 2025: ORGANIC KNOWLEDGE FOR THE FUTURE NIGGLI, U.1, SLABE, A.2, SCHMID, O.1, HALBERG, N.3, SCHLÜTER M.4 Key words: research agenda, strategy, perspectives Abstract Organic farming is a productive low-input agriculture placing special emphasis on sustainability and off ering innovative concepts for global problems such as the degradation of ecosystem services (e.g. soil fertility, biodiversity or clean water), the economic decline of rural areas with migration from the land, the provision of suffi cient food in climate change scenarios and the fast growing demand for high quality food in developed and emerging regions of the world. The IFOAM-EU Group and ISOFAR developed a vision for the strategic priorities in future research which was published in August 2008. This vision was supported by many European stakeholders and civil society organisations. The strategic priorities for research of the organic sector encompass i) viable concepts for the empowerment of rural economies in a regional and global context, ii) securing food and ecosystems by means of eco-functional intensifi cation and iii) high quality foods as a basis for healthy diets and a key for improving quality of life and health. Deduced from these strategic priorities, an intensifi cation of the research activities at regional, national and European level is outlined in the vision paper. The overall aim of research is the support of a ‘lead market’ of the European food industry and to improve the provision of society benefi ts and the public good of agriculture. Organic food and farming systems off er unique opportunities for a competitive and sustainable future, which can be deployed by R&D eff orts. The vision paper is the fi rst step towards a continuous research-agenda setting-process driven by stakeholder and society. Hence, the Technology Platform “Organic” will foster these important debates and facilitate the next steps. 1 Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL, Frick, Switzerland 2 Institute for Sustainable Development, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 3 International Centre for Research in Organic Food Systems ICROFS, Tjele, Denmark 4 IFOAM EU Group, Brussels, Belgium 8 / BIOACADEMY 2008 THE ‘INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF ORGANIC AGRICULTURE RESEARCH’ (ISOFAR) NEUHOFF, D.1, KÖPKE, U.1 Key words: research, organic agriculture, institutions Abstract The International Society of Organic Agriculture Research (ISOFAR) founded in 2003 in Berlin seeks to promote, encourage and support research in all areas of Organic Agriculture by facilitating global co- operation in research, methodological development, education and knowledge exchange, supporting individual researchers through membership services and integrating stakeholders