Workshops
National Policies Upscaling Organics and Agroecology: New Breakthroughs and Lessons Learned
Introduction
Workshops are independently organised one or more sessions during the Organic World Congress. Workshops allow researchers, farmers, experts and students to meet face-to-face and have interactive discussions.
Workshops address various topics by extending the content of the 4 Tracks through case studies and group discussion.
Detailed Information
The session will support the track: Policy for scaling up organics and agroecology.
It would be a great advantage to have similar sessions on local and global policy lessons and actions advancing organic farming, as part of the policy track, as well as a cross cutting session on advocacy strategies to increase influence.
The session will illustrate strong examples of Cultivating Organic Solutions for True Sustainability, the OWC theme.
Main Topics
Case studies: national policies on several continents.
Specific policy examples for interventions supporting a wide range of central drivers for organics and agroecology: farmer transition to organics and agroecology, market development, organic public procurement, peer-to-peer learning among farmers, Participatory Guarantee Systems, organic input supply chains, labelling programmes, research & development and innovative financing mechanisms.
Lessons from inclusive and empowering national policy/strategy development and implementation strengthening civil society and farmer influence longer term.
New opportunities for inclusion of organic and agroecology policies in national climate and biodiversity plans
Main Objectives of the Workshop
There is a great interest from civil society organisations, farmer movements, policy makers and researchers in policies that can upscale organic farming and agroecology, and improve both markets and farmer livelihoods. Much of this interest focuses on national policies, as witnessed by global consultations in connection with new strategies (2024) for IFOAM – Organics International and the global Agroecology Coalition, that also has support for national policy development and best practices as a strategic priority.
In recent years, new policies for organics and agroecology have been developed across all continents, and there are rich lessons for not only what policies are working, but also for how to effectively advocate for national policies and ensure their financing and implementation.
The aim of this workshop is to bring together experienced practitioners to share lessons and knowledge as inspiration for actors working towards new national organic policies in their lands.
Main outcomes expected
Participants will gain inspiration (and hope) for policy development and advocacy in their own context. Stakeholders active on policy will build network but also return home with specific ideas to next steps in their national policy and advocacy work.
This will contribute to development of organic policy in more nations, with the benefits for farmers, climate, biodiversity, health and rural livelihoods that these policies can create.
Targeted Public
Organic stakeholders involved in policy development, research, extension, and market development.
Relevant for all regions and actors working on national policy frameworksfor organics and agroecology
Key Info
Format:
English /Mandarin
Contact:
Paul Holmbeck, World Board Member IFOAM – Organics International
Director, Holmbeck EcoConsult (Denmark)
Website: https://paulholmbeck.com/
Target Audience:
Maximum Participants: 30-60 participants
