IFOAM - Organics International

IFOAM – Organics International (formerly known as the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements) is a worldwide organization advocating for organics, with over 700 affiliates in more than 100 countries and territories..[1]

International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) - Organics International
Formation1972
TypeNGO
HeadquartersGermany Bonn, Germany
Region served
Global
Membership
700+
Official language
English
Main organ
General Assembly
Websitewww.ifoam.bio

History
Rașit Pertev, Secretary of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, was a keynote speaker at the 2014 Organic World Congress in Istanbul, Turkey.

IFOAM – Organics International was started by the president of the French farmer organization Nature et Progrès, Roland Chevriot.[2] The process began on 05 November 1972, in Versailles, France, during an international organic agriculture congress organized by Nature et Progrès.[3][4]

There were five members at the congress representing different organizations including Lady Eve Balfour of the Soil Association of the United Kingdom, Kjell Arman of the Swedish Biodynamic Association, Pauline Raphaely of the Soil Association of South Africa, Jerome Goldstein of Rodale Press of the United States, and Roland Chevriot of Nature et Progrès of France.[4]

In the beginning, the name of the organization was the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements. The founders envisioned that the federation would meet what they saw as a major need: a unified, organized voice for organic food and the diffusion and exchange of information on the principles and practices of organic agriculture across national and geographical boundaries. In 2015, the name changed to IFOAM - Organics International.[5]

On 19 October 1998, participants at the 12th Scientific Conference of IFOAM - Organics International issued the Mar del Plata Declaration, where more than 600 delegates from over 60 countries voted unanimously to exclude the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food production and agriculture. From that point onwards, GMOs have been categorically excluded from organic farming and denounced by the organic movement.

Structure
Linda Bullard, former President of IFOAM - Organics International), Dr. Vandana Shiva, winner of the Right Livelihood Award, and Magda Aelvoet, Belgian Minister of State and former Health and Environment Minister, celebrate the landmark decision of the European Patent Office to uphold a decision to revoke in its entirety a patent on a fungicidal product derived from seeds of the Neem, a tree indigenous to the Indian subcontinent.

The GA of IFOAM – Organics International serves as the highest authority of the organization, and it elects the world board of the organization for a three-year term. The world board is a group of 10 people working voluntarily to guide the organization. In September 2021, Karen Mapusua from Fiji was elected as the president of the organization’s world board.[6][7]

The 2021 world board was elected by the GA of IFOAM - Organics International in September 2021, the first-ever digital one. The Intercontinental Network of Organic Farmers Organizations (INOFO) is an autonomous self-organized structure within IFOAM - Organics International for organic farming organizations. The board appoints members to official committees, working groups, and task forces based on the recommendation of the membership of the organization. Member organizations also establish regional bodies and sector platforms.[8] These regional bodies include IFOAM Organics Europe, IFOAM Organics Asia, IFOAM AgriBioMediterraneo, IFOAM Southern African Network, IFOAM America Latina, IFOAM North America and IFOAM Euro-Asia. The sector platforms formed include the IFOAM Organic Husbandry Alliance, IFOAM Apiculture Forum, IFOAM Aquaculture, Technology Innovation Platform of IFOAM and IFOAM Seeds Platform.

International standing

IFOAM - Organics International actively participates in international agricultural and environmental negotiations with the United Nations and multilateral institutions to further the interests of the organic agricultural movement worldwide, and has observer status or is otherwise accredited by the following international institutions:

According to the One World Trust's Global Accountability Report 2008, IFOAM - Organics International was the highest-scoring international NGO. It was at the top of the list of 30 organizations that year, with a 71%t score.

Membership
Member Organizations of IFOAM - Organics International on Wikipedia

Members are organizations with at least 50% organic-related activity and are part of the General Assembly, where they have voting rights. Organizations with less than 50% organic-related activities are considered associate members. Individuals join as supporters. The membership includes farmers' organizations, trade associations, processors, handlers, retailers, consumer groups, and civil society organizations. Listed below are some of IFOAM – Organics International’s members. The full list can be found in the organization’s membership directory.[16]

  1. Alnatura
  2. Alliance for Organic Integrity
  3. Asociación Nacional de Agricultura Orgánica
  4. Bio Austria
  5. Biokreis e.V.
  6. Bioland e.V.
  7. Biopark
  8. Bio Suisse
  9. BioVision Africa Trust
  10. Bund Ökologische Lebensmittelwirtschaft / Association of Organic Food Producers and Traders
  11. COOP Switzerland
  12. Coöperatieve Vereniging Bionext U.A
  13. Demeter International
  14. Ecocert
  15. Ecovin
  16. Fédération Nationale d'Agriculture Biologique des Régions de Franc
  17. Gäa e.V.
  18. Garden Organic
  19. Global Organic Alliance, Inc
  20. Korean Federation of Sustainable Agriculture Organizations
  21. Lantbrukarnas Riksförbund / Federation of Swedish Farmers
  22. MAYACERT S.A.
  23. Migros
  24. Movimiento Argentino para la Producción Orgánica
  25. Nature et Progrès
  26. Naturland e.V.
  27. Navdanya
  28. Organic Denmark
  29. Organic Trade Association
  30. Organic Crop Improvement Association
  31. Organic Food Development Center
  32. SEKEM
  33. Soil Association
  34. Zimbabwe Organic Producers & Promoters Association

Activities

IFOAM - Organics International and Standards and Certification

IFOAM - Organics International has developed services aimed at operators and stakeholders across the organic sector, for instance, the Organic Guarantee System (OGS). OGS is designed to facilitate the development of sustainable and credible organic sectors, trustworthy organic standards and accessible verification systems.[17][18]

IFOAM – Organics International has also been supporting and promoting the diversity of guarantee systems, including Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) and Internal Control Systems (ICS). [19]

IFOAM Family of Standards

The organization, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), developed an international equivalence assessments matrix of organic standards and technical regulations, which is known as the Common Objectives and Requirements of Organic Standards (COROS). The COROS is the basis for assessing the quality and equivalency of organic standards and regulations, which are then included in the IFOAM Family of Standards (FoS).[20][21]

The IFOAM FoS program was launched in 2011; by 2022, 47 standards and regulations were included worldwide.[22][23]

Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS)

PGS are locally focused quality assurance systems. PGS represent an alternative and complementary tool to third-party certification within the organic sector. IFOAM – Organics International continues to advocate for PGS’S recognition by governments.

To do so, IFOAM – Organics International conducts several activities, such as collecting global data, managing a Global PGS Map, running the Official PGS Recognition Program, and sharing resources via its PGS Toolkit, educational videos and case studies.

Accreditation and IOAS

IFOAM - Organics International offers organic accreditation services to certification bodies (CBs), via the accreditation body IOAS. The IFOAM Accreditation Program, launched in 1992, follows the IFOAM Accreditation Requirements (which are included in the IFOAM Norms). Certifiers can have their processes audited against the IFOAM Accreditation Requirements, which analyze the standards and verification processes of the CBs. 4.1.4 Internal Control System (ICS)

An Internal Control System (ICS) is a documented quality assurance system that allows an external certification body to delegate the annual inspection of individual group members (farmers) to an identified body or unit within the certified operator.[24]

IFOAM – Organics International has played a key role in harmonizing and promoting the ICS concept since the 1990s. It has been advocating for group certification with governments and stakeholders within the organic sector, and it has been publishing resources such as a Training Kit on ICS for Smallholder Group Certification and an ICS Guidance in the framework of the EU Regulation 2018/848.

5.Projects and Grant Agreements
  • The Organic Academy: this was established in 2012 by IFOAM - Organics International to deliver a service to strengthen capacities, including skills for leadership in the organic sector and movement. A new format for capacity building included the flagship Organic Leadership Course, training (of the team) of trainers, and Organic Foundational Course. The format also includes tailored training based on the demand and needs of stakeholders, for example, the Capacity Development of Regional and National Multipliers in Ecological Organic Agriculture in Southern, Central and West Africa with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH as the donor.
  • Knowledge Center for Organic Agriculture in Africa (KCOA), East Africa Hub with Biovision Africa as the donor. The project aims to deliver the Training of Teams of Facilitators component.
  • Organic Agriculture Policy-Implementation Support and Capacity Building Project in the Kyrgyz Republic funded by the Korean Development Agency, and supported by Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). The role is to deliver the Training of Trainers component.
  • Support of the Organic Agriculture Working Group of the Green Innovation Centre project (2017-2023) with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH as the donor.
  • Organic Trade for Development in Eastern Europe (OT4D), funded by the Swiss Secretariat of Economic Development (SECO)
  • Nutrition in Mountain Agro-Ecosystems (NMA)
  • ProBio, funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), through SEQUA
  • Organic Markets for Development (OM4D)
  • Peer to Peer Exchange Among Policy Makers, funded by BMZ and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
  • Scaling Up Agroecology in the Himalayas, funded by BMZ and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
  • Gender-sensitive assessment and capacity development on PGS, funded by FAO
  • Agribusiness Development from Organic Resources (ADORE), funded by the European Development Fund under the Boosting Agriculture and Food Security (BAFS) Project Promotion of Agribusiness and Innovative Farming[25]

See also

References
  1. "About us - IFOAM". www.ifoam.bio.
  2. A&E (2021-11-23). "Agriculture bio régénérative : le nouveau label tendance". Agriculture et Environnement (in French). Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  3. Hub, IISD's SDG Knowledge. "FAO Launches Initiative to Scale Up Agroecology in Support of the SDGs | News | SDG Knowledge Hub | IISD". Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  4. "Standards and Certification for Organic Products". Organic Boosting BIO. 2018-10-10. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  5. "IFOAM and the history of the International Organic Movement". IFOAM and the history of the International Organic Movement. | Organic farming: an international history. CABI Books. January 2007. pp. 175–186. doi:10.1079/9780851998336.0175. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  6. Reddy, Navnesh (2021-09-22). "Fiji's Mapusua elected president of organic body". FijiTimes. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  7. Actual, Bio Eco (2021-09-23). "New IFOAM - Organics International World Board elected for 2021-2024". Bio Eco Actual. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  8. Dobson, Byron. "Campus Notes: TCC announces next cohort for its President's Leadership Institute". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  9. "New Page 1". www.un.org.
  10. "NGOs/Civil Society Organizations". Archived from the original on 2006-05-26.
  11. "UNCTAD.ORG >> NGOs/CSOs with Status with UNCTAD". Archived from the original on 2007-09-15. Retrieved 2008-12-16.
  12. "Codex Committees and Task Forces". Archived from the original on 2008-10-12. Retrieved 2008-12-16.
  13. "::UNEP:: Civil Society". Archived from the original on 2008-12-10. Retrieved 2008-12-16.
  14. "Partnerships and Field Support (PARDEV)". www.ilo.org.
  15. "ISO - Organization in cooperation with ISO". Archived from the original on 2008-12-04. Retrieved 2008-12-16.
  16. "Membership Directory". directory.ifoam.bio. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
  17. Yumpu.com. "The IFOAM Organic Guarantee System". yumpu.com. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
  18. "The Organic Guarantee System - Keeping up with the Times - PDF Free Download". businessdocbox.com. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
  19. "Fair, nutritious, and sustainable: how the Participatory Guarantee System makes organic certification accessible to small farmers and all consumers". Manila Bulletin. 2021-03-14. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  20. "Greentrade - Italian Organic Standards". www.greentrade.net. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  21. "Common Objectives and Requirements of Organic Standards (COROS) IFOAM Standards Requirements". Docest. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  22. "Common Objectives and Requirements of Organic Standards (COROS) IFOAM Standards Requirements". Docest. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  23. "Standards and Certification for Organic Products". Organic Boosting BIO. 2018-10-10. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  24. LTD, SAT HOLISTIC GROUP. "Farmers are ready to implement the Internal Control System and meet the growing demand for organic products!". SAT HOLISTIC GROUP LTD. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  25. Yumpu.com. "organic agriculture worldwide directory of ifoam Affiliates". yumpu.com. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
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