European Organic

Congress 2024

10-12 September Budapest, Hungary

Building a common vision

for the future of food & agriculture

Learn

Discover the most relevant updates and get insights from high-level speakers with the versatile backgrounds

Connect

Exchange with policy makers & other experts, get to know the organic sector players in the country of the congress & beyond

Discover

Taste local & organic food with a full-day excursion tour to organic farm

European Organic Congress 2024 has been a great success !

We would like to thank our co-organisers, sponsors, media partners, speakers, moderators, and participants for making this event possible! Browse the photo gallery below to see how EOC2024 went.

SAVE THE DATE

European Organic Congress 2025 in Copenhagen, Denmark on 18-19 August - more info coming soon

Our

Speakers

Browse the full lineup!

Event

Schedules

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10 SEP
11 SEP
12 SEP

13:00 - 14:00
Registration
14:00 - 14:30
Welcoming remarks
By Dr. István Nagy Minister, Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture, Jan Plagge President, IFOAM Organics Europe / President, Bioland, Dóra Drexler Vice-President, IFOAM Organics Europe / Managing Director, ÖMKi
14:30 - 15:55
Opening session: Building a common vision for the future of food & agriculture
By Catherine Geslain Lanéelle Director Strategy & Policy Analysis, DG AGRI, European Commission, Marco Paravicini Vice-President, FederBio, Dr. István Nagy Minister, Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture, Jan Plagge President, IFOAM Organics Europe / President, Bioland, Herbert Dorfmann Member of the European Parliament / AGRI committee coordinator, Stefan Krajewski Secretary of State, Polish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development , Eduardo Cuoco Director, IFOAM Organics Europe

High-level speakers exchanged about the priorities of the new political mandate, with the aim of imagining a common vision for the future of agriculture, which addresses the social, environmental and economic crises of today.
Sessions
15:55 - 16:25
Coffee break I
16:25 - 17:45
Panel session: A CAP fit for the future: Potential and challenges to steer the transition to a sustainable agri–food system
By Catherine Geslain Lanéelle Director Strategy & Policy Analysis, DG AGRI, European Commission, Peter Meedendorp President, European Council of Young Farmers (CEJA), Jan Plagge President, IFOAM Organics Europe / President, Bioland, Christiane Lambert President, Copa-Cogeca, Eric Gall Deputy Director, IFOAM Organics Europe

The CAP is the cornerstone of European agricultural policy, and, as such more and more is required of it: finance the green transition of the agricultural system, ensure that farmers have a stronger role in the food supply chain and receive fair income for their work, etc. How can the CAP tackle these challenges while facing budgetary pressures due to competing demands?
Sessions
17:45 - 18:00
Péter Sárközy Memorial Medal and Award 2024 Ceremony & Closing Remarks for Day 1.
By Dóra Drexler Vice-President, IFOAM Organics Europe / Managing Director, ÖMKi , Dr. Márta Torda , Gábor Solti Péter Sárközy Junior

Laudation: Dr. Márta Torda (award winner of 2023) Prize was awarded by: Gábor Solti, Péter Sárközy Junior, and Dóra Drexler (Board of the Péter Sárközy Foundation)
Sessions
18:00 - 19:00
End of Congress Day I - break till dinner & cultural programme

The Csillagszeműek Dance Company was founded by choreographer Sándor Timár and dance artist and pedagogue Böske Timár in 1993. The aim of the Timár method of education is to introduce as many children as possible to the still living Hungarian folk dance and folk music tradition at an early age, not only through theatrical performance and as traditional values of the Hungarian folk culture, but as an experience to be integrated into their daily lives. During the short cultural programme of the Congress, the company’s children and adult dancers performed with live folk music. Website of the company: https://www.csillagszemu.com/
Breaks
19:00 - 21:00
Dinner

08:30 - 09:00
Registration
09:00 - 09:05
Welcome to Day 2.
By Dóra Drexler Vice-President, IFOAM Organics Europe / Managing Director, ÖMKi
09:05 - 09:40
Market review 1: European organic market developments
By Lee Holdstock Senior Business and Trade Development Manager, Soil Association Certification Ltd

Organic experienced a slower growth in 2023 and has seen signs of recovery already at the end of 2023 and beginning of 2024. What does the most recent data say about organic?
Keynotes
09:40 - 10:20
Market review 2: Trade Opportunities and barriers for organic in the international markets
By Joanna Wierzbicka Deputy Director, IFOAM Organics Europe, Li Feng Director of China Country Office, IFOAM Organics Asia, Tom Chapman Co-CEO, Organic Trade Association
10:20 - 10:50
Coffee break II
10:50 - 11:35
Panel session: Spotlight & visibility in 2024: how to promote and communicate about organic
By Anton Järild Communication Strategist, Organic Sweden, Lee Holdstock Senior Business and Trade Development Manager, Soil Association Certification Ltd, Frédéric Faure Vice-President, Biocoop, Silvia Schmidt Policy Manager, IFOAM Organics Europe

This session looked into how to communicate about and increase visibility of organic agriculture and products in 2024, by making use of innovative and fresh approaches.
Sessions
11:35 - 12:20
Panel session: Patents and NGT deregulation - What's at stake for the European breeding sector?
By Maaike Raaijmakers Project Manager, Organic Seeds and Breeding, Bionext, Johanna Eckhardt Project Coordination, No patents on seeds!, Frans Carree Head of Breeding Department, De Bolster Organic Seeds, Eric Gall Deputy Director, IFOAM Organics Europe

This session dived into the issue of intellectual property rights and patents on genetic material in connection to the new legislative proposal/framework on “New Genomic Techniques” and implications for the European organic breeding sector.
Sessions
12:20 - 13:35
Lunch
13:35 - 14:20
Breakout session 1.1: Strengthening the bargaining power in the production chain
By Gabriela Fiebinger Coordinator of Orientierungspreis project, Bioland / Manager, Bio-MEG Süd producers, Jérôme Cinel Director, INTERBIO Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Giulietta De Biasi Member, Valoritalia’s R&D and Commercial departments

This session explored how the organic movement is positioning itself in the crucial issue of the role of farmers in the agri-food chain, following the fairness principle of organic farming. We saw how the movement is working to strengthening the bargaining power of farmers through different initiatives: a representative from Valoritalia showcased the organic group certification, providing valuable pioneer insights, while a representative from Bioland shared with us their work on the mechanism on sustainability initiatives present in the CMO regulation.
Breakouts
13:35 - 14:20
Breakout session 1.2: Open innovation networks for agroecology transition across Europe
By Clara Sabán de la Portilla Researcher, Madrid Institute for Rural, Agricultural and Food Research & Development, Gerda Jónász Researcher, ÖMKi, Korinna Varga Head of Agricultural Policy Research Group, ÖMKi , Valéria Csonka Research Project Lead, ÖMKi

The session zoomed in on the AGROECOLOGY Partnership and Soil Mission and Network(s) / organic living labs, starting with showcasing of an organic living lab and lighthouse based on the results of the study, and then explaining why these initiatives have an advantage now in light of the Partnership and Mission, presenting their aims, plans and opportunities to join.
Breakouts
14:20 - 14:35
Short break to change rooms
14:35 - 15:20
Breakout session 2.1: Organic plant breeding and seed production
By Dr. Péter Mikó Head of Cereal Breeding Department, HUN-REN ATK / Leader, Organic Seed Working Group, National Seed Association , Monika Messmer Colead Plant Breeding, FiBL Switzerland & Chair, European Consortium for Organic Plant Breeding, Gábor Kokavecz Head of Seed Inspection Department, National Food Chain Safety Office, Barbara Maria Rudolf Board member, Dachverband Ökologische Pflanzenzüchtung in Deutschland e.V., Dr. Szilvia Bencze Research Lead, ÖMKi, Eric Gall Deputy Director, IFOAM Organics Europe

What is the current situation of organic plant breeding in Europe and Hungary? How can we develop a strong and economically viable organic breeding and seed sector? This session covered these topics and introduced the LiveSeeding EU project, which provides directions for reaching these ambitious goals. The session included presentations and discussions part.
Breakouts
14:35 - 15:20
Breakout session 2.2: Building climate resilience
By Hanna Winkler Policy Associate Manager, IFOAM Organics Europe, Erika Olsson Farmer & President, Ekologiska Lantbrukarna Sweden , Katrin Heuzard la Couture Head of Corporate Banking for the Organic Food Sector, GLS Gemeinschaftsbank eG, Christian Holzleitner Head of Unit for Land Economy and Carbon Removals, DG CLIMA, European Commission

This session explored how to strengthen climate resilience and examine the role organic farming plays in this regard. We discussed approaches to effectively manage climate risks and identified what requirements need to be met to facilitate a transformational change and not reinforce the status quo.
Breakouts
15:20 - 15:50
Coffee break III
15:50 - 16:35
Presentation: The EU Organic Regulation's role in organic's future
By Michel Reynaud Board Member, IFOAM Organics Europe / Vice-President, Ecocert, Elena Panichi Head of Unit Organics, DG AGRI, European Commission, Lea Bauer Regulation Consultant, IFOAM Organics Europe

End of the year 2024 is a real milestone in the evolution of the EU organic regulation, as with the implementation of the new system for imports the legislative framework will apply in its completeness. We assessed in this session what were the achievements with the new set of regulations, and if it serves the organic sector to answer to future challenges and can address future societal and sustainability expectations.
Sessions
16:35 - 17:00
Closing remarks - Congress Day II
By Lennart Bertels Chairman, Junges Bioland e.V. Vorstand , Marian Blom Organic regulation officer and project manager at Bionext, Vice-President, IFOAM Organics Europe
17:00
End of Congress Day II

Don't panic, the future is organic.

Dive into lively discussions on making Europe more organic, share knowledge and get inspired from the best practices.

Participants

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Sessions & Excursions

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Organised by

Organised in the framework of the Hungarian EU presidency

Our sponsors

This event is co-financed by the LIFE programme of the European Union, under the under the under the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). The sole responsibility for this event lies with IFOAM Organics Europe. The CINEA is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information provided.

European Organic

Congress 2024

10-12 September Budapest, Hungary

Building a common vision

for the future of food & agriculture

Learn

Connect

Discover

European Organic Congress 2024 has been a great success !

SAVE THE DATE

European Organic Congress 2025 in Copenhagen, Denmark on 18-19 August - more info coming soon

Our

Speakers

Anton Järild

Barbara Maria Rudolf

Catherine Geslain Lanéelle

Christian Holzleitner

Christiane Lambert

Clara Sabán de la Portilla

Dóra Drexler

Dr. István Nagy

Dr. Márta Torda

Dr. Péter Mikó

Dr. Szilvia Bencze

Elena Panichi

Erika Olsson

Frans Carree

Frédéric Faure

Gábor Kokavecz

Gábor Solti

Gabriela Fiebinger

Gerda Jónász

Giulietta De Biasi

Hanna Winkler

Herbert Dorfmann

Jan Plagge

Jérôme Cinel

Joanna Wierzbicka

Johanna Eckhardt

Katrin Heuzard la Couture

Korinna Varga

Lea Bauer

Lee Holdstock

Lennart Bertels

Li Feng

Maaike Raaijmakers

Marco Paravicini

Marian Blom

Michel Reynaud

Monika Messmer

Peter Meedendorp

Stefan Krajewski

Tom Chapman

Valéria Csonka

Eduardo Cuoco

Eric Gall

Silvia Schmidt

Event

Schedules

10 SEP

11 SEP

12 SEP

Registration

Welcoming remarks

Opening session: Building a common vision for the future of food & agriculture

Coffee break I

Panel session: A CAP fit for the future: Potential and challenges to steer the transition to a sustainable agri–food system

Péter Sárközy Memorial Medal and Award 2024 Ceremony & Closing Remarks for Day 1.

End of Congress Day I - break till dinner & cultural programme

Dinner

Registration

Welcome to Day 2.

Market review 1: European organic market developments

Market review 2: Trade Opportunities and barriers for organic in the international markets

Coffee break II

Panel session: Spotlight & visibility in 2024: how to promote and communicate about organic

Panel session: Patents and NGT deregulation - What's at stake for the European breeding sector?

Lunch

Breakout session 1.1: Strengthening the bargaining power in the production chain

Breakout session 1.2: Open innovation networks for agroecology transition across Europe