Congress materials 2023

DAY ONE

Welcoming remarks

• Álvaro Barrera – President, Ecovalia
• Andrés Lorite Lorite – First Vice-President & Delegate for Infrastructures, Sustainability and Agriculture, Province Government of Córdoba
• Jan Plagge – President, IFOAM Organics Europe / President, Bioland 
• Vicente Pérez García de Prado – Regional Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Water and Rural Development, Andalusia Region
• Message from Luis Planas Puchades – Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Spain 

Opportunities and challenges for a sustainable agri-food system 

• Álvaro Barrera Fernández – President, Ecovalia 
• Benoit Biteau – Member of the European Parliament, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance 
• Francisco Martínez Arroyo – Advisory member of the Office of the Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food 
• Jan Plagge – President, IFOAM Organics Europe / President, Bioland 
• Joanna Stawowy – Member of Cabinet, European Commissioner for Agriculture, European Commission 

Moderator: Eduardo Cuoco – Director, IFOAM Organics Europe 

Organic market challenges: Best practices & assuring fairness in the supply chain  

• Anselmo Mendez – General Manager, Veritas 
• Aurelio del Pino Gonzalez – President, ACES 
• David Caré – General Manager South Europe, Ecotone 
• Sabine Haller – Product Manager Fruits, Bio Suisse 

Moderator: Silvia Schmidt – Policy Manager, IFOAM Organics Europe

Ensuring generational renewal in the organic companies 

• Bénédicte Meurens – Managing Director, Meurens Natural SA 
• Giovanni Battista Girolomoni – President, Gino Girolomoni Cooperativa Agricola 
• Leonhard Wilhelm – Managing Director, Rapunzel 
• Pol Picazos – CEO, Biocop / video

Moderator: Laura Sauques – Policy Coordinator on Sustainable Food Systems and the CAP, IFOAM Organics Europe 

Examples of innovative policies in the agri-food chain 

• Armindo Jacinto – President, Biodistrict Idanha Nova
• Video of TRICASE project sent by Antonio Errico – Senior Expert for Community Development, CIHEAMBari
• Daniel Quesada Sánchez – General Director, Agricultural and Livestock Production, CAPADR, Junta de Andalucía 
• Jérôme Cinel – Director, INTERBIO Nouvelle Aquitaine

Moderator: José Costoya – Institutional Coordinator, INTERECO 

Promoting organic farming under the EU and national promotional schemes 

• Bruno De Oliveria – Head of sector for Promotion policy and CAP, Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development European Commission 
• Diego Granado Cumbres – General Secretary, ECOVALIA 
• Purificación González Camacho – Deputy Director General, Promotion of Spanish Foods
• Krystyna Radkowska – CEO, Polish Chamber of Organic Food 

Moderator: Joanna Wierzbicka – Deputy Director/Strategic Initiatives Manager, IFOAM Organics Europe

DAY TWO

Keynote: 25% organic farmland by 2030 – How can we achieve it? 

• Raffaele Zanoli – Professor of Agriculture, Food Marketing, University of Ancona  

BREAKOUT SESSIONS 1. 

1.1 Trends in international organic markets beyond EU

• Laura Gonzalez Escallada – Founder and partner, NHC Conecta 
• Rommel Betacourt – President, Iberoamerican Comission of Organic Farming 
• Tom Chapman – CEO, Organic Trade Association 

Moderator: Juan Manuel Sánchez – CEO, Servicio de Certificación CAAE

1.2 Research and innovation (R&I) opportunities and needs in organic production 

• Concepción Mateu Padilla – Head of Service for Management and Control of AGRI-FOOD Subsidies, Regional Minister of Agriculture, Water and Rural Development, Andalusia Region 
• Dora Drexler – Vice-President, IFOAM Organics Europe Board / Director, ÖMKi / Steering Committee Member, TP Organics  
• Sanae Kamah – Biofertilisers, Biostimulants & Natural Extract Manager, TRICHODEX 

Moderator: Concepción Fabeiro – President, Spanish Society of Organic Farming (SEAE)

BREAKOUT SESSIONS 2. 

2.1 Multiple challenges in organic certification – is it time for a conceptual change?

• Henri Delanghe – Deputy Head of Unit Organics, Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission   
• Juan Carlos Pérez Montero – Board Member, The European Organic Certifiers Council (EOCC) / Technical Director of Certification, CAAE 
• Marian Blom – Vice-President, IFOAM Organics Europe / Organic Regulation Officer & Project Manager, Bionext 
• Miguel Vega García – Sub-Directorate Controls on food quality and Agri-Food labs 

Moderator: Michel Reynaud – Board Member, IFOAM Organics Europe / Vice-President, Ecocert

2.2 Carbon farming – What’s in it for organic?

• Adrian Steele – Organic Sector Development Adviser, Soil Association 
• Inmaculada Batalla – Board Member, Red Remedia and BC3 
• Fiona Marty – European Affairs Officer, FNAB 

Moderator: Hanna Winkler – Policy Officer on Climate Change and Biodiversity, IFOAM Organics Europe

Sustainable breeding in organic farming

• Bernard Lignon – Regulation and Quality Manager, Synabio 
• César Marcos Cabañas – Head of Communication, ALAS (Sustainable Agriculture Aliance) 
• Federica Bigongiali – Director, Fondazione Seminare il Futuro
• Helene Schmutzler – Policy Coordinator on GMOs and Animal Welfare, IFOAM Organics Europe 

Moderator: Eric Gall – Deputy Director & Policy Manager, IFOAM Organics Europe

Organic on every table – school meals, hotels, restaurants and catering  

• Laure Verdeau – Director, Agence Bio 
• Line Rise Nielsen – Food Policy Director, Changing Food 
• Samuel Moreno- Chef, Molino de Alcuneza  
• Yolanda García – Chef, Restaurant Espacio Gastrociencia de la Posada del Candil 

Moderator: Purificación González Camacho – Deputy Director General, Promotion of Spanish Foods

Session-related event announcement

*Panel session sponsored by Alimentos De España

Closing remarks

• Álvaro Barrera – President, Ecovalia 
• Jan Plagge – President, IFOAM Organics Europe / President, Bioland