2023 European Organic Congress

Welcoming remarks (VIDEO)

• Álvaro Barrera – President, Ecovalia
• Jan Plagge – President, IFOAM Organics Europe / President, Bioland
• Jose María Bellido Roche – Mayor, Cordoba City
• 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

Opening panel, A: 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

Panel B: Organic market challenges: Best practices & assuring fairness in the supply chain (VIDEO)

• Anselmo Mendez – General Manager, Veritas
• Aurelio del Pino Gonzalez – President, ACES
• David Caré – General Manager South Europe, Ecotone (PPT)
• Sabine Haller – Product Manager Fruits, Bio Suisse (PPT)
  Moderator: Silvia Schmidt – Policy Manager, IFOAM Organics Europe

Panel C: Ensuring generational renewal in the organic companies (VIDEO)

• Bénédicte Meurens – Managing Director, Meurens Natural SA
• Giovanni Battista Girolomoni – President, Gino Girolomoni Cooperativa Agricola (PPT)
• Leonhard Wilhelm – Managing Director, Rapunzel
• Pol Picazos – CEO, Biocop (PPT)
  Moderator: Laura Sauques – Policy Coordinator on Sustainable Food Systems and the CAP, IFOAM Organics Europe

Panel D: Examples of innovative policies in the agri-food chain (VIDEO)

• Armindo Jacinto – President, Biodistrict Idanha Nova
• Daniel Quesada Sánchez – General Director, Agricultural and Livestock Production, CAPADR, Junta de Andalucía
• Jerome Cinel – Director, INTERBIO Nouvelle Aquitaine
  Moderator: José Costoya – Institutional Coordinator, INTERECO

Panel E: Promoting organic farming under the EU and national promotional schemes (VIDEO)

• 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
• José Miguel Herrero Velasco – General Director, Agrifood Industries, Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fish and Food
• Krystyna Radkowska – CEO, Polish Chamber of Organic Food
  Moderator: Joanna Wierzbicka – Deputy Director / Strategy Initiatives Manager, IFOAM Organics Europe

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

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

Breakout sessions

Session 1.1: Trends in international organic markets beyond EU (VIDEO)

• Laura Gonzalez Escallada – Founder and partner, NHC Conecta (PPT)
• Rommel Betacourt – President, Iberoamerican Comission of Organic Farming (PPT)
• Tom Chapman – CEO, Organic Trade Association (PPT)
  Moderator: Juan Manuel Sánchez – CEO, Servicio de Certificación CAAE

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

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

Session 2.1: Multiple challenges in organic certification – is it time for a conceptual change? (VIDEO)

• 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 (PPT)
• Marian Blom – Vice-President, IFOAM Organics Europe / Organic Regulation Officer & Project Manager, Bionext (PPT)
• Miguel Vega García – Sub-Directorate Controls on food quality and Agri-Food labs (PPT)
  Moderator: Michel Reynaud – Board Member, IFOAM Organics Europe / Vice-President, Ecocert

Session 2.2: Carbon farming – What’s in it for organic? (VIDEO)

• Adrian Steele – Organic Sector Development Adviser, Soil Association (PPT)
• Inmaculada Batalla – Board Member, Red Remedia and BC3
• Fiona Marty – European Affairs Officer, FNAB (PPT)
  Moderator: Hanna Winkler – Policy Officer on Climate Change and Biodiversity, IFOAM Organics Europe

Panel F: Sustainable breeding in organic farming (VIDEO)

• Bernard Lignon – Regulation and Quality Manager, Synabio (PPT)
• César Marcos Cabañas – Head of Communication, ALAS (Sustainable Agriculture Aliance) (PPT)
• Federica Bigongiali – Director, Fondazione Seminare il Futuro
  Moderator: Eric Gall – Deputy Director, IFOAM Organics Europe (PPT)

PANEL G: Organic on every table – school meals, hotels, restaurants and catering (VIDEO)

• Laure Verdeau – Director, Agence Bio (PPT)
• 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
  *Panel session sponsored by Alimentos De España

Closing remarks (VIDEO)

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