ProNatura is pleased to relay this following job position.

The IFOAM EU Group has opened a job position for a Financial and Legal officer. Please find all relevant information on this link: http://www.ifoam.org/about_ifoam/around_world/eu_group-new/ifoameu/php/vacancies.php

IFOAM EU Group

Email: info@ifoam-eu.org

The IFOAM EU Group is the European working level within the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements. It brings together more than 300 organisations, associations and enterprises from all EU-27, EFTA and candidate countries. IFOAM´s goal is the worldwide adoption of ecologically, socially and economically sound systems that are based on the principles of Organic Agriculture. Read more: www.ifoam-eu.org

Juli Berge, organic farmer in Catalonia (Spain) is forced to downgrade its maize harvest due to contamination by GMO corn from its neighbors. Spain is the largest user of GM crop in Europe and in this country, the GMO lands are growing very rapidly and threaten organic farming everywhere.

The good question is not how to make organic and GMO coexist, but how to ensure that GMOs don’t make all other agriculture disappear.

To know more about Juli Berge case (in french)

We are please to relay last Ifoam’s annual report as this organisation works hard to promote Organic Farming all over the world.

Here are some extracts we thought useful to share.

“There are 67 million hectares of land, organically managed by 1.4 million certified producers. Non-certified producers, for which no official figures exist, are presumed to represent the total of certified producers many times over”.

“Global sales reached 50.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2008, doubling in value from 2003.

“70% of the world’s food is produced by a web of small producers, including 1.5 billion smallholder farmers. These farmers form the backbone of food security in the developing world”.

“Organic agricultural systems sequester on average 560 kg of CO2 per hectare per year more than conventional systems in temperate regions. In tropical regions the difference lies at an average of 1 tonne of CO2 per hectare. These benefits, however, could potentially be dwarfed by the devastating impacts of industrial agriculture, should agriculture as a whole be recognized and rewarded as carbon sinks in climate policies”.

Organic farming is a powerful tool based on the utilization of biodiversity. Farming communities relying on their ecosystems and traditions, combined with the innovation of organic research and experience, improve their soils, animal welfare and their families’ livelihood. Statistics show that organic farmers in industrialized countries have a higher income than their conventional colleagues. Impact studies in developing countries reveal increased resilience and prove that farming communities taking up organic agricultural practices consume a more varied diet and enjoy better health. It is widely known that yields of organic crops are slightly lower in temperate zones, with optimal conditions particularly in the first years after conversion. However, it is also widely ignored that organic farmers achieve higher yields on marginal land. Overall, organic agriculture performs similarly with less investment. With a strategy of eco-intensification, it is possible, even in the future, to feed the world with organic agriculture”.

Full Ifoam's annual report

“In a landmark ruling published on July 27th, the Paraná Federal Court revokes authorization for the commercial release of Bayer’s Liberty Link maize and censures CTNBio’s actions

A new chapter has been added to the dispute over GM crops in Brazil. A court ruling now prohibits Bayer from marketing Liberty Link maize – resistant to the herbicide glufosinate – anywhere in the country due to the absence of any plan for post-release monitoring. The federal judge Pepita Durski Tramontini from the Curitiba Environment Court also specifically revoked authorization for the crop’s release in the North and Northeast of Brazil due to the absence of any studies relating to the potential impacts of this technology on the regional biomes.
Additionally the ruling annulled the approval given by the Council of Ministers (the National Biosafety Council) to commercial release of the maize since their decision had been based on irregular procedures undertaken by CTNBio.
CTNBio – the National Biosafety Technical Commission, responsible for approving release of GMOs in Brazil – has now been ordered to ensure comprehensive access to the GMO release procedures. It must also introduce a norm setting a time limit for any decision on requests for confidential business information, allowing all non-secret information to be made public”.
To know more