ISOFAR serves as the premier international society on organic research, for scientists, students, and non-profits interested in organic agriculture. We facilitate global co-operation in research, education and knowledge exchange.
Learn more about the benefits of ISOFAR membership.
News:
November 2024
ISOFAR OWC pre-conference workshop "Publish or Perish", 1st December 2024, Taiwan (hybrid)
Organic Agriculture (OA) is becoming an important option for policy makers and the public to find solutions for future food chain challenges. This has changed OA from a niche market to a mainstream system. OA impacts are being observed and assessed, more and more often in comparison to other food chain approaches (“conventional farming”).
Today it is clear that OA is a viable option to overcome many environmental and health challenges, but it needs further development (Organic 3.0). Research is the instrument that will improve OA and to deliver reliable information for stakeholders and decisions makers. Research must be published in scientific journals to ensure the integrity and accuracy of the findings.
Unfortunately, many OA researchers are not aware of the importance of scientific publication in peer-reviewed journals, publication standards, technical procedures and research marketing.
Further Information are found here.
July 2024
Invitation to join the ISOFAR General Assembly Dec 1, 2024 (hybrid)
Dear ISOFAR members,
every three years, ISOFAR has a General Assembly, attached to the Organic World Congress. The next GA will take place on the 1st December 2024 as hybrid event from 8-11 o'clock Central Europe Time (CET) resp. 15-18 o'clock Taiwan time.
All ISOFAR members are invited to join the General Assembly and decide with their votes. The General Assembly is not open for guests.
Here you find further information about the General Assembly.
July 2024
ISOFAR supports the Organic World Congress 2024
ISOFAR supports the Organic World Congress 2024 from December 2-4, 2024 in Taiwan. Twelve scientific keynote lectures will cover the world of research for organic agriculture. Scientific publications on these presentations will also be available after the congress. Furthermore,
ISOFAR will support the selection of papers with scientific reviews. In addition, there will be ISOFAR awards for the best scientific poster.
Further information can be found here.
June 2024
ISOFARs "Journal of Organic Agriculture" received from Clarivate the Impact Factor of 2.0 for 2023.
May 2024
Organic Agriculture Volume 14, issue 2 (May 2024) available
March 2024
Organic Agriculture Volume 14, issue 1 available.
September 2023
ISOFAR board members attended 1st International Conference on Organic Agriculture in Deserts and Dry lands in China
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The 1st International Conference on Organic Agriculture in Deserts and Dry lands in China successfully took place in Bayannur, China 03rd-06th September 2023 which organized by IFOAM Asia and China Shengmu. Participant from 12 countries has attending this conference with various expertise background.
Full report from Wahyudi David can be found here.
September, 2023
ISOFAR participated as invited keynote speakers at the 4th IOIS Organic conference Organic Life – Healthy diet with Vitality
IFOAM Asia has organized the 4th International Xichong Asia Organic Summit from 10-12 Septemberr 2023 and invited 15 international participants. ISOFAR was represented by Gerold Rahmann (Germany), Wahyudi David (Indonesia) and Mahesh Chander (India).
About 500 participants discussed the future of Organic farming and marketing in China. The host, the mayor of Xichong, has made an excellent presentation of the Organic development of the county. An exciting place to go.
More pictures and report can be found here.
September, 2023
ISOFAR attended the Organic Scientific conference at the China Agricultural University, in Suzhou on the 9th September 2023.
IFOAM Asia and ISOFAR member Ji Li, Director of the Organic Recycling Research Institute of the China Agricultural University, have organized an International Symposium on Organic Agricultural Innovation Research in Suzhou, China.
About 10 international and 40 national participants attended the event. ISOFAR board members have been invited and Gerold Rahmann and Wahyudi David gave presentations. A joint dinner and an excursion to organic farming sites and shopping malls in Shanghai completed the valuable day.
Here you find more pictures and information, compiled by Gerold Rahmann.
June, 2023
ISOFAR board members attended IFOAM Asia conference on the Philippines
The 6th Asian Organic Congress successfully took place in Kauswagan, Philippines 4-10 June 2023 which organized by Municipality of Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte, Philippines, IFOAM-Organics Asia, League of Organic Agriculture, Municipalities, Cities and Provinces of the Philippines (LOAMCP-Ph). Also, 9th ALGOA (Asian Local Governments for Organic Agriculture) & 4th GAOD (Global Alliance of Organic Districts) Summits, have been held on 5-6 June. Participants from 31 countries attended the “6th Asian Organic Congress” that came to an end on 9 June 2023. At the same time, around 1200 local visitors took the opportunity to involved in the Asian organic communities within an interesting exhibition of local products.
More information and a report are found here.
May 2023
ISOFAR president visited Natural Farming in India
The concept of Natural Farming is like minded and similar to Organic Farming. The Indian state Andhra Pradesh has the target to scale-up this approach to 6 mio farmers. ISOFAR president Prof. Rahmann was invited to have a look on the practical work in Natural Farming and to guide in a research agenda. ISOFAR president Prof. Rahmann was impressed about the high knowledge to work pesticide free, to integrate agroecology into the farmers, their skills and attitudes. Good for real world impacts opf research at the Indian German Global Academy of Agroecology Research and Learning.
More information are found here.
April 2023
Our Journal Organic Agriculture is developing well
Springer gave us the results of the year 2022. We can be happy and proud about the results.
Raffaele Zanoli has done a great job.
Thanks.
Further information can be found here.
March 2023
ISOFAR was partner of the Wissenschaftstagung
The Wissenschaftstagung is the main German speaking event for Organic Farming Research, held every second year. This time was the event in Switzerland, at FiBL. ISOFAR has contributed with a poster award, with financial support and a small both.
The 204 papers can be found on the Organic Research paper download site Orgprints.org.
Further information can be found here.
February 2023
ISOFAR visited Organic Pakistan
ISOFAR president Prof. Rahmann and treasurer Dr. Neuhoff visited Organic Pakistan. They have been impressed about the quality and motivation. The host have done their very best to shop the potential and challenges of going more organic. Research is an important component. Universities showed willingness to start courses in Organic Farming.
Further information can be found here.
January 2023
ISOFAR is presenting research results at the International Green Week, Germany
Every year, in January is the biggest International Food fair in Berlin, Germany, with 400,000 to 500,000 visitors. This International Green Week was used to present the results of the comparison of conventional and organic farming systems in Germany regarding climate impact.
 | Climate impact of conventional and organic farming in Germany 395-GR-Studie_Umwelt_und_Klimawirkungen.pdf (3.11MB) |
| 395-GR-Studie_Umwelt_und_Klimawirkungen.pdf (3.11MB) |
Further information can be found here.
December 1, 2022
ISOFAR president Prof. Dr. Gerold Rahmann message for the year 2022
Dear ISOFAR members and friends,
I am pleased to send you my 2022 annual message.
We at the ISOFAR headquarters continue to volunteer efforts to maintain organic networks and coordinate organic events.
After 2 years of global travel restrictions due to COViD-19, ISOFAR relaunched activities in 2022, with a focus on supporting regional and global Organic Farming research discussions and dissemination. These services, and the community that ISOFAR provides, are especially important for organic researchers who do not have an extensive network, or who operate on low financing. This year we supported two in-person science events: in May an Izmir, Turkiye and in October an Goesan, Korea.
Further information are here
November 1, 2022
Journal of Organic Agriculture
We are pleased to deliver your requested table of contents alert for Organic Agriculture. Volume 12, Issue 4 is now available online.
In this issue
Up-scaling organic agriculture to enhance food and water security in South Asia
Ashim Kumar Das, Md. Abiar Rahman, Priyanka Mitra, Vibhas Sukhwani, Rajib Shaw, Bijon Kumer Mitra, Devesh Sharma, Sameer Deshkar, Bhumika Morey
Ecological and socio-environmental impacts of conversion to organic dairy farming
Euclides Reuter de Oliveira, Elaine Barbosa Muniz, João Paulo Guimarães Soares, Andréa Maria de Araújo Gabriel, Jefferson Rodrigues Gandra, Alzira Salete Menegat, Janaina Tayna Silva, Nathalie Ferreira Neves, Orlando Filipe Costa Marques
How will an increase in organic agricultural area affect land use in Germany?
Livia Rasche, Jan Steinhauser
Should organic animals be slaughtered differently from non-organic animals? A cluster analysis of German consumers
Sarah Kühl, Elisa Bayer, Gesa Busch
A review of the principles of composting: understanding the processes, methods, merits, and demerits
Ebenezer Ebo Yahans Amuah, Bernard Fei-Baffoe, Lyndon Nii Adjiri Sackey, Nang Biyogue Douti, Raymond Webrah Kazapoe
Comparative studies on physicochemical and nutritional values of organically and conventionally grown Cucumis sativus stored at different temperatures in different household packaging
Suryatapa Das, Annalakshmi Chatterjee, Tapan Kumar Pal
Suitability of vermicomposting for different varieties of organic waste: a systematic literature review (2012–2021)
Kishor Kumar Maharjan, Prakrit Noppradit, Kuaanan Techato
October 1-3, 2022
ISOFAR workshops at the 2nd International Organic Expo
ISOFAR was the International partner of the 1st International Expo 2015, and was proud to be the partner of the 2nd International Expo 2022, again. ISOFAR, as global and independent network of Organic Farming scientists, has organized five scientific workshops at the IFOAM /ISOFAR Organic conference - who has celebrated their 50th anniversary with the Expo – from October 1-3, 2022 in Goesan, Korea. About 51 scientists from 27 countries have discussed in five ISOFAR workshops thefuture challenges in "scaling up Organic, Novel food, food systems, climate smart Organic and research for para-organic.
| Report from the ISOFAR workshop "Climate smart Organic Agriculture" Workshop report for the website - Final Version.pdf (5.5MB) |
| Workshop report for the website - Final Version.pdf (5.5MB) |
| Proceedings of the ISOFAR workshops at the 2nd Organic Expo,1-3 Oct. 2022 in Korea Proceedings of the ISOFAR scientific workshops at the 2nd International Organic Expo 2022 very final version.pdf (60.27MB) |
| Proceedings of the ISOFAR scientific workshops at the 2nd International Organic Expo 2022 very final version.pdf (60.27MB) |
May 31, 2022
ISOFAR contribution at the 4th International Conference on Organic Agriculture in Mediterranean Climates: Threats and Solutions
May 26.-29., 2022 in Izmir, Turkiye
The 4th International Conference on Organic Agriculture in Mediterranean Climates: Threats and Solutions successfully took place in Izmir, Turkey 27-29 May 2022 which organized by ETO, IFOAM ABM, ISOFAR, Ege University, the Aegean Exporters’ Associations and IZFAŞ.
Participants from 17 countries either in person or online attended the “4th International Conference on Organic Agriculture in Mediterranean Climates: Threats and Solutions” that came to an end on 29 May 2022 (totally 61 oral presentations 11 of all were online and 2 of all were pre-recorded, were presented).
March 27, 2022
Invitation for the 4th International Conference on Organic Agriculture in Mediterranean Climates: Threats and Solutions
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May 26-29, 2022, Izmir (Turkey)
ISOFAR does support the 4th ABM conference. The Conference aims to bring together academia and practice in the Mediterranean as well as in regions where Mediterranean climate prevails. The participants will be able to discuss different facets of the threats of today and future posed on organic agriculture and deliver applicable solutions. The climate change issue is a major threat with high probability and high impact on land, water biodiversity and human resources, which in turn affects the system designs, production patterns, pest, disease, and weed prevalence, human resources, and the marketing channels of organic goods and services. The Mediterranean Sea is already a tragic symbol of migration. Migration whether domestic from rural towards urban or to other countries, or from one continent to the other will be triggered with the climate change and others as economic or political instability. Aging of the population especially in rural requires innovative solutions not only in agriculture but also in related fields. Organic agriculture with basic principles that favor health of the soil, plant, animal, human and planet as indivisible can bring solutions for agroecosystem management to overcome challenges of climate change and deliver healthy and nutritious produce. Services brought by can be better preserved, managed and/or diversified. The Mediterranean diversity embeds healthy diets, culture, and tourism as regional values. Sharing research results, experiences and best practices will contribute to identify the problems and threats, to discuss sustainability point of view, to derive applicable solutions and to establish cooperation for future networking.
Further information are found here.
Website of the conference: https://ekolojiizmir.izfas.com.tr/abm
February 22, 2022
Research in agroecology in Europe – Fill out the survey launched by AE4EU
In the framework of AE4EU H2020 CSA project, a survey was launched understand how “agroecology” is understood and implemented by researchers involved in agroecology in Europe. The survey is available at the following link:
https://forms.gle/ieRYhgF4Ab5Lx2ok7.
Thanks and regards
Ileana Iocola and Stefano Canali
Council for Agricultural Research and Economics – Research centre for Agriculture and Environment. Rome, Italy.
ileana.iocola@crea.gov.it
stefano.canali@crea.gov.it
If you like to have more information, have a look here.
January 1, 2022
Message from the ISOFAR president 2022
Dear ISOFAR members,
the second CoVid-19 year is gone, and we all have face difficulties in our scientific work and networking again. ISOFAR has done several actions in 2021 to keep the network of Organic Farming researchers alive as much as possible. We were able to organize the ISOFAR scientific congress in Rennes, France, had our General Assembly, and contributed to several online events. Thanks to all those who have done all the organization under severe difficulties. The Journal ORGA is still our best "child" and growing well. If you have anything for publishing, please consider our journal as well.
I hope, in 2022 the conditions will be better for global networking of the Organic Farming scientists. ISOFAR has planed some events, together with friends around the world. We will start a regular webinar on Organic Farming research, will hold a workshop in presence at the 2nd Organic Expo in September 2022 in South Korea, be partner of the 5th African Organic Conference. You as members allow us to act and work for a global network.
Thank you very much for your contribution and support.
On behalf of the new elected ISOFAR world board: Jessica (vice-president), Daniel (treasurer), Raffaele (ORGA), Reza, Jochen, Sabine, Mahesh, Wahyudi, Victor, Khaled and Khalid.
Regards
Gerold
December 15, 2021
ORGA 4-2021 is available
Dear Reader,
We are pleased to deliver your requested table of contents alert for Organic Agriculture. Volume 11, Issue 4 is now available online.
In this issue
- Organic agriculture in Turkey: status, achievements, and shortcomings
- The effect of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and organic labeling on Swiss consumers’ acceptance of pork salami
- Organic management of Urochloa brizantha cv. Marandu intercropped with leguminous
- Soil microbial communities in tilled organic and no-till conventional crop production systems
- The use of animal manure in the organic cultivation of Passiflora incarnata L. increases the content of phenolic compounds in the leaf and the antioxidant activity of the plant
- Solid phosphate sludge composted with organic horticultural residues improves the growth of citrus and forest seedlings
- Phytochemical profile of chickpea cultivars grown in conventional and organic farms in Southern, Italy
- Plant growth promotion by Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus and its interaction with genotype and phosphorus availability in tomato seedlings
- Sustainable organic farming supports diversity of Coleopteran beetles as a good indicator taxon: a case study from central Lao PDR
- Diversity of entomofauna in organic versus conventionally managed soybean fields protected by forest shelter belts in Ukraine
- Trichoderma spp. isolates from the rhizosphere of healthy olive trees in northern Algeria and their biocontrol potentials against the olive wilt pathogen, Verticillium dahliae
- Value chain analysis of organic pumpkin in India
Do you want to publish your article in this journal? Please visit the homepage of Organic Agriculture for full details on:aims and scope
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November 26, 2021
Fifth International Agronomy Congress (IAC) "Agri-Innovations to Combat Food and Nutrition Challenges", 23-27 November 2021, PJTSAU, Hyderabad, Telangana, India
ISOFAR was partner of the 5th IAC, held online (https://iac.isa-india.in). This Fifth International Agronomy Congress was a review of the progress in agri-innovations and work out strategies to combat food and nutrition challenges by generating new opportunities/technologies through agronomic research. The Indian Society of Agronomy has taken initiative to organize the Congress at Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University (PJTSAU), Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, India to maintain the continuity and provide an international platform to the agronomists world over to discuss the emerging issues.
President Prof. Gerold Rahmann gave a speech on "Organic Farming - a global overview".
October 28, 2021
2nd OrgaTrop Conference, Yogjakarta, Indonesia
Department of Soil, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, organized the 2nd International Conference on Organic Agriculture in The Tropics (Orgatrop 2021). It is an ideal academic platform for researchers to present the latest research findings and describe emerging technologies and directions in sustainable agriculture. ISOFAR was partner of this event again.
The 2nd Orgatrop 2021 was held virtually on 28-29 October 2021. The theme of this conference is "Organic Agriculture as a sustainable agrosystem to support agriculture production and food safety under the threat of climate change". The website is https://orgatrop.faperta.ugm.ac.id/.
President Prof. Gerold Rahmann gave a speech on Organic farming in the context of climate change and vice versa.
October 13, 2021
AVALON Conference: "Added Value of the Organic Farmer, Bioregions" (www.toekomstbestendigboerennoordnederland.nl)
Which are the broader benefits of organic farming? Is it useful to aim for ‘Bioregions’ with higher ambitions than the 25% uptake in 2030 as foreseen by the EU? The conference was intended for farmers, farm advisers, policy makers, students and educational institutions from the Netherlands and abroad. The plenary session were held on 13 October is on location: Ecostyle/Biosinstrum, Ecomunitypark in Oosterwolde, the Netherlands. It was also be streamed online. The organization is in the hands of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality of the Netherlands, the Provinces of Fryslân, Groningen and Drenthe, Avalon, the project Added Value of the Organic Farmer. the Soil Knowledge Center and Symphony of Soils.
President Prof. Gerold Rahmann gave a speech on "Organic farming challenges in a changing World: From soil to soilless production?"
September 8, 2021
The 6th ISOFAR conference at the 20th IFOAM Organic World Congress 2021
From its roots, organic inspires science, and vice versa
The scientific roots of organic systems are anchored in the four principles of IFOAM – Organics International: ecology, health, fairness, and care. Scientific skills are needed for the continuous improvement of organic food, systems, and culture.
The Forum invited researchers to share their work in the following five themes, with a special focus on interdisciplinary research.
Scientific discussions are critical for the development of research, not only in advancing knowledge and methodology but also in expanding innovation in approaches and visions. These discussions will provide the scaffolding for the 6th ISOFAR Conference of Organic Agricultural Science of the Organic World Congress in Rennes in 2021.
All authors agreed that all papers are uploaded to the public and free access online platform Organic Eprints and to be published in this Book of Abstracts of the Thünen-Report 88 2021. 19 papers have been already published in a special edition of the peer reviewed Journal of Organic Agriculture in Volume 10, supplement issue 1, in December 2020 (https://www.springer.com/journal/13165).
About 200 scientific papers have been accepted for presentation. The abstracts are found here:
| Book of Abstracts of the 6th ISOFAR conference at the 20th Organic World Congress, Rennes, France, 8-10 Sept 2021 Thuenen_Report_88.pdf (2.33MB) |
| Thuenen_Report_88.pdf (2.33MB) |
September 7, 2021
7th ISOFAR General Assembly
The 7th ISOFAR General Assembly was held on the 7th September 2021 in Rennes, France, in conjunction with the 20th Organic World Congress. Due to the CoVid-19 pandemia the GA was done as hybrid GA, 33 attended via Zoom, 10 were in-person. The previous board was released from duties and all participants gave big thanks to all of them for their volunteer work. The new board was elected and 12 candidates have been elected for the therm 2021-2024:
- Rahmann, Gerold (Germany) (president)
- Shade, Jessica (USA) Vice-president
- Neuhoff, Daniel (Germany) (treasurer)
- Olowe, Victor (Nigeria)
- Ardakani, M. Reza (Iran)
- Zanolli, Raffaele (Italy)
- Mayer, Jochen (Switzerland)
- Zikeli, Sabine (Germany)
- Khalid, Azim (Morocco)
- Sassi, Khaled (Tunesia)
- Chander, Mahesh (India)
- David, Wahyudi (Indonesia)
| Minutes from the GA 2021 2021-09-07 Minutes GA 2021.pdf (450.48KB) |
| 2021-09-07 Minutes GA 2021.pdf (450.48KB) |
June 30, 2021
Registration for the hybrid workshop "publish or perish" as OWC21 pre-conference (7th Sept 2021, 9-12 CEST) is open.
Objectives:
Organic farming systems are dependent on science and research. Plentiful, high-quality published papers are critical for improving organic agriculture across the world. This pre-conference will:
- Provide a forum for relevant information and the chance to discuss questions in organic agriculture research
- Raise awareness on the importance of scientific publishing
- Present the ISOFAR journal, share updates, and develop ideas for collaboration to increase the volume and quality of published papers.
- Encourage more scientists and other stakeholders to produce and submit relevant, high-quality papers for peer review and publishing in the member journal of ISOFAR, Organic Agriculture
- Learn how-to construct high-quality scientific papers, from the introduction to the conclusion
Expected Outcomes:
- Strengthened network among scientists working with organic agriculture;
- Improved skills to strengthen scientific publication activities;
- Methods for transferring research results to farmers and other stakeholders (dissemination strategies);
- Complementary, post-OWC paper writing-groups, voluntarily peer-review, webinars for research project design, groups established to utilize the OA journal for a conference
June 1, 2021
Organic Agriculture: special issue on LandLessFood workshop published.
This special issue presents the outcomes from “Designing sustainable and circular agricultural systems for the year 2100,” the joint scientific workshop of ISOFAR, the Thünen-Institute, and INRA-Morocco, which was held from November 14 to 16, 2019 in Marrakesh, Morocco. Nineteen scientists from a broad array of background and nationalities came together with the understanding that food security globally is at risk, especially in the post-2050 timeframe. Current concepts, strategies, measures, and scientific efforts carried out by governments, NGOs, businesses, and societies do not deliver satisfying solutions for how to sustainably produce enough healthy and affordable food to support the global population. With the economic and social impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, it became even more evident that food security is a challenge. This workshop took an innovative approach to addressing the challenges of future agriculture by considering sustainable, circular agricultural systems. Participants presented research results on algae-based food, edible insects, mushrooms, novel concepts for nutrient management, bioreactor-based farming, sustainable food culture, as well as sensor- and remote-controlled automatic food production. This special issue presents the papers contributed to the workshop and the results of the discussions.
May 26, 2021
ISOFAR board member Prof. Dr. Victor Idowu Olugbemiga Olowe gave today his 63rd inaugural lecture at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria.
April 20, 2021
Journal of Organic Agriculture, volume 11, issue 1 has been released.
Do you want to publish your article in this journal?
Please visit the homepage of Organic Agriculture for full details on:
- aims and scope
- editorial policy
- article submission
Sign up for SpringerAlerts!
Register for Springer’s email services providing you with info on the latest books in your field.
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April 13, 2021
WEBINAR: Maximizing Carbon Sequestration in Organic Systems
The Organic Center will be hosting a free webinar on Maximizing Carbon Sequestration in Organic Systems. The webinar is taking place on Friday, April 16 at 11:30 am Pacific Time (18:30 GMT). Join us to learn more from the Robert Crystal-Ornelas, PhD, co-author of a recently-published paper that looks within organic management to quantify carbon sequestration of different practices used by farmers.
Panelists:
- Robert Crystal-Ornelas, PhD, Postdoctoral Scholar in the Energy Geosciences Division | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
- Amber Sciligo, PhD, Associate Director of Science Programs | The Organic Center
April 13, 2021
Warsaw University Seeks BS Students in Organic Agriculture
The Warsaw University of Life Sciences is recruiting students for it's Organic Agriculture and Food Production BSc program.
The program offers students a holistic and interdisciplinary knowledge in the area of organic agriculture and food production, presented by the best specialists from different faculties of Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW and from abroad.
Learn more about the program here
March 1, 2021
IFOAM has launched the World of Organic Agriculture 2021
Like every year, IFOAM has launched the annual edition of the Statistics of the World of Organic Farming on BioFach Nueremberg, this year virtually done in February. Many ISOFAR members have contributed to the content. It is a valuable summary of the real world of Organic farming and markets. Here you can download the edition for free.
February 10, 2021
KCOA Project: Training of Team of Trainers (ToToT) in Nigeria
A train-the-trainer workshop, the KCOA Project: Training of Team of Trainers (ToToT), was hosted by the Association of Organic Agriculture Practitioners of Nigeria (NOAN), in collaboration with the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM-Organics International), sponsored by the German Development Agency (GIZ). The ToToT workshop was successfully held in Nigeria between February 1-5, 2021, with 14 participants strategically selected from all geopolitical zones of the country. The workshop covered topics such as ecological organic agriculture, soil fertility management, markets for sustainable food systems, and an overview of the KCOA platform. The workshop also include a field trip to Ajibode Organic Farm, where they interreacted with farmers using the practices covered in the workshop.
Read more about the workshop in our News page.
February 8, 2021
Webinar on Environmental Impacts of Organic Cotton
The Organic Center will be hosting a free webinar on their latest research collaboration with Iowa State University, examining the environmental impacts of organic cotton. The webinar will take place on February 17, 2021 at 10am Pacific Time (18:00 GMT).
Panelists:
Kathleen Delate, PhD, Professor, Iowa State University
Angela Wartes-Kahl, Organic Trade Assoc. Fiber Council
Jessica Shade, PhD, The Organic Center (Discussion Leader)
February 1, 2021
Special Issue for the Organic World Congress 2020 published
The Organic Word Congress 2020 in Rennes has been postponed to 2021 (Sep. 6-10 in Rennes, France), as well as the scientific forum with 280 accepted presentations. Nevertheless, we have invited authors to submit their contributions for a special issue of Organic Agriculture. After a peer-review we have accepted 19 papers for publishing. ISOFAR members have free download via our member area.
January 1, 2021
Message from the ISOFAR president 2020
Dear ISOFAR members,
2020 comes to an end, and I can say: “I am happy about this”. It was an extraordinary difficult year without traveling, no meetings and hurdles for any action. I guess, all of you have experienced the same problems. Nevertheless, if was a year of reflexion and focusing. I am still positive and optimistic about Organic Agriculture and the role of science to make it even stronger. ISOFAR has an important international role to bring scientist together and make joint actions. I like to give you some outline of the coming year.
December 16, 2020
Journal of Organic Farming, Volume 10, issue 4 published
We are pleased to deliver your requested table of contents alert for Organic Agriculture. Volume 10, Issue 4 is now available online.
ISOFAR membership gives free access to all articles in the journal, not just the ones below which are marked as open access. In order to use this benefit, create an account on our new website (the address is www.isofar.org or www.isofar.online). In the member area you'll find a link that directs you to the journal.
The Organic Agriculture Journal is not only open for you to read but also to publish - provided your work passes the review process. We therefore encourage you to hand in your own scientific papers (https://www.springer.com/journal/13165/submission-guidelines).
November 12, 2020
ISOFAR member Prof. Dr. Johannes Kahl, University of Kassel, died
On 12 November 2020, ISOFAR member and our long-time colleague and friend, Professor Johannes Kahl, died at the age of 52 after a long illness. Since 2016, he was Professor at the Faculty of Organic Agriculture at the University of Kassel (Germany) and head of the Department of Organic Food Quality. Prof. Kahl's lectures on 'Organic food system and sustainable diets' were very popular among students.
He has conducted many projects, e.g. Susplus project within Erasmus Plus ‘Innovative Education towards Sustainable Food Systems’, ProOrg project within ERANET Horizon 2020 ‘Code of Practice for organic food processing’ and project from Ekhaga scientific foundation 'Promoting human health and well-being by maintaining matrix related organic food qualities from field to fork' and Sysorg project within ERANET Horizon 2020 'Organic agro-food systems as models for sustainable food systems in Europe and Northern Africa'.
As member of ISOFAR and Chairman of the Food Quality and Health association (FQH), he worked intensively throughout all these years organizing scientific workshops within the association, developing joint scientific publications.
Prof. Johannes Kahl was an outstanding scientist, an excellent teacher and a great friend.
Honor His Memory!
October 31, 2020
Biofach India 2020: ISOFAR was organizing and contributing partner of the virtual scientific conference on the 31st October 2020.
Dr. Mahesh Chander, ISOFAR board member, has organized with his Indian friends an international scientific conference "Organic Farming Research, Technologies and Extension" at the Biofach 2020 in India. ISOFAR was partner, together with the Indian Institute of Farming Systems Research and others.
Because of CoVid-19, the event was done virtually. ISOFAR president Prof. Dr. Gerold Rahmann and ISOFAR board members Dr. Khalid Azim and Dr. Mahesh Chander gave speeches, related to Organic Agricultural Research, the methodology of a system and interdisciplinary approaches and the role of ISOFAR in the international networking of scientists.
About 250 participants have attended the event. Particularly in times under extreme restrictions of traveling, due to the pandemic CoVid-19, such events are very important to keep contact between each other and to give scientists a platform to present and discuss.
Here you can download the extended summery:
| Extended summery of the contribution of the Biofach India 2020 virtual conference ISOFAR contributed to Biofach India 2020 virtual.pdf (2.4MB) |
| ISOFAR contributed to Biofach India 2020 virtual.pdf (2.4MB) |
October 16, 2020
World Food Day 2020: ISOFAR gave OA lecture at NOARAs celebration
United Nations World Food day 2020 was a global event, celebrated on the 16th October. ISOFAR was invited by the Network of Organic Agricultural Researchers in Africa (NOARA) to give a lesson about Organic Agricultural Research. President Prof. Dr. Gerold Rahmann gave a note about OA research in Germany, his concept about the AO and non-OA research differences and mutualities, his observations of OA research in Africa and recommendations for the future. A platform can be the Knowledge Centre of Organic Agriculture in Africa, financed by the German government with 23 mio Euro from 2019 - 2024.
Below you find his presentation as pdf:
| Organic Agriculture research lecture for NOARA World Food day celebration on Oct 16, 2020 Rahmann lecture for NOARA organic research virtual conference on 16-10-2020.pdf (21.18MB) |
| Rahmann lecture for NOARA organic research virtual conference on 16-10-2020.pdf (21.18MB) |
August 30, 2020
New study focuses on Italian research and innovation
A new study, published in the journal Agronomy, highlights research and innovation in organic farming in Italy. The study originates from the main outcomes that emerged during the World Café held in the frame of the Salone Internazionale del biologico e del naturale (SANA Expo) in 2018, where the Italian OFF research community met to build a convergence on scope and modus operandi in the research endeavor. Read more about it here.
July 31, 2020
ISOFAR board report 2017 - 2020 prepared for members
Based on the ISOFAR Statutes, a General Assembly is to be held at least every three years, and one was planned for the end of the 2017-2020 term to take place on September 13, 2020, in conjunction with the Organic World Congress 2020. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic ISOFAR members have voted with 98 % (deadline June 30, 2020 via SurveyMonkey invitation) to postpone the next General Assembly until September 2021 in Rennes, France. Despite the postponement of the General Assembly, the ISOFAR board committed to preparing a report for the standard three-year term (2017-2020) to share with ISOFAR members in 2020.The report is only accessible for member and shall be discussed virtually with ISOFAR members in November 2020 on invitation.
June 26, 2020
Webinar on Organic Farm Profitability and Biodiversity
The Organic Center's will be hosting a free webinar on "Biodiversity and Profitability on Organic Farms - Environmental and Economic Benefits of Organic Practices" on Wednesday, July 1 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
A growing body of science shows that organic farming supports more biodiversity and can bring in more income than conventional farming, highlighting the environmental and economic benefits of using organic practices. What is less understood is how these benefits are affected by the farming landscape around organic operations. Join us to learn more about the study’s findings.
Presenters:
- Amber Sciligo, PhD, Associate Director of Science Programs, The Organic Center
- David W. Crowder, PhD, Associate Professor of Entomology, Washington State University
- Olivia Smith, PhD, Postdoctoral researcher, Entomology Department, University of Georgia
This Webinar will be recorded, so be sure to register now to receive the recording straight to your inbox.
May 12, 2020
Message for ISOFAR members from the board
The ISOFAR board has discussed on the 8th May 2020 the impact of the postponement of the Organic World Congress towards Sept 8-10, 2021 in Rennes for the society. This message is to inform our members about the board recommendations and decisions.
April 24, 2020
Organic World Congress postponed to September 8-10, 2021
In light of recent developments around covid-19, the organizing committee has decided to postpone the Organic World Congress to September 8-10, 2021 (pre-conferences to take place September 6 and 7). We are grateful for the unwavering support from our international, national and local partners and are confident that this is the right decision for all involved.
January 1, 2020
In memory of William Lockeretz
With sorrow, ISOFAR has received the news about our former board member, Professor Dr. William Lockeretz, that he passed away on December 12, 2019. Willie was his informal name, among his many friends in the worldwide organic movement. He made friends everywhere and could talk to anyone. He was an academic pioneer in organic agriculture in the United States of America, but also globally. He joined the board of ISOFAR at the establishment of this organisation in 2003 and kept his board position until 2011.