IFOAM

IFOAM – Organics International (formerly known as the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements) is a worldwide organization, with over 700 affiliates in more than 100 countries and territories.

IFOAM – Organics International aims to increase the adoption of organic farming practices around the world by facilitating the transition of farmers to organics, raising awareness of the benefits organics bring to public goods, the role they can play in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as advocating for policies that support organics. They do this by implementing projects, providing advisory services, communicating the value of organics, and organizing events and award ceremonies. This is done in collaboration with other organizations. They aim to showcase how organics can be a solution to many of the pressing issues the world faces.

The campaigns, events, and award ceremonies are meant to honor and support people and initiatives that show organic agriculture, agroecology and other sustainable agricultural practices, as multidimensional and truly sustainable solutions in the food and agriculture sector.

IFOAM – Organics International also offers a package of activities and services that help strengthen and provide resources to the organic sector and beyond. They include the IFOAM Family of Standards, the official Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) Recognition Program, Accreditation (delivered by the International Organic Accreditation Services (IOAS)), the IFOAM Norms, the Global Certifiers' Directory and Toolkits on policies, regulations and PGS.

IFOAM – Organics International is actively engaged in supporting and strengthening national organic agriculture movements (NOAMs). The support is often given through the implementation of projects that include elements of capacity development (Organic Leadership Course and Training of Trainers (and Teams of Trainers)); organizational development; and awareness raising for farmers, the private sector and policymakers. In recent years, IFOAM – Organics International integrated food and nutrition security elements in their work by using the nutrition-sensitive agriculture approach. As an organization uniting the organic movement, IFOAM - Organics International, together with its members and allies, innovates and implements initiatives through several projects aiming to improve the livelihoods of farmers, increase food security and boost biodiversity with a systemic approach.

History

IFOAM – Organics International was started by the president of the French farmer organization Nature et Progrès, Roland Chevriot. The process began on 05 November 1972, in Versailles, France, during an international organic agriculture congress organized by Nature et Progrès. There were five members at the congress representing different organizations including Lady Eve Balfour of the Soil Association of the United Kingdom, Kjell Arman of the Swedish Biodynamic Association, Pauline Raphaely of the Soil Association of South Africa, Jerome Goldstein of Rodale Press of the United States, and Roland Chevriot of Nature et Progrès of France. In the beginning, the name of the organization was the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements. The founders envisioned that the federation would meet what they saw as a major need: a unified, organized voice for organic food and the diffusion and exchange of information on the principles and practices of organic agriculture across national and geographical boundaries. In 2015, the name changed to IFOAM - Organics International. On 19 October 1998, participants at the 12th Scientific Conference of IFOAM - Organics International issued the Mar del Plata Declaration, where more than 600 delegates from over 60 countries voted unanimously to exclude the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food production and agriculture. From that point onwards, GMOs have been categorically excluded from organic farming and denounced by the organic movement. The principles of organic agriculture were voted upon by the General Assembly (GA) in 2005. The four principles are health, fairness, ecology and care.

1. Structure

The GA of IFOAM – Organics International serves as the highest authority of the organization, and it elects the world board of the organization for a three-year term. The world board is a group of 10 people working voluntarily to guide the organization. In September 2021, Karen Mapusua from Fiji was elected as the president of the organization’s world board. The 2021 world board was elected by the GA of IFOAM - Organics International in September 2021, the first-ever digital one. The Intercontinental Network of Organic Farmers Organizations (INOFO) is an autonomous self-organized structure within IFOAM - Organics International for organic farming organizations. The board appoints members to official committees, working groups, and task forces based on the recommendation of the membership of the organization. Member organizations also establish regional bodies and sector platforms. These regional bodies include IFOAM Organics Europe, IFOAM Organics Asia, IFOAM AgriBioMediterraneo, IFOAM Southern African Network, IFOAM America Latina, IFOAM North America and IFOAM Euro-Asia. The sector platforms formed include the IFOAM Organic Husbandry Alliance, IFOAM Apiculture Forum, IFOAM Aquaculture, Technology Innovation Platform of IFOAM and IFOAM Seeds Platform.

2. International Standing

IFOAM - Organics International participates in international agricultural and environmental negotiations with the United Nations and multilateral institutions to promote organic agriculture as a solution for today’s global challenges and to further the interests of organic agricultural movements worldwide. The organization has an observer status or is otherwise accredited by international institutions that include:

● ECOSOC Status with the United Nations General Assembly

● The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

● The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

● The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD)

● The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)

● United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

● Codex Alimentarius Commission (FAO and World Health Organization)

● United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)

● The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

● International Labour Organization of the United Nations (ILO)

● International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

According to the One World Trust's Global Accountability Report 2008, IFOAM - Organics International was the highest-scoring international NGO. It was at the top of the list of 30 organizations that year, with a 71%t score.

3. Membership

Members are organizations with at least 50% organic-related activity and are part of the General Assembly, where they have voting rights. Organizations with less than 50% organic-related activities are considered associate members. Individuals join as supporters. The membership includes farmers' organizations, trade associations, processors, handlers, retailers, consumer groups, and civil society organizations. Listed below are some of IFOAM – Organics International’s members. The full list can be found in the organization’s membership directory.

1. Alnatura

2. Alliance for Organic Integrity

3. Asociación Nacional de Agricultura Orgánica

4. Bio Austria

5. Biokreis e.V.

6. Bioland e.V.

7. Biopark

8. Bio Suisse

9. BioVision Africa Trust

10. Bund Ökologische Lebensmittelwirtschaft / Association of Organic Food Producers and Traders

11. COOP Switzerland

12. Coöperatieve Vereniging Bionext U.A

13. Demeter International

14. Ecocert

15. Ecovin

16. Fédération Nationale d'Agriculture Biologique des Régions de France

17. Gäa e.V.

18. Garden Organic

19. Global Organic Alliance, Inc

20. Korean Federation of Sustainable Agriculture Organizations

21. Lantbrukarnas Riksförbund / Federation of Swedish Farmers

22. MAYACERT S.A.

23. Migros

24. Movimiento Argentino para la Producción Orgánica

25. Nature et Progrès

26. Naturland e.V.

27. Navdanya

28. Organic Denmark

29. Organic Trade Association

30. Organic Crop Improvement Association

31. Organic Food Development Center

32. SEKEM

33. Soil Association

34. Zimbabwe Organic Producers & Promoters Association

4. Activities

4.1 IFOAM - Organics International’s Standards and Certification IFOAM - Organics International has developed services aimed at operators and stakeholders across the organic sector, for instance, the Organic Guarantee System (OGS). OGS is designed to facilitate the development of sustainable and credible organic sectors, trustworthy organic standards and accessible verification systems. IFOAM – Organics International has also been supporting and promoting the diversity of guarantee systems, including Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) and Internal Control Systems (ICS).

4.1.1 IFOAM Family of Standards The organization, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), developed an international equivalence assessments matrix of organic standards and technical regulations, which is known as the Common Objectives and Requirements of Organic Standards (COROS). The COROS is the basis for assessing the quality and equivalency of organic standards and regulations, which are then included in the IFOAM Family of Standards (FoS). The IFOAM FoS program was launched in 2011; by 2022, 47 standards and regulations were included worldwide.

4.1.2 Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) PGS are locally focused quality assurance systems. PGS represent an alternative and complementary tool to third-party certification within the organic sector. IFOAM – Organics International continues to advocate for PGS’S recognition by governments. To do so, IFOAM – Organics International conducts several activities, such as collecting global data, managing a Global PGS Map, running the Official PGS Recognition Program, and sharing resources via its PGS Toolkit, educational videos and case studies.

4.1.3 Accreditation and IOAS IFOAM - Organics International offers organic accreditation services to certification bodies (CBs), via the accreditation body IOAS. The IFOAM Accreditation Program, launched in 1992, follows the IFOAM Accreditation Requirements (which are included in the IFOAM Norms). Certifiers can have their processes audited against the IFOAM Accreditation Requirements, which analyze the standards and verification processes of the CBs. 4.1.4 Internal Control System (ICS) An Internal Control System (ICS) is a documented quality assurance system that allows an external certification body to delegate the annual inspection of individual group members (farmers) to an identified body or unit within the certified operator. IFOAM – Organics International has played a key role in harmonizing and promoting the ICS concept since the 1990s. It has been advocating for group certification with governments and stakeholders within the organic sector, and it has been publishing resources such as a Training Kit on ICS for Smallholder Group Certification and an ICS Guidance in the framework of the EU Regulation 2018/848.

5. Projects and Grant Agreements

● The Organic Academy: this was established in 2012 by IFOAM - Organics International to deliver a service to strengthen capacities, including skills for leadership in the organic sector and movement. A new format for capacity building included the flagship Organic Leadership Course, training (of the team) of trainers, and Organic Foundational Course. The format also includes tailored training based on the demand and needs of stakeholders, for example, the Capacity Development of Regional and National Multipliers in Ecological Organic Agriculture in Southern, Central and West Africa with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH as the donor.

● Knowledge Center for Organic Agriculture in Africa (KCOA), East Africa Hub with Biovision Africa as the donor. The project aims to deliver the Training of Teams of Facilitators component.

● Organic Agriculture Policy-Implementation Support and Capacity Building Project in the Kyrgyz Republic funded by the Korean Development Agency, and supported by Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). The role is to deliver the Training of Trainers component.

● Support of the Organic Agriculture Working Group of the Green Innovation Centre project (2017-2023) with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH as the donor.

● Organic Trade for Development in Eastern Europe (OT4D), funded by the Swiss Secretariat of Economic Development (SECO)

● Nutrition in Mountain Agro-Ecosystems (NMA)

● ProBio, funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), through SEQUA

● Organic Markets for Development (OM4D)

● Peer to Peer Exchange Among Policy Makers, funded by BMZ and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)

● Scaling Up Agroecology in the Himalayas, funded by BMZ and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

● Gender-sensitive assessment and capacity development on PGS, funded by FAO

● Agribusiness Development from Organic Resources (ADORE), funded by the European Development Fund under the Boosting Agriculture and Food Security (BAFS) Project Promotion of Agribusiness and Innovative Farming

6. Campaigns, events, and awards

8.1 #IGrowYourFood In 2019, the organization launched the #IGrowYourFood action day to showcase the stories of organic farmers worldwide. It turned into an annual action day held during Organic September and has provided a platform for farmers and farming advocates to share their voices on media platforms, through videos, articles, and photo stories. Webinars are held in advance to help everyone prepare and make sure they can make the most of the action day.

8.2 Honest Food The organization launched the Honest Food campaign which developed a set of toolkits to support the farmer's social media campaigns. The toolkits can freely be downloaded.

8.3 Organic Farming Innovation Award In 2011, IFOAM – Organics International, the Rural Development Administration of South Korea (RDA), and the IFOAM Technology Innovation Platform (TIPI) launched the initiative Organic Farming Innovation Award (OFIA) to award organic innovators.

8.4 One World Award The award honors people, initiatives, projects, and ideas with ecological, social, and economic impulses for improvement. The organization works with natural food producer, Rapunzel, and presents an award worth 45,000 euros every three years to acknowledge people and projects that improve the world.

8.5 Organic World Congress (OWC) Every three years, the organization hosts the Organic World Congress, a gathering for organic farmers, producers, advocates, researchers, and policymakers, in different countries. The OWC connects and brings visibility to the host country by rotating across countries. The OWC has six forums with sessions that the participants can choose to attend and they include: Leadership, Farmers and Advisors, Science, Supply and Value Chain, Culture and Education, and Stakeholders. Each forum has a unique focus and aims for the participants. In 2021, the 20th edition of OWC entitled “From its Roots – Organic Inspires Life” was held in Rennes, France. The next one will be held in 2024 in Tunisia.

8.6 BIOFACH BIOFACH is the world leading international trade fair for organic food and beverages. The trade fairs which are held worldwide are meeting points for exhibitors and visitors involved in organics or keen to learn about organics. Several exhibitors and professionals gather and conduct seminars to spread awareness about organic food. IFOAM – Organics International is the international patron of BIOFACH.