Who we are

Our members

Our members make us what we are and decide our official positions. As a membership-based organisation, we represent almost 200 members in 34 European countries. What makes us unique is that our members and work span the entire organic food chain, so an IFOAM Organics Europe position is one voice speaking on behalf of organic to the EU institutions.

Through our close ties with key agricultural, environmental and technical decision-makers at local, regional, national and European level, the European institutions recognise IFOAM Organics Europe as the leading advocate for organic food and farming in the EU.

Thank you to all our members for their hard work and commitment to making Europe more Oorganic!

Are you interested in becoming a member of IFOAM Organics Europe to ensure your voice is heard? Check out our website or email [email protected] for more information on how you can become a member. To learn more about how our organisation functions, have a look at our website.

Governance

To ensure our organisation is truly representative, we operate using a democratic structure with a Board (first chamber), Council (second chamber and national representatives) and organise an annual General Assembly (GA) where members can provide direct input into the organisation.

IFOAM Organics Europe’s Board acts as a first chamber, directs our affairs and develops detailed budgets and work programmes in line with the organic movement’s vision and internal strategy. Every three years, our members elect the Board during the annual General Assembly, according to sector-related and regional criteria. Once the Board is elected, it votes for a President, Treasurer, and sector representatives during their first meeting.

To represent national interests and build bridges between what happens nationally and at EU level, each national organic sector elects their Council representatives at national assemblies (every three years). IFOAM Organics Europe’s Council acts as a second chamber to board and shares national interests and specificities to the European level and the other way around. Every one of the EU organic movement’s positions is approved by the Council. IFOAM Organics Europe’s Council consists of one Council member and two Deputy Council members from each EU Member State and EFTA country (at most). Following the General Assembly, the Council elects its Chair and a Vice-Chair. The Council’s Chair observes the Board meetings.

Interest groups

Our four interest groups bring together the huge expertise of our members and directly involve different sectors in IFOAM Organics Europe’s organisation and work. The interest groups formulate official policies and positions relevant for their sector: 

Interest Group of Organic Certifiers (IGOC): IGOC’s Steering Committee gathered at four e-meetings throughout the year to work on specific topics, such as the future of certification as well as organic supply chain integrity. The Steering Committee drafted a definition of the integrity of the organic supply chain, which was discussed, among other topics, with all IGOC members during the group meeting held in December 2020.
Interest Group of Organic Farmers (IGOF): The IGOF gathered at five meetings throughout the year, to discuss topics such as the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the state of the organic market.
Interest Group of Organic Processors (IGOP): The IGOP organised four e-meetings throughout the year and discussed topics like the secondary legislation of the new EU Organic Regulation, flavourings, cleaning and disinfectants, and food and environmental claims. They also met online during the IGOP annual general meeting, and together with other companies during IFOAM Organics Europe Meets Business in December 2023.
Interest Group of Organic Retailers (IGOR): The IGOR had four e-meetings throughout the year to discuss topics such as addressing the COVID-19 crisis, plastic free packaging, the Farm to Fork strategy and the new EU Organic Action Plan.

Are you interested in becoming part of one of our interest groups? Contact [email protected] for questions about membership and expressions of interest about the interest groups.

Working groups

Our working groups formulate positions, highlight important developments, and advise IFOAM Organics Europe’s Board and Council. They regularly exchange on topics relevant to their areas of expertise:

IFOAM Aquaculture Forum – EU coordination
Central and Eastern Europe Expert Group (Capacity Building)
European Organic Comms Hub (Expert group on communication)
Expert Group on Plant Protection Products and Fertilisers
Expert Group on Seeds

When political developments and developments within the movement call for it, we set up task forces with members excelling on the topics. In 2022, we had task forces on:

Climate Change and Biodiversity
New Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)
Pesticide Use & Contamination
Recycled Fertilisers
Sustainable Food Systems

Our staff

The office team of IFOAM Organics Europe manages the day-to-day operations and activities to represent organic interests in Europe. They are supported by consultants where necessary.

Below you find their contact information. Feel free to reach out to them if you have any questions. Please note that we prioritise questions from our members, NGO network, media, and service providers.

The office staff of IFOAM Organics Europe is divided into 8 units:

Projects we organised

BIOFRUITNET is a thematic network Horizon 2020 project on organic stone, pome, and citrus fruit production. About 100 materials collecting knowledge on organic fruit production were produced and made available on the Organic Farm Knowledge platform. Materials include practice abstracts, videos, podcasts, and e-learning courses relevant to practitioners across Europe.

ECO-READY aims to identify climate-change drivers affecting food security and biodiversity across Europe. The comprehensive understanding of the EU food system vulnerabilities will enable the development of resilient scenarios, which will be tested by a network of 10 Living Labs for a two-year period. The produced knowledge will be made available frequently and consistently through an e-platform and a mobile application, the ECO-READY Observatory. In 2023, a Living Lab open call was launched and 10 Living Labs from different geographical zones were selected to ensure a fair representation of all European agro-climatic zones and the full spectrum of stakeholders. Additionally, IFOAM has been involved in the co-creation of the scenario development methodology, and in the promotion of the first round of a Delphi study to identify local challenges and interests around food security, biodiversity, and climate change.

IPMWORKS: An EU-wide farm network demonstrating and promoting cost-effective integrated pest management (IPM) strategies. A variety of materials were produced, including practice abstracts, fact sheets per farming type, and a resource toolbox, which is an interactive, online library of IPM resources designed for farmers and advisors. Besides, different types of events such as cross-visits and farm demos took place within and across EU countries. IFOAM organised and hosted 2 webinars on topics related to IPM in organic farming, produced a fact sheet for the organic sector, and disseminated the project’s results.

FOODSHIFT launched an ambitious citizen-driven transition of the European food system towards a low-carbon circular future, including a shift to less meat and more plant-based diets. The project ended in December 2023 and its key outcomes were: the successful establishment of 9 FoodSHIFT Accelerator Labs (FALs) in European cities, each one of which in turn gave birth to several FoodSHIFT Enabler Labs, thus multiplying the impact of the project. In addition, the project delivered a transition toolkit for food system actors and a policy brief, entitled “Long-term Living Lab Support towards Food System Transformation”. Finally, IFOAM hosted the project’s final policy conference, which took place on 26 October at the Herman Teirlinck building in Brussels.

EUFarmBook aims to create an online platform becoming the main knowledge repository and go-to source for practice-oriented information on all topics related to agriculture and forestry. In 2023, the platform was developed with its first features, and the project ambassadors, IFOAM among others, have started to reflect on the different pathways to engage with platform contributors and users and collaboration opportunities with other knowledge reservoirs and AKIS actors. On the 8th of February 2024, the platform will be officially launched and ready to receive valuable outcomes from EU-funded projects.

LiveSeeding aims to accelerate organic farming and the transition towards sustainable food systems by boosting organic plant breeding, cultivar testing, and seed production resulting in improved availability of vigorous organic seeds of resilient, stable performing cultivars suited for organic production of a large range of crops and strengthening the organic seed sector taking into account the fast-growing demand, regulatory settings, different level of development, governance models and scales of initiatives and enterprises in their local context. The project coordinated by FiBL Europe, consists of 37 partners and is funded by Horizon Europe. IFOAM Organics Europe is responsible for stakeholder management.

CORE Organic Pleiades network: Within the OrganicTargets4EU project, the existing CORE Organic network was extended into the new CORE Organic Pleiades network with the aim to include public/private funders from all Member States and additional associated countries. The CORE Organic Pleiades network has currently a good geographical coverage encompassing 43 network partners (21 funders, 12 stakeholders, 9 observers, 1 coordinator) across 27 European countries/regions and beyond. Nevertheless, still, 8 of the EU Member states remain unrepresented.

IntercropVALUES aims to exploit the benefits of intercropping to design and manage productive, diversified, resilient, profitable, environmentally friendly cropping systems acceptable to farmers and actors in the agri-food chain. As a multi-disciplinary and multi-actor project, it brings together scientists and local actors representing the food value chain. It includes 27 participants from 15 countries (3 continents) from a wide diversity of organisations and stakeholders. In 2023, IFOAM organized two workshops about policy briefs and practice abstract writing and facilitated the process of defining the 4 policy briefs and 32 practice abstract topics.

Events we organised and contributed to

BIOFACH 2023

What? Leading Trade Fair for Organic Food, to discuss relevant topics, engage with field experts, and learn about the recent policy developments. At the fair, organic operators from across the supply chain, organic association representatives and decision-makers, and many more meet, exchange, and learn. IFOAM Organics Europe contributed to BIOFACH’s congress programme with several sessions zooming in on policy, regulation, and research.

When & where? 14-17 February 2023, Nürnberg Germany.

European Organic Congress 2023

What? The Organic Congress brings together European leaders and stakeholders in the organic sector to discuss key topics such as market trends, challenges, and strategies for increasing organic consumption. It covers areas like the new Common Agricultural Policy, organic regulations, certification innovations, and sustainable farming practices. The event provides a platform for networking and collaboration among farmers, traders, retailers, policymakers, and researchers.
When & where? 26-28 September 2023, Córdoba, Spain.

Organic innovation Days 2023

What? The Organic Innovation Days of TP Organics serve to discuss research needs and innovations within and outside the organic sector. IFOAM Organics Europe hosts TP Organics’ secretariat and promotes the event. The title of the 2023 edition was: ‘Citizen-driven transformation of European food systems’.
When & where? 25-26 October 2023, Brussels, Belgium.

IFOAM Organics Europe Meets Business 2023

What? This event serves as a valuable platform for exchanging ideas and fostering collaboration among various stakeholders in the organic supply chain.
When & where? 30 November, Brussels Belgium.

TP Organics: European technology platform for organic food and farming

By hosting TP Organics’ secretariat, IFOAM Organics Europe contributes to ensure Research & Innovation (R&I) is making Europe more organic. TP Organics is the European Technology Platform for organic food and farming and plays a key role in highlighting what areas European R&I funding should focus on. The platform unites the whole organic value chain, with more than 120 companies, farmer, consumer, and civil society organisations as well as research institutes. As a European Technology Platform, TP Organics is officially recognised by the European Commission for giving input in research policy and programmes, developing research & innovation agendas and roadmaps for research action at EU and national level. R&I is crucial for the development of the organic sector and the design of more sustainable food systems. That is why TP Organics advocates for more research funding benefiting organic and agroecological approaches, while also promoting research participation and knowledge exchange between the organic actors.

The IFOAM network

IFOAM Organics Europe is one of the regional bodies of IFOAM – Organics International, the global umbrella organisation for organic food and farming. IFOAM Organics Europe and IFOAM – Organics International collaborate closely on many important issues.

Mirroring the principles and structure of IFOAM – Organics International, we represent the organic movement and sector’s interests in Europe. We strive to unite and lead the European organic movement in its full diversity to achieve positive, sustainable change around the world. Along with the other Regional Bodies, we work in line with Organic 3.0 and according to the four principles of organic agriculture.

Governance

Board

The IFOAM Organics Europe Board acts as a first chamber, directs our affairs and develops detailed budgets and work programmes in accordance with IFOAM Organics Europe Vision and internal strategy together with our General Assembly and Council. Our members elect IFOAM Organics Europe Board every three years during the annual General Assembly, according to sector-related and regional criteria. Once the Board is elected, its members vote for a President, a Treasurer, a Vice-President for Regulation and a Vice-President for Policy during the first Board meeting.

Council

The IFOAM Organics Europe Council acts as a second chamber to the IFOAM Organics Europe Board and transmits national interests and specificities to the European level. Every three years, national assemblies – all IFOAM Organics Europe’s members of a given Member State or EFTA country – elect their national representatives. IFOAM Organics Europe’s Council consists of one Council member and two Deputy Council members from each EU country at most. Following the IFOAM Organics Europe General Assembly, the Council elects a Chair and a Vice-Chair among its members for a three-year term.