Organic agriculture development must forge its own path (Part 1)

Image / traditional straw shoes displayed at the venue

In late September last year I went to South Korea to attend the Organic World Congress (OWC), held every three years by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM). In fact the whole congress program ran for nearly two weeks from late September to early October, carried out in three stages: the Pre-Conference, the OWC symposium and the General Assembly (GA).

Two days before the official congress opened (the 26th to 27th), Pre-Conferences on different themes were held in several places across South Korea, setting up separate thematic sessions on organic aquaculture, organic tea, organic cosmetics, organic ginseng, urban agriculture, organic wine and so on. These were spread out across key regions according to each locality's characteristics, and included a local industry tour (Biotour) on the second day, held in the area where the conference took place.

Key issues of concern in organic aquaculture

On the 25th, accompanied by my Korean friend Dr. Yoon Deok-hyun, I drove from Namyangju (city) to Uljin County, a small town on the east coast where the organic aquaculture pre-conference was held, and checked into the Deokgu Hotel, arranged by the congress and famous for its hot springs. Unfortunately I had no time to try them on this trip.

Since the organic aquaculture pre-conference did not begin until the afternoon of the 26th, in the morning I visited the East Sea Research Center of the nearby Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Development, and called on Dr. Jinhwan Lee, who was conducting research on the growth temperature and physiological metabolism of flounder (halibut). I also called on a female researcher studying feed nutrition, but she explained that researchers here lack manpower and assistants, which makes experiments difficult to carry out. Young people dislike going to more remote places, and Taiwan seems to have the same situation. This institute focuses on research into cold-water fish; its equipment is largely advanced, and it also has quite good recirculating aquaculture equipment.

When the organic aquaculture congress opened that afternoon, speeches were given by the convener of this session, Dr. Pino Lembo, an Italian expert on fish welfare, and Professor Zhou Zejiang, IFOAM's representative in China. Both praised the greatly increasing role that organic aquaculture will play in the future in supplying healthy food and in environmentally friendly production. The keynote speech was also given by Pino Lembo, who works at the "Institute for Ethics and Environmental Certification", reviewing the historical literature on the development of organic aquaculture in the EU and the several rounds of regulatory updates. The organic aquaculture standard currently referenced is Reg. (EC) 710/2009, and a revised version is expected in 2013.

Pino stressed that the animal welfare issues that first drew attention are now gradually gaining recognition from research institutions, government bodies and even producers themselves, and all agree that stocking density is in fact an important animal welfare indicator. In addition, the source and quality of feed are also a major challenge, especially for carnivorous fish, where the substitution of plant protein has its limitations. The future challenge for organic aquaculture also lies in how to imitate "nature" as closely as possible in order to obtain true organic fry produced by genuinely organic broodstock and their organic rearing environment. It is currently accepted that until 2015, ordinary fry produced by conventional breeding methods may still be certified as "organic aquatic products" as long as the latter two-thirds of their life history takes place under organically managed conditions. As for the management regime for the early fry stage after 2015, the EU will discuss it again at an appropriate time.

Another keynote speech was given by Professor Sungchul Bai, director of the Feed Research Institute at Pukyong National University, introducing trends in organic aquaculture. Much of its content was compiled from other bodies including IFOAM, and it also discussed how early American organic aquaculture had been set by the organic livestock committee by reference to terrestrial animals, resulting in an unreasonable upper limit on fishmeal use (< 5%). He suggested that organic aquaculture in the future should break away from terrestrial animals and establish its own separate standards; one can only say that his information was too outdated.

He also noted that several certification bodies allow wild-caught aquatic organisms to be included as certified products, and he believed these wild aquatic products cannot be certified as organic aquaculture. On this point, during the question session, I specifically pointed out why "some" wild-caught aquatic organisms can be certified as organic aquaculture, because they are sessile benthic organisms (benthos) such as oysters and clams; as long as the waters of their habitat are unpolluted, in a broad sense this is acceptable. Unfortunately he may not yet have understood the true meaning of this, and former IFOAM president Gernald Hermann, who was sitting in the audience, afterward told me he agreed with my view. Issues related to organic aquaculture will be discussed in another article.

• South Korea is suited to farming cold-water flounder

On the second day, the BioTour of the organic aquaculture conference visited Bogo Marine Products Ltd., which mainly farms flounder of the flatfish family (flounder); it takes about a year and a half of farming to reach the market size of 400 grams, and the price is about 30,000 Korean won per kilogram, equivalent to about NT$800 per kilogram. Another farm, Mirae Marine Farm, originally focused on breeding fry but now mainly breeds juvenile abalone, which take about 3 years to reach market size.

Organically farmed abalone costs twice as much as conventionally farmed abalone, selling for about 80,000 Korean won per kilogram, equivalent to more than NT$2,000 per kilogram. The farm is currently using experimental ponds to cultivate natural algae to supply what the abalone need, mainly brown algae diatoms as their staple food, and their settlement rate is very good. Although the farm is near the sea, it is still surrounded by rice paddies; the rice ears look golden, but on closer inspection the ripening rate is poor. After asking, I learned this is mainly due to the influence of sea breezes, unlike the plump rice ears seen at the Deokgu hot spring hotel, whose golden grains hang down and make one want to brush them lightly.

ISOFAR General Assembly, a key center for organic agriculture research

On the 27th, after the local farm visits ended, everyone took the bus back to Namyangju, the main venue, to prepare for the next day's opening ceremony. I returned to my host family and finally met Mr. Chen Yisong, a veteran of Taiwanese agriculture who had arrived one day later. Although his flight on the 25th was delayed, he still arrived safely after promptly notifying the host family and transferring to a coach. Listening to him describe that day's urban agriculture pre-conference tour, where I saw good use of urban space such as some rooftop vegetable-garden style cultivation, I felt very drawn to it but had to leave it for the next opportunity.

On the morning of the 28th I visited the various display booths at the venue, preparing to attend the opening ceremony at three in the afternoon. In the interval from ten in the morning to one in the afternoon, I also dragged Mr. Chen Yisong along to the General Assembly of the International Society of Organic Agriculture Research (ISOFAR). At present ISOFAR has about 610 members and organic agriculture researchers, but only a little over 100 are substantive members who pay dues regularly, about a quarter of the total. Only about 30 people actually attended this General Assembly. In fact ISOFAR has held several symposiums over the past three years and is a fairly active organization, and it is also preparing to launch an academic journal to increase its influence. This General Assembly was mainly about re-electing the society's board members. To avoid too few candidates, starting in 2005 the membership charter was changed to elect at least 6 and at most 12 board members. Since not many members showed up, almost anyone willing could be elected; a total of 14 people competed for 12 seats, and sure enough the only two who lost were the candidates who could not attend.

The board members then elected among themselves and still chose the incumbent, Germany's Ulrich Kopke, as the next chair. It is a great pity that Taiwan currently does not have a good participation rate in this academic body, which is relatively easy to gain a foothold in. I strongly suggest that Taiwan's organic agriculture academic community should truly have more channels to make its voice heard internationally, especially in such a newly emerging academic organization where it is easier to build influence.

Congress keynote speeches embodying the four principles of organic agriculture

Because registration for participants did not open until 12 noon that day (the 28th), I went to the counter to register only when the ISOFAR General Assembly ended (13:00), and was surprised to find that my original registration data had disappeared, including the payment amount and affiliated organization, both unrecorded, suggesting the system may not have been integrated well. After some effort, the name badge I finally got had my English name all in lowercase and no organization name. I really could not bring myself to blame these recruited service staff or volunteers too harshly for not being fully ready after 3 years of preparation. Fortunately there were still a few volunteers able to communicate in English (or single words) to help, allowing me to obtain some congress information, which made up for the few announcements at this congress. Perhaps because the congress mostly proceeded step by step according to the agenda, there were few occasions to announce changes during the keynote reports.

  

• Different varieties of organic rice planted in the congress exhibition area

Because I spent a little more time looking around the exhibition hall, by the time I entered the opening ceremony at 3 pm there was not a single empty seat, and I thought this was an unprecedented grand occasion. I finally found empty seats upstairs with a few friends from the Homemakers United Foundation. After the opening performance, IFOAM president Katherine DiMatteo gave a speech, thanking the Korean organizers and volunteers for their full commitment. Then a succession of politicians took the stage one after another to speak, and that round alone far exceeded the originally planned 20 minutes. After that, and after a recorded congratulatory message from Britain's Prince Charles, it was finally the turn of the four keynote speakers, each with 20 minutes. Together with the opening ceremony and the keynote speeches of the following three days of formal proceedings, their scope of attention was arranged day by day according to the four organic principles of health, care, ecology and fairness, so the theme of the opening ceremony was health.

The first keynote speaker, former South Korean agriculture minister Kim Sung-hoon, had a speech originally only 20 minutes long, but spoke slowly for about 40 minutes, which in turn affected the timing of the later agenda. Although his speech theme revolved around how South Korea's organic agriculture development can serve as a model for a healthier planet, it was mostly promotion of his political achievements. Though it offered nothing new, he did call on global communities or countries to think about using new organic thinking as a new source of momentum to face the unstable society of the future. The second was Ms. Sarojeni Rengam of Malaysia, who spoke on the pesticide problem as a concern of Third World countries: are there alternatives to pesticides in pursuit of healthier farms, healthier families and a healthier planet? Are there countermeasures for problems such as colony collapse disorder?

The third speaker was a monk with the dharma name "Dobeop", and the topic was precisely this congress's theme, "Organic is Life". He said the most worthy of gratitude is each person's unique life. How can one live a life at ease? How can one seek the reason and meaning of life? Why keep pursuing change and development? Capitalism seems to have reached its end, so what about socialism? Many such great questions are truly hard to answer, just like the diversity of organic agriculture. The fourth speaker, Swiss-born Hans Rudolf Herren, stressed the need to restore the spirit and purpose of organic agriculture and to find ways to reconnect producers and consumers, not only to feed the many people but also to find ways to nourish all beings, stressing that the two levels are different.

If monoculture planting continues, the future will be a brown way ahead; if we can follow organic mixed cropping plus the ecological functions of farm animals, then the future can be expected to be a green way ahead. Another interesting phenomenon I observed at the opening ceremony was that seats that had been completely full seemed to gradually empty out from the time the second speaker began. I later learned that most of those who left were farmer groups mobilized locally, who had done their part by showing up for the opening and then withdrew.

The keynote speeches on the 29th dealt with care, one of the four organic principles. The first speaker, John Reganold from the United States, spoke on how organic must move toward sustainability, with the subtitle "Research can guide the way", holding that environmental problems are complex and interdisciplinary research is needed to clarify some of the doubts. He mentioned that in 2008 there were more than 400 ocean dead zones worldwide, all environmental warning signs requiring more research investment. So-called integrated farming is not necessarily organic farming, but this kind of interdisciplinary research team is not easy to establish.

The second keynote speaker, LaRhea Pepper, introduced the general situation of global organic cotton. Although its market share is still low and consumer acceptance is not widespread, as long as the mindset changes and organic cotton is seen as a choice, it can be a precious heritage or collectible, and organic cotton growing areas are also suitable as safe playgrounds for children. She also spoke from personal experience about the joy of her whole family being involved in organic cotton cultivation, and said that so-called sustainability is not only a process of travel but also an attainable goal. But she also reminded organic cotton growers to first understand where the market is before planning to plant. At present some farmers in South Africa are investing in organic cotton production in Peru, and India has unique organic silk products.

The third speaker, Mette Meldgaard from Denmark, was IFOAM vice president from 2005 to 2008. She stressed that the voice of the organic movement must become more widely known, and argued that organic agriculture has not yet developed the ability to influence agricultural policy, so the organic movement must pay more attention to international voices such as Rio+20 and the CAP. She herself is an organic fruit and juice producer, and can view the development direction of the organic agriculture movement from a more grassroots level.

The fourth speaker, Mosses Muwanga from Uganda, is currently an IFOAM board member. His theme was "A decent life for Africa's poor: A precondition for the human life to care". Organic agriculture is the only agricultural production method that can comprehensively attend to the lives of farmers' families. Care (or caution) is not only one of the four organic principles but also a basic human right that enables society to protect people's social, economic, cultural and natural environment. Uganda's organic agriculture movement and organizations are committed to lifting participants out of the cycle of poverty.

He personally has 15 years of organic farming experience and is also actively engaged in farmer training, developing customized Internal Control Systems, and helping other African countries establish or strengthen "National Organic Movements (NOAMs)". Uganda is currently the top performer among African countries in organic agriculture, with more than 200,000 organic farmers, 300,000 hectares of certified area, and 44 certified organic exporters.

The congress keynote speeches on the 30th centered on ecology, one of the four organic themes. The moderator was IFOAM vice president Andre Leu of Australia. The first speaker was Humberto Rios Labrada from Cuba, whose topic was "Transformation of an entire country - learning from the Cuban experience". Cuba was originally the country with the highest pesticide use in Central America. Then, starting in the 1990s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union and under US economic sanctions with no adequate oil supply, it had no choice but to turn to ecologically functional biodiversity farming, thus opening that agricultural miracle of the post-oil era without the backing of petrochemical agriculture. Those interested can watch the documentary "The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil".

The second speaker was Gunnar Rundgren of Sweden, IFOAM president from 2000 to 2005. He believes that although organic has been rapidly moving toward the green economy, organic should not be treated merely as a standard for the rich to reduce their ecological footprint, but should be a development concept that creates a quality life for rural residents worldwide. We should not only emphasize the short-term benefits of organic agriculture but also attend to the long-term needs of planning a global food production system. He is currently the publisher of the journal "Organic Standard", and in 2010 published a new book (Garden Earth); an English edition came out this year, which may be worth consulting.

The third was Bernd Horneburg of Germany, on the topic: achievements, opportunities and challenges of organic plant breeding. Organic breeding programs have already produced encouraging results, and some research institutions have also improved organic breeding methods, but more resources are hoped for in the future to be invested in organic breeding research. This involves the main point of discussion of Article 26 at the previous 2008 General Assembly in Italy (2008 OWC Motion 26.1), hoping for clear rules on cell division breeding, that is, genetically modified seeds.

The fourth was Gary Zimmer of the United States, on the topic "Powered by nature: High-yielding organic agriculture". Ecointensification is a new concept in the organic agriculture movement, and it must face three major global challenges: food security (poverty), global change and biodiversity. And what is ecointensification? How can high-yield organic agriculture be implemented? He himself owns a farm and has always remained curious about learning how to improve agriculture by building healthy soil. He is also chairman of a consulting company and proud to be a biological farmer. In 2000 he also wrote a book of the same name, and last year he co-wrote another book with his daughter, Advancing Biological Farming and Buffering.

• The Namyangju Sports and Culture Center (gymnasium), venue of the congress opening and closing ceremonies and keynote speeches

(To be continued)

※Further reading
2011 Notes on the IFOAM Annual Congress in South Korea