Food Security in Harmony with Nature

International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM) is the world-wide umbrella organisation of organic agricultural movements of the world having over 570 active member groups in 100 countries, striving to promote ecologically sound and socially justifiable organic agriculture. IFOAM- ASIA is the regional wing of IFOAM, which is promoting the organic agriculture movement in Asia, in co-operation with several national movements of organic agriculture with a wide spectrum of membership. The first IFOAM-ASIA General Assembly was held in August 1993 in Japan. The Hanno declaration adopted by delegates during the General Assembly in Japan, set in motion the solidarity and united action of the practitioners of the organic agriculture movement in Asia.

The second IFOAM-ASIA General Assembly took place in Korea in July 1995. This assembly provided the democratic frame work for IFOAM-Asia, as well as resulted in the Seoul Declaration, for which several eco-friendly organisations in Asia are the signatories. In line with the agenda of action adopted in the two IFOAM-Asia General Assemblies, organic agriculture activities are in progress in various Asian countries. While the prime actors in the organic agriculture chain are able to prove that eco-friendly agricultural production is the only solution to remedy the devastating effects of chemical agriculture which has been triggered through the green revolution, a vast majority of policy makers and scientists are still sceptical about the role of organic agriculture in providing food security for the Asian countries.

The third IFOAM-Asia Scientific conference seeks to bring about clarity and understanding about the issue of achieving food security through organic agriculture. It is urgent to bring about an effective dialogue between the practitioners of organic agriculture and the policy makers in general, to enable clear perceptions and policies for a sustainable future for all of us.

The biannual IFOAM-Asia conference will be the meeting place for people involved in the various facets of the organic agriculture scene to interact & interchange ideas. It would be a challenging opportunity to build and foster fraternity amongst the organic agriculture groups from different parts of Asia.

The University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Bangalore, India, is collaborating with IFOAM-Asia in the organisation of this conference. UAS is a lead organisation amongst universities in India in the promotion of organic agriculture and has a spectrum of institutions including independent colleges of forestry, fisheries, dairy sciences etc. It is a very reputed Agricultural University in the country having a wide range of faculties involved in research and extension programmes in organic agriculture.

You are cordially invited to attend this scientific conference and General Assembly scheduled between 1st December 1997, which will be preceded by study tours.

Call for Papers:
This first announcement of the conference is made to facilitate preparation of materials and papers for presentation at the conference. Subjects and topics listed for discussion in the conference are as follows:

Organic Agriculture and Food Security:

1. Towards Healthy Soils
   1. Farming systems (Rice-Rainfed crops-horticulture-plantations etc.)
   2. Fertility Management
   3. Asian Soil Scenario
   4. Watershed Management
   5. Beneficial Organisms
   6. Energy Management
2. Plenty Through Bio-diversity
   1. Seed Conservation at Community level
   2. Post-harvest Technologies
   3. Animal Husbandry
   4. Bio-mass
3. Environmental Quality and Public Health
   1. Bio-pesticides
   2. Biological control of pests
4. Building Healthy Generation
   1. Sustainable Lifestyles
   2. Review and Outlook for Education, Training and Research
   3. Indigenous Knowledge
5. Generating Consumer Confidence
   1. Producer, Consumer Harmony
   2. Organic Standards, Developments and Achievements
   3. Inspection and Certification
   4. Market Development Reaching the Consumer
6. Need of the Hour - Policy Initiatives
   1. Public Awareness
   2. GO-NGOs Collaboration
   3. Global Situation (WTO) - Task Before Asian Countries
   4. Legislative Interaction

Venue: The scientific conference between 1st and 3rd December, 1997 and the General assembly on 4th December `97 would be held at the University of Agricultural Sciences campus. Hebbal, Bangalore-65. Bangalore the city of fountains, palaces and gardens is one of the most beautiful and clean cities of India. Bangalore has a very pleasant climate and this capital city of the state of Karnataka is very famous for silks, sandalwood and handicrafts. The University of Agricultural Sciences is situated in the outskirts of the city and is easily accessible from the airport and railway station by taxis.

General Assembly: All delegates are welcome to participate in the General Assembly on 4th December which would follow the scientific conference between 1st and 3rd December `97. The General Assembly would have a number of business sessions. While the IFOAM members would have voting rights, non-members would participate as observers.

Registration: Prospective delegates are requested to fill in the Registration form and return it to the IFOAM-Asia regional office on or before 30th June `97.

Delegate Sponsorship: There will be available a limited number of sponsorships for conference participation. The sponsorship would cover travel, board and lodging for the entire conference period and conference fee. However the sponsorship would not cover the pre-conference tours. Preference for a sponsorship would be given to applicants contributing to the conference by presenting a paper. Applicants are requested to send in a request for sponsorship giving valid reasons to support their request along with their registration form.

The Pre-conference tours: Pre-conference tours are planned between the third and fourth weeks of November in North India(A), South India(B), Central/West India(C) and Eastern India(D). The tours would cover important centres of learning in respect of Organic agriculture as well as cultural citadels. Details of the tours would be provided in the next circular.

Exposition: The first Asian Organic Agriculture Exposition would also be held between 1st and 3rd December `97 in Bangalore in conjunction with the conference. Further information in this regard would be provided in the next circular.

On behalf of the organising committee