International Centre for Research in Organic Food

Systems

www.icrofs.org

Coordinates, promotes, and

facilitates research in OFS

Increased recognition of the potential

role of organic food systems

in solving environmental and societal challenges

Provision of research

results and information

for development

of organic farming and food systems

Affiliated with Aarhus University, University of Copenhagen, and the Danish Technical University. Hosted by Aarhus University at the Foulum Campus. Core funding from the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries.

ICROFS R&D within

Organic principles

Health Organic Agriculture should sustain and

enhance the health of soil, plant, animal, human and planet as one and indivisible.

Ecology Organic Agriculture should be based on living ecological systems and

cycles, work with them, emulate them and help sustain them.

Fairness Organic Agriculture should build on relationships that ensure fairness

with regard to the common environment and life opportunities

Care Organic Agriculture should be managed in a precautionary and

responsible manner to protect the health and well-being of current and future generations and the environment.

Program development and implementation (EU and DK)

Promotion of research and research topics (international)

Dissemination/Communication

Priority project initiation

Organic Eprints

Policy support

The vision Or…. The “Big Hairy Audacious Goal”

The principles of organic agriculture become a global reference for sustainability in agriculture and food systems due to evidence based on research and adaptive management. www.icrofs.org

What? How?

www.icrofs.org

A centre without walls of the Danish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries

Undertake research initiatives in collaboration with research institutions and universities

International Board (representatives from Europe, Asia, Africa, America, IFOAM and Danish organisations and universities)

National Programme Committee (representatives from Danish research organisations and the organic sector)

Main activities Coordinator of research programs and projects • In Denmark since 1996; • In Europe since 2007 • East Africa from 2011 Disseminating research results and knowledge: • Projects • Programs • Organic Eprints • Lobbying for organic

research

www.icrofs.org

Danish research Programs

Organic RDD 2 Theme: Growth, Integrity and Robust Systems • Januar 2014-2018 • 90 mio. DKK (app. $ 17 mio.) • 10 projects • Coordinated by ICROFS,

funded by Green Growth and Developement programme (GUPD).

Short for: The Organic Research,

Development and Demonstration programme in

Denmark.

www.icrofs.org

Organic RDD Start January 2011-2013 92 mio. DKK (app. $ 17 mio.) 11 projects DARCOF III 2006- 2010 15 individual projects – to provide more knowledge on the potential contribution of organic farming to sustainable development of society.

• Projects • Focus areas • Programs

• Papers • Conferences • Education

• ICROFS • Advisory service

• Farmers • Advisors • Government • NGO's • Industry • Consumers

Analysis and evaluation

RESEARCH DISSEMINATION USE

IDEAS AND PRIORITIES - stakeholders

Experience, inspiration

Short for: Coordination of European Transnational

Research in Organic Food and Farming

Systems CORE Organic The European Research Network New projects chosen

This October eleven new projects were chosen for funding under the new programme CORE Organic Plus

CORE Organic Plus benefits from additional top-up funding by the European Commission.

European research programs

www.icrofs.org

CORE Organic – 2005-2007 CORE Organic II – 2010 - 2013 CORE Organic Plus – 2014 -2019

1996

2000

2005

2010

DARCOF I

DARCOF II

DARCOF III

Organic RDD

CORE I

CORE II

Production and environment. Research development and communication

Effective production Inherent and organic qualities of organic foods

International research cooperation and organic integrity

Growth, trustworthiness and robust systems

11 countries. Pilot call on animal health, quality of foods, and marketing

21 countries, larger joint funds, new research opportunities

2013 Organic RDD II Growth, trustworthiness and robust systems

FØJO

IC

RO

FS

2008

History of research programs coordinated by ICROFS

CORE Plus

2014

20 countries, extra top up funding from European Commission

App. 100-120 researchers involved in each above program, 35-40 Phd students in organic food and farming

New research project funded by the Villum foundation

Challenging one last frontier: Understanding and improving deep rooting (DeepFrontier) Development of systems with crops

with deeper roots that allow us to exploit unused nutrients and water from deep soil layers hereby increasing the sustainability of cropping systems.

Study their resource use of such systems

Study biological effects and carbon sequestration in soil layers down to 5m depth

www.icrofs.org Root intensity (intersect. per m)0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Soil

dept

h (m

)

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

RyegrassWhite cloverChicoryDyers voadVipers bugloss

Exploiting biodiversity:

- new species as cover crops

OR Aqua Vision: the economic growth of the organic

aquaculture sector in Europe OrAqua will suggest improvements for the

current EU regulatory framework for organic aquaculture

Solid Vision: to provide an innovative toolbox with

novel methodologies to contribute to the competitiveness of the dairy industry

European research Projects – EU funded

www.icrofs.org

Short for: European Organic

Aquaculture.

International research project

ProGroV Focuses on improving productivity and growth in

existing organic value chains in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania

A collaboration between universities in Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and Denmark (2011-2015)

Addresses development of agro-ecological methods, governance and management of organic value-chains, and capacity development in participatory and interdisciplinary approaches

Short for: Productivity and

Growth in Organic Value

Chains

www.icrofs.org

New international research project (VOVE)

A pre-project for a long-term exploration of Viable, Integrated, Agro-Ecological Food Systems: To set the theoretical background for a long-term project to test the hypothesis ‘Complex, agro-ecological, functionally integrated and truly sustainable food systems can nourish the world in 2050 with zero net emissions of GHG’.

Short for: Viability of the

Villlum Experiment

Addressing the potential of OFS to contribute to solving societal challenges

• food security, climate change adaptation and market integration of smallholder farmers

• improved food safety and reduced use of antibiotics

• breeding of crop varieties targeted at low input growing conditions and aiming at high quality

• eco-systems biology in support of eco-functional intensification of organic agriculture

International research priority topics:

– an open archive

for organic research

• Developed and launched by ICROFS in 2002

• 6th largest archive on agriculture in the world

• More than 15.000 publications

• Use is free of charge.

• 29.000 registered users of Organic Eprints

• More than 6.500 visits each day

• Use: teaching, research, practice and advice

www.icrofs.org – www.orgprints.org

Main communication and info www.icrofs.org • News and events, projects

websites, research results, fact sheets, publications, etc.

Organic Eprints (www.orgprints.org) • open on-line archive for

research in organic

Newsletters in English & Danish – sign up at www.icrofs.org

www.icrofs.org

From symposium on agro-biodiversity and ecosystem services, Washington DC, 2010: ‘Biodiversity benefits organic agriculture and organic agriculture benefits biodiversity - True or false?

Collaboration with USDA and OMS-ASA Support from OECD-CRP and USDA Organic Research and Extension Initiative (OREI)

What are the questions today?

To joint conference on ‘Innovations in Organic Food Systems for Sustainable Production and Enhanced Eco-system Services’ .