FAO, IFOAM & UNCTAD will collectively organize an international conference on Global Organic Market Access in 2012 at Nuremberg, Germany from 13 to 14 February, 2012. The main aim of this conference is to reduce the barriers to trade of organic products resulting from the global proliferation of organic standards and technical regulations.
This International Conference will comprise eminent leaders from public and private sector to examine the past, present and future of organic market access, relative to systems of organic standards and conformity assessment. The conference focuses on current issues as the potential for organic standards to enhance the growth of organic agriculture in relation to their potential to stifle growth. Developments and challenges for dominant and emerging exporting/importing economies and for still-developing countries are highlighted and discussed.
Models of public-private and regional cooperation are considered as potential pathways for global solutions to the challenges.
Keynote speakers:
- Harsha Singh, Deputy Director-General, World Trade Organization
- Kathleen Merrigan, Deputy Secretary, United States Department of Agriculture
- Franz Fischler, President, Eco-Social Forum and former Commissioner of Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries, European Union
- Tumusiime Rhoda Peace, Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture African Union Commission (invited)
Moreover, the keynote speakers, participants provide an opportunity to discuss crucial issues with distinguished government and private-sector speakers from Bhutan, Canada, China, Brazil, Costa Rica, France, Great Britain, India, the Netherlands, Sri Lanka and United States.
Representatives of intergovernmental and international organizations as The European Commission, International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements, International Organic Accreditation Service, International Trade Commission and Pacific Islands Community are also expected also contribute to the presentations and discussions.
Issues to be addressed:
- Developing regional organic markets based on harmonized and/or equivalent systems
- The “right” role and scale for standards in organic agriculture and trade
- Cooperation among certification and accreditation bodies in supply chains
- Using common objectives for standards development and equivalence
- “Participatory Guarantee Systems” and international trade
- Trust but Verify: the challenge of maintaining equivalence agreements
Who Should Attend?
- Government regulators
- Government trade promoters and negotiators
- Intergovernmental organizations working in trade policy and development
- Certification and accreditation bodies
- Farmers cooperatives and associations
- Researchers
- Traders and retailers
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