ORGANIC AGRICULTURE IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
Organic agriculture is not only the fastest growing food sector for over a decade in both land use and market size, but is also using the most modern advances in technology, systems ecology, communication and marketing to optimize and adapt to local agro-environmental and socio-economic conditions. The capacity to integrate new concepts, old and new technologies and values requires well trained, open-minded specialists and farmers with a strong spirit for collaboration. Organic agriculture stresses farmer collaboration to help themselves, the strengthening of local cultural values, the connection between producers and consumers and as a result helps creating more vibrant and attractive rural communities.
Organic agriculture has demonstrated its ecological and economic feasibility. Its well defined principles, techniques and values make it reproducible and certifiable. Its social values have been tested as well, and although more difficult to implement, they, too are adapted to the local cultural and political environment.
Organic agriculture contributes to food security by improving household food self-sufficiency and income generation and/or by building farmers' self-reliance through:
 its blend of modern science with traditional knowledge which increases the capacity of low-input farming into more productive systems managing with locally available resources,
improving marketing options for certified and non-certified organic products,
sustainable managing and often improving natural resources like soil, water, air and biodiversity,
its suitability for farming on large as well as very small surfaces.
Organic agriculture is one of FAO's Priority Areas for Interdisciplinary Action. In the medium-term this action is to support FAO Member Nations by increasing their capacities to effectively produce, handle, process, inspect, certify and market organic foods and fibres. This includes support to strengthen training, research and communication capacities and, particularly in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, to build the regulatory framework and capacities in view of accreditation of national certification for major potential markets. Specialty products of, for example, traditional or geographic origin can be easily integrated into these activities because of similar certification requirements.
Organic agriculture offers potential
Organic agriculture is a feasible, proven model for a sustainable farming system under many environmental and socio-economic conditions. It is therefore well-suited to be integrated into environmental and bio-diversity conservation measures including park buffer zones or drinking water protection areas, into rural livelihood development concepts, and small rural business development on marginal and highly productive terrain.
In less favoured areas organic agriculture improves the multi-functionality of agriculture whether certified or not, since, above all, it improves many environmental services. In view of WTO regulations and potential EU assistance such services may become additional income sources. It complements well with agri-tourism measures and together with its higher return, different labour and service requirements and more modern image it can help reduce the trend towards less and less small farms and urban migration.
The complexity of such development, its proper integration and the high knowledge and technology input requirements for modern organic agriculture require a high degree of efficient collaboration between different sectors: education and training, research, production, marketing, inspection/certification, social organizations and political decision makers and therefore also requires effective communication. Thus organic agriculture depends to a very high degree on the excellence of human resources (e.g. knowledge, communication, collaboration, and ethics).
FAO is prepared to assist its Member Nations in realizing the full potential of organic agriculture by developing these capacities and the necessary strategies, including harmonization with the EU Concerted Action Plan.
FAO supports new opportunities
In recognition of the conceptual difference and the holistic trans-disciplinary requirements, FAO has established an Inter-Departmental Working Group on Organic Agriculture as soon as it received the mandate from its member governments in 1999 to also provide assistance in the field of organic agriculture. FAO is strengthening its own skills in this sector and responds to increasing demands for assistance in developing the organic agriculture sectors in national economies.
Many of the requests for assistance from CEE countries are related to building the legal framework and organization for certification of compliance to production criteria. Specialty products of traditional or geographic origin have similar certification requirements and, like in one of the projects, can be included in the development of the legal and organizational framework.
New research and training concepts are also being tested and adapted, as are different marketing approaches. High quality products for better competitiveness in the new European context and income diversification are often motivating the conversion of production systems. The requirements for adapted information and communication tools and systems (ICS) for the new production and marketing systems have been evaluated in several eastern European countries and a specially adapted ICS is being built in one of the countries.
More than just another farming system
Most organic farming techniques work also in a less integrated system, but the optimization of the system, a necessity in a highly competitive world with limiting financial conditions and in a system with limited short-term fixes, requires a collaborative pooling and improvement of available expertise, ecological understanding and social responsibility.
Organic agriculture is often claimed to improve people's quality of life not only in rural areas, by for example improving their ability to live in harmony with nature and each other, improve their health, strengthen their local values and more. Such claims are inherently difficult to prove. However there are much more tangible and sometimes immediate benefits, which can be shown apart from direct economic benefits to the farmer and farming community. Organic farming practices for example also reduce costs to other sectors of the economy and government services by:
reducing water purification needs in public water works and private wells;
less fossil fuel needs for inputs;
reduced emission of agricultural greenhouse gases;
reduced soil, fertility and biodiversity losses;
reduced risk and production losses due to adverse climatic conditions (e.g. higher resilience to drought and disease outbreaks);
improved human health (less intoxication, asthma, allergies, etc.);
facilitating the implementation of international environmental agreements like the Conventions on Climate Change, on Biodiversity, and on Combating Desertification.
Although to the well informed the many benefits of organic agriculture may be obvious, much awareness raising is needed to recognize organic agriculture not only as an economic niche for well organized and trained small scale farmers, but also as an outstanding sustainable development tool independent of certification and special market access conditions.
Diversified Value-Added Production and Certification in Environment Friendly Farming Ssystems (TCP/CRO/2902)
The project is assisting the Croatian government in adapting their certification regulations and procedures for accreditation by European Union trade partners. It is also a good example of the required cross-disciplinary approach for organic agriculture development as it simultaneously addresses market knowledge development and economic scenario development for policy and strategy development as well as technical short comings and new research approaches for close farmer/researcher collaboration. Results may well become a model for similar research/farmer collaboration and evaluation tools for decision makers elsewhere in the Region and outside. FAO is contributing its global experience in these fields and its access to a wide spread of disciplinary expertise.
Improving Information, Communication and Knowledge Systems for Sustainable and Organic Agriculture (TCP/LIT/3002)
In this project in Lithuania, a new communication and information system is developed for the special needs of organic agriculture and similar ecological farming methods.
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