Goesan County (South Korea) hosted three important events for organic and agroecological movements in July 2022: the 8th Asian Local Governments for Organic Agriculture (ALGOA) Summit; the 3rd Global Alliance of Organic Districts (GAOD) Summit; and the 2nd International Conference on Organic Agriculture Policy, all promoted by IFOAM – Organics International and co-hosted by Chungbuk Province and Goesan County.

Those events gathered researchers, farmers’ organizations, the private sector, and policymakers from more than 20 countries, to discuss the best policies to promote the transformation of food systems. FAO participated in the International Conference, presenting the Scaling up Agroecology Initiative and its interfaces with organic agriculture, focusing on priorities for the next biennium and highlighting its achievements over the last three years: fostering knowledge and innovations; supporting agroecology policy and building connections among stakeholders.

Goesan is one of the birthplaces of Organic Farming in South Korea and is a major hub of organic agriculture in Asia with the establishment of the offices of IFOAM Asia, ALGOA, and the IFOAM Organic Education and Research Center. Even today, the major organic farmers’ and consumer cooperatives like Hansalim and iCoop have their production bases in Goesan. A government-funded Organic Agriculture Research Center has been built to promote research and assist farmers with the latest innovative technology.

The international conference was a pre-event of the 2022 IFOAM-Goesan International Organic Expo + Industry Fair, which will take place from 30 September to 16 October 2022 in Goesan. The Expo program will feature international and local conferences, thematic workshops, and seminars covering a diverse range of topics from across the organic sector. The 50th Anniversary of IFOAM – Organics International and the 10th Anniversary of IFOAM Asia will be a highlight. FAO and IFOAM-International have a long-standing collaboration, recognized by a Memorandum of Understanding, renewed until 2024, which aims to promote Agroecology and Organic Agriculture.