Organic and agroecology as a safeguard for long-term food security

Event Date : September 5, 2023

Event Time : 2:00 pm - 3:45 pm

Event Location : Online

Webinar to launch the new TP Organics Policy Brief.

TP Organics, the European Technology Platform for Research and Innovation into Organics and Agroecology, will release a timely policy brief on how organic and agroecological farming are the best guarantee for long-term food security, whereas conventional agricultural practices undermine the basis of food security: healthy soils and biodiversity. Pesticides in particular are a major cause of the critical decline in biodiversity, including pollinators, which threatens food security globally, while also having negative direct and indirect effects on crop yields that are rarely mentioned. Organic farming offers effective and low-risk methods for pest control and can even yield higher, especially under a changing climate and the increasingly extreme weather conditions threatening harvests.

In addition to providing evidence-based arguments why the narrow focus on maximising yields at all expenses will not guarantee long-term food security, the new policy brief will also include concrete policy recommendations to pave the way for sustainable food security.

The official launch of the brief will happen during a webinar on 5 September at 15:00-16:45 (CEST) on Teams. International experts will discuss:

• The importance to reduce the use of pesticides and the need for a sustainable use of plant protection products regulation (SUR), in view of the upcoming vote by the European Parliament on the SUR; and
• The potential of organic and agroecology as pathways to eliminate pesticides and what is needed to make the transition to pesticide-free agriculture a reality.

Speakers:

• Helmut Burtscher-Schaden, Pesticides and Chemicals Campaigner at GLOBAL 2000/Friends of the Earth Austria (TBC);
• Felix Wäckers, Director R&D at Biobest Group & TP Organics Steering Committee; and
• Olivier Mora, Foresight Coordinator at INRAE responsible for the study “European Pesticide-Free Agriculture in 2050”.

After the experts’ presentations, there will be time for your questions and a discussion.

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