Well-attended world congress

The Organic World Congress (OWC) is organized every third year by IFOAM Organics International in collaboration with local actors. The research organization ISOFAR is responsible for the scientific part of the programme.

At the Congress in Delhi, the 19th OWC, 2.500 delegates from 121 countries participated. Also included visitors at the co-located trade fair BioFach India and the plant breeding festival where over 4.000 varieties were displayed, the number of visitors amounted to 10.000. The conference was preceded by a number of pre-conferences and afterwards study trips were arranged.

A number of plenary talks held by well-known profiles within the organic movement, international entrepreneurs and Indian politicians were to a large extent on a rather general policy level.

“The Green Revolution has helped to increase production, but the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides has destroyed thousands of hectares of land and brought about a crisis in Indian agriculture”, said Shri Radha Mohan Singh, the Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India, when he opened congress.

Between the plenary sessions, no less than nine parallel tracks were going on, as well as a number of workshops, on more concrete subjects and with good possibilities for interactive discussions. They were divided into main tracks, market track, scientific tracks, and farmers' tracks. The last where farmers from all over the world presented their farms and development projects.

The Swedish participation at the congress was sparse, but Karin Ullvén from EPOK participated in the main track in a panel on media and consumers' views on organic farming and organic food. She critized the glorification that sometimes occurs - especially during the congress – where organic production is highlighted as having answers to all questions.

“Organic farming is based on consumers’ trust and it is therefore risky to exaggerate the benefits. We must also openly and transparently discuss also shortcomings. And we need criticism. Without constructive criticism, we will not continue to develop”, said Karin.