Over 600 participants in online training courses on organic farming

There is great interest in producing and marketing organically produced food in the project region of the Agricultural Policy Dialogue Germany – South East Europe (APD SEE). The development of the internal market is still in its infancy; to date, products have primarily been produced for export. However, a regional expert working group has been working for several years on adapting and implementing the EU Organic Regulation into national law. This has only recently been achieved in Montenegro, taking a major step towards EU accession.

To respond to specific implementation questions from the ministries, inspection bodies and other stakeholders involved, APD SEE, together with the key expert of the working group on organic farming, Toralf Richter from the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), organized and conducted three six-hour online training courses on aspects of organically certified agriculture in accordance with the EU regulation from 25.11. to 18.12.2024. The support was requested by the responsible representative of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Moldova. Over 100 people took part in the first training course on group certification. The question-and-answer sessions and the feedback from the participants showed how useful and necessary this measure is.

Tom Nizet, a leading international expert on the organization and conducting official controls and official investigations in EU organic production, was invited to speak. Practical examples were used to illustrate the legal framework and practical case studies for investigations in the organic sector. These topics were also very well received, with well over 200 people attending each event. 

The presentations of the events with a total of over 600 participants will be made available on the APD website afterwards. Due to the overwhelming interest, further training sessions are being planned. 

APD SEE is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) and organized by the Regional Rural Development Standing Working Group (SWG) of South Eastern Europe together with IAK Agrar Consulting GmbH.