Title: Claus Bo Andreasen
1Claus Bo Andreasen Signe H. PoulsenDanish
Research Center of Organic Food and
Farmingwww.darcof.dk
Seminar European Organic Advisers, Horsens
August 28th to 30th, 2005
- Communicating European research
- - strategies and instruments
2Content
- New EU focus on communication
- Research Projects in Organic Food and Farming
- Research highlights (examples)
- Communication on a European level (challenges)
- Mediation in projects (examples)
- Discussion on improved utilization of European
research
3European Action plan for communication
- Problems with communication in EU
- 20 July 2005 a new action plan for communication
was presented - Objective to ensure more effective communication
about Europe - The action plan is the first phase of the
Commission's plans to "reconnect with citizens". - Three principles underpin the action plan
- listening to the citizens
- communicating in an understandable way
- "going local" by adapting message and messenger
to national and local concerns.
4Improving the Internet servicesEuropean action
plan for communication
- EUROPA
- Shift the emphasis more towards communication
- Facilitate navigation
- Ensure fully multilingual web pages
- State of the art technology - including powerful
search engine - An editor to ensure a well-structured website and
avoidance of overlaps of texts - In general
- New web sites focusing on priorities and current
hot topics and key target audiences - Information for the general public locally in
local languages tailored to local needs and
realities - Thematic portals
5European resources for communicating research
- EUROPA - Gateway to the European Union
-
- CORDIS - the Community Research and Development
Information Service
http//europa.eu.int/
http//www.cordis.lu/
6Research Projects in Organic Food and Farming
- Production aspects
- QLIF
- REPCO
- Intercrop
- Blight-Mop
- Organic Inputs Evaluation
- Organic HACCP
- ENVIRFOOD
- Policy aspects
- SAFO
- Organic Revision
- EU-CEE-OFP
- ORGAP
- EISfOM
- CHANNEL
- CORE Organic
7QualityLowInputFood (QLIF)
- Title Improving quality and safety and reduction
of cost in the European organic and "low input"
food supply chain - Objective to improve quality, food safety and
reduce costs in organic and "low input" food
production systems - 31 European partners within different research
disciplines - http//www.qlif.org/
8REPCO
- Title Replacement of Copper Fungicides in
Organic Production of Grapevine and Apple in
Europe - Objective REPCO aims to contribute to the
replacement of copper fungicides in organic
agriculture by new measures for control of downy
mildew (Plasmopara viticola) in grapevine and
scab (Venturia inaequalis) in apple - http//www.rep-co.nl/
9Intercrop
- Title Intercropping of cereals and grain legumes
for increased production, weed control, improved
product quality and prevention of N-losses in
European organic farming systems - Objective Intercrop aims at defining
intercropping strategies for sustainable plant
production management in Organic Farming systems
under different regional conditions in Europe -
- http//www.intercrop.dk/
10Blight-Mop
- Title Development of a systems approach for the
management of late blight in EU organic potato
production - Objective to develop a systems approach to
control potato late blight that maintains yield
and quality and hence commercial viability of
organic potato crops without the use of copper
fungicides - www.ncl.ac.uk/tcoa/producers/research/blightmop/
11Organic Inputs Evaluation
- Title Harmonised and standardised procedures for
evaluation of plant protection products,
fertilizers and soil conditioners for use in
organic agriculture - Objective Organic Inputs Evaluation is to come
up with recommendations for harmonized and
standardised procedures for evaluation of plant
protection products, fertilizers and soil
conditioners for use in organic agriculture - www.organicinputs.org
12Organic HAACP
- Title Recommendations for improved procedures
for securing consumer oriented food safety and
quality of certified organic foods from plough to
plate - Objective The objective of Organic HACCP is to
provide recommendations on the chain of
production, distribution and consumption in
regard to improving the safety and quality of
certified organic food products - www.organichaccp.org
13ENVIRFOOD
- Title Environmental friendly food production
system requirements for plant breeding and seed
production - Objective The general objective of ENVIRFOOD is
to bring together plant breeders, seed producers,
and specialists of variety testing of Baltic
countries
14SAFO
- Title Sustaining Animal Health and Food Safety
in Organic Farming - Objective to improve food safety and sustaining
animal health in organic farming - Among others this is done through establishment
of a network for exchange and discussion of
research - www.safonetwork.org
15Organic Revision
- Title Research to support revision of the EU
regulation on organic agriculture - Objective to provide recommendations for
development of the EU regulation for organic
agriculture - www.organic-revision.org
16EU-CEE-OFP
- Title Further development of Organic Farming
Policy in Europe, with Particular Emphasis on EU
Enlargement - Objective The EU-CEE-OFP project is to identify
how the complementary development of Organic
Farming in both existing EU states, Switzerland,
and in Central and Eastern European (CEE)
Accession states can be fostered through policy
design and innovation - www.irs.aber.ac.uk/EUCEEOFP/
17ORGAP
- Title European Action Plan of Organic Food and
Farming - Objective to develop criteria and procedures for
the evaluation of the EU Action Plan for Organic
Agriculture - www.orgap.org
18EISfOM
- Title European Information System in Organic
Markets - Objective EISfOM is an integrated project with
the aim to build up a framework for reporting
valid and reliable data for relevant production
and market data about the European organic sector - www.eisfom.org
19CHANNEL
- Title Opening channels of communication between
Associated Candidate Countries and the EU in
Ecological Farming - Objective to assess and analyse which
development stages the associated candidate
countries have achieved in organic agriculture
and to open communication channels on different
levels necessary for starting the harmonization
and equalization process in organic agriculture - www.channel.uni-corvinus.hu
20CORE Organic
- Title Coordination of European Transnational
Research in Organic Food and Farming - Objective to gather a critical mass and through
coordination and collaboration to enhance
quality, relevance and utilization of resources
in European research in organic food and farming - The project began October 2004 and the initiative
comprises 11 European countries supported by the
EU-commission - www.coreorganic.org
21Research highlights
- Articles in leading scientific journals
- Key presentations at scientific congresses
- Project communication media
- Organic congresses
22Examples on research highlights
- Chicory root improves the taste and odour of
organic pork - Few days of feeding with chicory root reduces the
boar taint in slaughter pigs and improves the
eating quality - At the same time feeding with chicory root
changes the intestinal environment and leads to a
decreased incidence of swine dysentery and
intestinal parasitesDARCOFenews
23Examples on research highlights
- Increased phytoestrogen content in organic milk
- Preliminary study at 17 Danish dairy farms shows
that organic milk can have a higher content of
plant estrogens than conventional milk in Denmark
(DARCOFenews)
24Examples on research highlights
- Organic diet enhanced the health of rats
- The immune response was enhanced when rats were
fed on organically grown or minimally fertilised
plant diets - The study also indicated the rats fed on
organically grown diets accumulated less adipose
tissue and rested better during daytime
DARCOFenews
25Examples on research highlights
- Feeding with lupines reduces the amount of
skatole in organic pigs - Female and castrate organic pigs fed with 25 pct.
lupines had significantly lower skatole
concentrations in back fat compared with the
control treatments without lupines. - It is expected the skatole concentration could be
decreased by ca. 50 pct. also in entire male pigs
fed with lupine, thereby reducing the number of
entire male pigs with boar taint DARCOFenews
26Examples on research highlights
- Higher antioxidant content in organic milk than
in conventional milk due to feeding strategy - New study shows that the content of antioxidants
is significantly higher in organic milk
(DARCOFenews) - The most important reason for the observed
differences is presumably the large amounts of
maize silage used in the conventional production,
whereas a considerable amount of grass and
leguminous plants are used in the organic
production
27Communication on a European levelWhat are the
challenges?
- Challenges for the project
- Different research disciplines
- Different traditions for mediation and
communication - Variations in the approach to organic farming
-
28Communication on a European levelWhat are the
challenges?
- Challenges for the communication
- Who is the (end)user
- How is the national and local organization of
knowledge mediation - Differences in farm size, production level,
climate, soil, etc -
29Mediation in projects
- Scientific articles
- Project reports and other publications
- Press releases media contact
- Articles in farm magazines etc
- Congresses
- Seminars workshops
- Exhibitions open days
- Websites portals
- Databases information systems
- Newsletters
- Web logs
- Discussion forum
- EcoWiki
- Organic Eprints
30Examples on mediation in projects Scientific
articles project reports
- Advancement of research and science
- Fulfillment of project targets
- Distribution and availability
31Examples on mediation in projects Media contact
popular articles
- Press releases
- Here we are (project start, conferences etc)
- Single issues
- Popular articles
- Difficult with even distribution in all countries
- Difficult to achieve the same relevance in all
countries
32Examples on mediation in projects Websites
internet resources
- Project websites (QLIF)
- Thematic research websites (FØJO)
- Portals (Organic Europe, CORE Organic)
- Databases and information systems (Plant info)
- Open access (Organic Eprints)
33Examples on mediation in projects On-line
newsletters
- Online project magazine (QLIF news)
- Online portal magazines (CORE news)
- E-mail notifications (SAFO)
34Examples on mediation in projects Communicative
internet ressources
- Web logs (okologgen)
- Discussion forum (OrganicForum)
- EcoWiki (EcoWiki)
35Examples on mediation in projects Organic Eprints
36Discussion Improved utilization of European
research
- Who are the target groups for the EU research?
- Possibilities for cooperation between EU research
and national/regional/local information systems? - What medias should be used?
- Suggestions for common/joint resources?