EkoSeedForum
Organic plant breeding and seed production as well as the preservation of agro biodiversity are very important topics for agriculture and especially for organic farming. In Western Europe, organic plant breeding as well as production of seeds under organic conditions has started already more than 20 years ago and interesting cooperation models have been realised. In Central and Eastern Europe a strong organic agriculture sector with about 3 million ha of organic area has developed but only a few initiatives work in organic breeding and organic seed production. On the other hand, many old crop varieties still can be found, which without utilization concepts are threatened to be lost.
In order to improve the situation of organic seed supply in CEE as well as to support initiatives of organic breeding and maintenance of crop biodiversity in all Europe the */EkoSeedForum — International Conference on Organic Seeds, Organic Plant Breeding and Crop Biodiversity/* will be organized in Poland next year. With this e-mail we kindly invite you to this event on the *20 to 22 March 2014 at the University of Life Science in Poznan*.
The EkoSeedForum conference will be conducted in English, Polish and German language (and Russian if necessary). Parallel to the conference, participants can show their work at presentation tables and in a poster session. The Forum will give a great opportunity to see the activities of colleagues from East and West, to learn from each other and to develop future cooperation. EkoSeedForum is organized by EkoConnect e.V. in cooperation with University of Life Sciences in Poland and the partners IFOAM EU Group (Belgium), ECO-PB (Switzerland), Zukunftsstiftung Landwirtschaft (Germany), Association for Old Varieties and Breeds (Poland), Kultursaat e. V. (Germany), Association Forum of Organic Agriculture named Mieczyslaw Górny (Poland), Bingenheimer Saatgut AG (Germany), SAVE Foundation (Switzerland), Agrolink (Bulgaria) and Seed Guardians (Slovenia).
The registration to the event is now open until the 25th February 2014.
More information and registration at http://www.ekoconnect.org/en/ekoseedforum.html
Please note: EkoConnect e. V. is organizing besides the EkoSeedForum in Poznan a /second event in Poland:/ the second one is the Organic Marketing Forum in Warsaw on the 1 and 2 of June 2014 www.organic-marketing-forum.org. You are cordially invited to both.
With kind regards,
In the name of all project partners,
Bernhard Jansen; Anna Tarnowska
Chairman EkoConnect Project Manager
P.S. Maybe you know partners who are especially interested in breeding, seeds or biodiversity. It would be nice if you forwarded this invitation to them. Thank you.
