Whitefly Meetings

The 1st European Whitefly Symposium was held at Ragusa in Sicily on 17 February - 3 March 2001. The conference attracted some 200 delegates from around the world, and 113 papers on many aspects of whitefly-related research and control were presented. Sessions covered systematics, general biology, population dynamics, whitefly-virus interactions, natural enemies and biological control of whiteflies, and whitefly control and integrated pest management. The meeting presented a good opportunity for whitefly workers to gather, exchange news and views, and hear about the most recent developments in research on this key pest.

The European Whitefly Studies Network (EWSN) held its final workshop as an European Community (EC)funded concerted action during the symposium, on 26 February 2001. Some 70 members reviewed the network's activities since it began in March 1999. Developments from previous workshops were evaluated, and the coordinators of the three working group meetings summarized their achievements and outputs.

A key function of EWSN is dissemination of information, and the success of this was highlighted. The EWSN Resource Pack holds detailed protocol sheets on all areas of whitefly research and these are regularly added to and updated. They have been designed from information supplied by members and cover an extensive range of techniques from the field collection of specimens through to laboratory methods for identifying whitefly-transmitted viruses. The EWSN newsletter and website provide further avenues for promoting communication between whitefly workers. The newsletter is currently sent to almost 2000 locations worldwide.

Presentations by the coordinators of the five discipline groups (virology, epidemiology, systematics, natural enemies and plant protection) reviewed research developments and intra- and inter-discipline collaborations and outputs. Finally, representatives from Syngenta and Koppert Biological Systems discussed the benefits that their companies had gained from involvement with EWSN.

Although the EC Concerted Action Project has now ended, EWSN is set to continue as an independent organization.
[See Announcements section, this issue].

European Organic Farming

A landmark conference has pushed organic agriculture towards the top of the European political agenda. 'Organic Food and Farming: Towards Partnership and Action in Europe' was held in Copenhagen, Denmark on 10-11 May 2001. It was arranged and organized on the initiative of the Danish Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Ritt Bjerregard, who gave the opening address.

The meeting aimed to make substantial progress in the development of an Action Plan for organic farming in Europe. The Plan will feed into proposals to make fundamental reforms of the European Union (EU) Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The proposals hope to change the current policy, which is based on farm subsidies, to a policy based on payments dependent on participation in land stewardship and conservation schemes.

The conference was attended by a long list of European ministers and other leading political figures who gave clear support to the proposed Action Plan. This was the message of addresses given by Poul Rasmussen, Prime Minister of Denmark, and Margareta Winberg, Renate Künast, Wilhelm Molterer and Bjarne-Hĺkon Hansen, Ministers for Agriculture of Sweden, Germany, Austria and Norway, respectively. Speeches made by Friedrich-Wilhelm Graefe zu Baringdorf, Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Parliament, Corrado Pirzio-Biroli, Head of Cabinet, DG Agriculture, European Commission, Elliot Morley, UK Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Evangelos Argyris and Tomás Zidek, Vice-Ministers of Agriculture of Greece and the Czech Republic, respectively, and comments by Branko Bosnjakovic, Regional Advisor for the Environment at the UN Economic Commission for Europe indicated their strong support.

Also attending the conference were experts in all aspects of organic policy, production and research, including Gunnar Rundgren (IFOAM, International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements) and Peter Goemelke (Danish Agricultural Council) who presented papers. Nine themes were discussed in depth: organic agriculture as a part of the Common Agriculture Policy; trading organic products; organic standards, certification and legislation; organic farming and multifunctional contributions to the environment; processing and marketing of organic products; organic food and farming in the new market economies of the central and eastern European countries; the European Action Plan: process and content; communicating with consumers; and research as a tool for development in the organic sector.

Key issues for European organic farming were identified relating to: making organic farming a key element of CAP reform; justifying organic farming in terms of beneficial environmental impact; encouraging fair processing and marketing development; strengthening consumer trust and understanding; removing barriers to trade; developing standards and regulation; disseminating research findings and information to farmers/producers; and developing a regional plan for central and eastern Europe. The process of Action Plan development was also outlined and the need for it to be integrated with other international policy initiatives stressed. These outcomes will form the political, economic, social and scientific justifications for the Action Plan. The Plan will be completed within 2 years, and its proposals will form the basis for CAP reforms to be negotiated from 2004. Judging from this conference, the degree of political support for the Action Plan bodes well for it to be influential.

Twelve European countries (Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Lithuania, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the UK) together with the Committee of Agricultural Organizations in the EU (COPA), the European Community of Consumer Cooperatives (Euro Coop), the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) and IFOAM endorsed the conclusions of the conference, which were encapsulated in the Copenhagen Declaration. This highlights the importance of organic farming for solving many problems relating to food production, the environment, animal welfare and the rural development. It notes that organic farming provides major opportunities for farmers and producers, and calls for its further development in Europe. It lays out activities to be undertaken under the Action Plan over the next 2 years: to analyse barriers to and opportunities in the sector; to develop a consensus- and market-based strategy involving all stakeholders in Europe; to consider all aspects of organic food production; and to look at opportunities for organic development in the context of CAP and other international agreements.

More information and the conference
papers are on the CABI organic-
research.com website at:
http://www.organic-research.com/research/papers/offconf.htm

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