This publication is the result of a long sequence of events which started with the FAO sponsored Expert Consultation on "Biological Farming in Europe" held in 1990 in Bern, Switzerland (REU Technical Series No. 12, Biological Farming in Europe, out of print), which was followed by the International Workshop on "Nitrogen Leaching in Ecological Agriculture" in Copenhagen, Denmark, 1993. Subsequently, in its reorientation towards broader environmental issues, the restructured European Cooperative Research Networks on Rural Energy (CNRE), since 1994 called the European Cooperative Research Network on Sustainable Rural Environment and Energy (SREN), which is part of the European System of Cooperative Research Networks in Agriculture (ESCORENA), decided to form a research working group on biological farming. This finally resulted in commissioning the report: "Research on Biological Farming Methods in Europe; Perspectives, Status and Requirements", both as a basic review and as a basis for deciding whether and in which area of the broad research area of biological farming the input from a SREN working group would be most beneficial to both FAO and the European research community.
This Report is included in its full length in these proceedings. The Roundtable Discussion, convened on 28 June 1997, in which six organic farming experts, four of the SREN coordinators and six other researchers, representing the European Research Network Advisory Committee (ERNAC) and FAO participated, concluded not only in agreement with the recommendations of the basic study by E. Wynen, but also in placing particular emphasis on the support for research network cooperation and creating a research working group within SREN under the theme of "Research Methodologies in Organic Farming". The preference for this topic was agreed on considering the scope and possibilities of ESCORENA, FAO’s role and benefits from such activities for other non-European countries, the complimentarity of such an effort to existing activities and network structures and the important need for standardisation, communication and organization. Although the term ‘biological farming’ is used in the title of this and past publications, it is made clear in the Report that all references are to ‘organic farming’ as clearly defined by the International Federation for Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM) and the European Commission (EC).
It is hoped that this effort and initiative will not only find a good response among researchers, but also among the governments of FAO Member Nations to give it the small but significant support needed for success. Should it find the hoped for resonance, research cooperation on biological farming could develop into a fully established network under ESCORENA.
It is strongly believed that even the relatively small action, such as the support of this working group, will significantly contribute to the growth of organic farming research which will inadvertently result in the improvement of productivity and quality in organic farming and of all marketing aspects of its products. The global acceptance of organic farming as a highly valuable contribution to improved sustainability of agriculture and to improved environmental conditions will be an important step to better food quality and ameliorated production methods.
M. Lindau
Regional Representative for Europe
