Research in Organic Agriculture Across the Mediterranean Basin Actors, Structures and Topics

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1 Research in Organic Agriculture Across the Mediterranean Basin Actors, Structures and Topics In collaboration with:

2 Stampa Chieco Sistemi srl - Bari - Italy info@chiecosistemi.it

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5 Research in Organic Agriculture Across the Mediterranean Basin Actors, Structures and Topics Marie Reine Bteich, Patrizia Pugliese, Lina Al-Bitar Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari

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7 Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank the members of the MOAN Steering Committee who contributed to this study. We are grateful to L. Kenny, M. Ben Kheder and U. Aksoy for their efforts and contribution in developing and revising the questionnaire that was used for this survey. The authors wish to acknowledge the valuable help in data collection provided by P. Migliorini of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements - AgriBioMediterraneo (IFOAM-ABM) and by F. Crescenzi of the Sistema d Informazione Nazionale sull Agricoltura Biologica (SINAB). We are very grateful to the MOAN country representatives for their support in the preliminary identification of organic research institutions in their countries and in the circulation of the questionnaire as well as for their useful feedback in the analysis of collected data. This survey would not have been possible without the precious collaboration of all the Mediterranean research institutions that accepted to respond to our questionnaire and provided the data for the analysis. They are all listed in the Directory included in Section II of the present report. A very special thanks to E. Lapedota for patiently reviewing the text of the report. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Project Promotion of domestic and international demand for organic products InterBio, financed by the Italian Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies (MiPAAF) and coordinated by the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (MAIB). page i

8 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments Table of contents List of Acronyms and Abbreviations List of Tables List of Figures Section I Frameworks, Actors and Resources of Organic Research in the Mediterranean 1 Background 2 Survey Design, Questionnaire and Data Collection 3 Survey Findings 3.1 Part A findings - Organic research in the Mediterranean from the point of view of decision-makers and country experts Response rate and geographical coverage National frameworks for organic research in the Mediterranean Priorities for organic research in the Mediterranean 3.2 Part B findings - Institutions, resources and topics of organic research in the Mediterranean Response rate and geographical coverage Relevance of organic research within the activities of surveyed institutions Main research topics Human resources Facilities Funding Transfer and dissemination 4 Conclusions i ii iv v v page ii

9 Section II Directory of Organic Research Institutions in the Mediterranean 5 Organic research institutions in EU Mediterranean countries 5.1 France 5.2 Greece 5.3 Italy 5.4 Malta 5.5 Slovenia 5.6 Spain 6 Organic research institutions in Candidates and Potential Candidates countries 6.1 Albania 6.2 Croatia 6.3 Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 6.4 Montenegro 6.5 Serbia 6.6 Turkey 7 Organic research institutions in South and East Mediterranean countries 7.1 Algeria 7.2 Egypt 7.3 Israel 7.4 Lebanon 7.5 Libya 7.6 Morocco 7.7 Palestine 7.8 Syria 7.9 Tunisia page iii

10 LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ARI-MoA ARIMNet BiH CPC EC ERA-NET EU FiBL FP FYROM IBLA IFOAM Agricultural Research Institute of the Ministry of Agriculture Coordination of Agricultural Research in the Mediterranean Bosnia and Herzegovina Candidates and Potential Candidates European Commission Networking the European Research Area European Union Forschungsinstitut für biologischen Landbau Framework Programme Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Institut fir biologesch Landwirtschaft an Agrarkultur International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements IFOAM-ABM International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements - AgriBioMediterraneo InterBio ISD MAIB Med MiPAAF MoA MOAN O.A. TP Organics SEAE SEM SME SINAB SRA Promotion of domestic and international demand for organic products Institute for Sustainable Development Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari Mediterranean Ministero delle Politiche Agricole, Alimentari e Forestali Ministry of Agriculture Mediterranean Organic Agriculture Network Organic Agriculture Technology Platform Organics Sociedad Española de Agricoltura Ecológica (Spanish Society for organic Farming) South and East Mediterranean Small and Medium Enterprise Sistema d Informazione Nazionale sull Agricoltura Biologica Strategic Research Agenda page iv

11 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Total respondents on part B per type of institution 18 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Figure 2: Figure 3: Figure 4: Figure 5: Figure 6: Figure 7: Figure 8: Figure 9: Figure 10: Figure 11: Figure 12: Response rate to part B of the questionnaire by geographical subdivision in the Mediterranean Response rate by type of institutions per Mediterranean geographical subdivision (EU Mediterranean: 2.a, CPC: 2.b, SEM: 2.c) Share of organic research on the total institutional activities (3.a) and total research activities (3.b) in EU Mediterranean Share of organic research on the total institutional activities (4.a) and total research activities (4.b) in CPC Share of organic research out of the total institutional activities (5.a) and total research activities (5.b) in SEM Top ten studied organic research topics in EU Mediterranean Top ten studied organic research topics in CPC Top ten studied organic research topics in SEM Human resources working in organic research in the Mediditerranean Available facilities for research in organic agriculture in the Mediterranean Funding sources for the research in organic in the Mediterranean Transfer and dissemination of organic research in the Mediterranean page v

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13 Section I Frameworks, Actors and Resources of Organic Research in the Mediterranean

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15 1 Background Organic agriculture is an emergent sector worldwide and the global organic market is in a continuous growth. According to Organic Monitor estimates, global sales of organic products doubled in value between 2003 and The highest increase is taking place in North America (Sahota, 2010) 1. Although this market expansion has been somewhat slowed down in 2009, after the last financial crisis (2007 to date) that struck almost the whole world, the positive growth continued throughout that year (Sahota, 2010). The 2010 Organic Industry Survey conducted by the Organic Trade Association (OTA), revealed that U.S. sales of organic products continued to grow during 2009, whereas organic food and nonfood product sales in that year grew by 5.3 percent, despite the distressed state of the economy (OTA, 2010) 2. Organic agriculture is a sprouting and continuously growing sector also in the Mediterranean area as shown by the statistics of the past ten years. The organic production methods attracted also the attention of local governments and economic operators and found space in discussion platforms and official strategies papers (Al-Bitar et al., 2010) 3. The facts and figures about organic agriculture statistics in this area have almost doubled between 2001 and 2007 (Al-Bitar and Pugliese, 2008) 4 and continue to increase in terms of organic agricultural land. In 2008, with more than 143 thousand operators, organic agriculture in the Mediterranean covered an area of about 5 million ha of which around 1.3 million ha of wild collection and forests, mainly concentrated in Eastern Adriatic and some South-Eastern countries (Al-Bitar et al., 2010). Many non-eu Mediterranean countries already have a national law (Tunisia, Turkey, Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia and Montenegro) and a well developed export market (Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey and Serbia), while local markets are still emergent. 1 Sahota A. (2010). The Global Market for Organic Food and Drink. In: Willer Helga and Lukas Kilcher (Eds.) (2010). The World of Organic Agriculture. Statistics and Emerging Trends IFOAM, Bonn and FiBL, Frick, pp OTA (2010). U.S. Organic Industry Overview. The Organic Trade Association s 2010 Organic Industry Survey: ( pdf) 3 Al-Bitar L., Bteich MR. and Pugliese P. (2010). Organic Agriculture in the Mediterranean Region: updates. In: Willer Helga and Kilcher Lukas, (Eds.) (2010). The World of Organic Agriculture. Statistics and Emerging Trends IFOAM, Bonn, and FiBL, Frick, pp Al-Bitar L. and Pugliese P. (2008). The CIHEAM Watch Letter, Autumn 2008, No 7. page 3

16 Behind all promising and developing sectors, there is customarily a well structured, extended and defined work of research to back up the improvement and assure the continuous progress of its different topics and fields. When compared to other agricultural production systems, organic agriculture is relatively recent (early 1920 s), and even if research in organic farming has considerably increased in recent years, related research works are still limited in some fields. To date, there is a relatively small list of institutions and networks in the world fully dedicated to organic research. Organic farming research has been mainly concentrated in Europe that is considered the cradle of organic research by Willer (2009) 5. It is just in Europe that the first research started with biodynamic agriculture in the 1920 s. However, in the last few years studies and experiments on organic farming and practices started emerging in other parts of the world involving several actors. Some of them are the Organic Centre of Canada (OACC), the Brazilian Agriculture Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) and the Rodale Institute in the US. Other research activities related to organic farming are mainly carried out by universities. Besides local/national contexts and frameworks, organic research is also developing thanks to different dynamic initiatives (platforms, associations and networks) of global co-operation and coordination. These initiatives are mostly conducted by European institutions that operate, among others, at international level. They intend to support, boost and orient research in organic themes in an all-inclusive perspective and exchange knowledge in a continuously evolving organic sector. The most notorious initiatives relating to organic research at international level are: the International Society of Organic Agriculture Research (ISOFAR) 6, the International Centre for Research in Organic Food Systems (ICROFS) 7, the International Association of Organic Agriculture Research Institutes (FiBL- International) 8 and the Organic Research Centres Alliance (ORCA) with FAO hosting its Secretariat 9. All these initiatives have a 5 Willer H. (2009). Organic Farming Research Worldwide An Overview. Ecology and farming, n.46: ISOFAR, ICROFS, FiBL, ORCA, page 4

17 common objective which is the collaboration for the promotion and enhancement of organic research worldwide. At EU level, organic farming research formally started in the late 1980 s-early 1990 s with the very first EU-funded projects related directly to organic farming issues. Prior to that, all research initiatives were conducted by private associations and helped supporting and developing the sector since its beginning. In some EU countries, like Germany and Austria, research and teaching programmes in relation to organic agriculture started in the early 1980 s and further developed in the mid s. Today, there are several specialized university chairs and institutes for organic agriculture that deal with organic research. To date the EU contribution to the development of research in organic agriculture has included the funding of around 70 research projects that refer directly (explicit reference in the title) or indirectly (mentioned as part of the topic) to organic agriculture (Zanoli, 2009) 10. The first contribution of EU to organic agriculture research dates back to the 2nd Framework Programme - FP2 ( ), wherein organic agriculture was mentioned as part of the extensification and diversification of agricultural production. At that time, only one project referred specifically to organic agriculture in its title. The highest number (12 projects) of EU-funded research projects directly referring to organic agriculture was registered within FP5 whereas funds for organic research were highest on record within FP6. At present, only three research projects entirely concern organic agriculture in FP7 ( ), probably due to the overall limited research funding (Zanoli, 2009). The EU not only funded research projects in organic agriculture but also launched initiatives for coordinating organic research at EU level, through two main joint research programmes: CORE Organic I and II. CORE Organic aims to enhance the quality, relevance and utilisation of resources in European research in organic food and farming through coordination and collaboration. CORE Organic I was a project in the framework of the theme ERA-NET in FP6. After 2007, the partners of CORE Organic expanded their network and developed a second ERA-NET, CORE Organic II, started in 2010, that will launch transnational calls for 10 Zanoli R. (2009). La ricerca in agricoltura biologica tra spinte europeiste e problematiche nazionali. In: Crescimanno M., Schifano G. (eds.). Agricoltura biologica: sistemi produttivi e modelli di commercializzazione e di consumo. IV workshop GRAB-IT, Palermo, ottobre 2009, pp page 5

18 research projects on various themes of organic food and farming 11. Another initiative at EU level is the Research Technology Platform Organics (TP Organics) hosted at the IFOAM EU Group office in Brussels. It is considered as a podium for organic food and farming research. It was launched following the limited research funding of the 7th EU Research Framework Programme (2007 to 2013). This limited funding raised the concern that the potential benefits of organic production would not be used, even if in the European Organic Action Plan 2004, organic research had been on the political agenda as one of the explicitly mentioned actions (TP Organics, 2010) 12. Thus, in 2007, a group of scientists from different EU countries started a coalition of partners from several organisations of the organic sector (including industry and civil society) to join their efforts in defining organic research priorities and defending them vis-à-vis the policy-makers. The result was the publication of a Vision for an Organic Food and Farming Research Agenda 2025, coupled with the establishment of TP Organics in Afterwards, a Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) was published in 2009 with concrete research priorities that have to some extent inspired FP7 and CORE Organic II calls. In 2010 TP Organics also finalised its Implementation Action Plan which, completing its trilogy of key documents, indicates how to approach, carry out and follow up the research proposed for the best possible effect and outlines how organic sector research can contribute to Europe s progress during the period of EU FP8. At Mediterranean level, permanent transnational initiatives like the Mediterranean Organic Agriculture Network (MOAN) and the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement AgriBioMediterraneo (IFOAM-ABM) have been actively involved in Mediterranean organic research matters since the late 1990 s. MOAN 13 was founded in 1999 and initially included representatives from different Mediterranean research institutions. After its reorganisation in 2006, it became an institutional network currently gathering 21 Euro- Mediterranean countries represented by decision-makers from the Ministries of Agriculture (MoA) dealing with organic agriculture issues page 6

19 MOAN essentially aims at: a) creating working partnerships; b) encouraging exchange and cooperation between public and private stakeholders; c) popularising organic agriculture s rationale and impacts. The Network organises thematic annual meetings in partner countries, country-specific workshops and international conferences; supports the creation of national sub-networks; produces scientific works and periodical reports on organic agriculture in the region; manages a website with special sections on country profiles and events. The Network considers research as a tool for furthering organic agriculture in the Mediterranean basin. ABM 14 has been an official regional IFOAM group since 1997, responsible for specific Mediterranean organic agriculture issues among which research and development with a dedicated working group. Another Mediterranean initiative is the ARIMNet project (Coordination of Agricultural Research in the Mediterranean) 15 that includes but does not exclusively deal with organic research issues. The project, developed in the framework of EU ERA-NET initiative within FP7, started off in It aims at coordinating national research activities and identifying agricultural common research programmes among the countries of the Mediterranean area to fight fragmentation and exploit synergies. The creation and expansion of the organic sector in the Northern European countries led to the development and implementation of research in organic agriculture issues much earlier than in the Southern European and other Mediterranean countries. Even if organic principles and philosophy are invariable, the applications and needs of research largely vary from one geographical area to another. In the Mediterranean, there is an increasingly perceived need for adapted research in organic agriculture under the regional conditions. Few initiatives have been taken so far to meet such requirements. Among these, it may be worth mentioning two recent experts workshops organised, respectively, by the Spanish Society for Organic Farming (SEAE), which currently hosts IFOAM-ABM Secretariat and by Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (MAIB), which coordinates the MOAN. Such workshops represented valuable opportunities to identify and discuss problem areas as well as research needs and priorities for the organic sector in the Mediterranean region (Box 1 and Box 2). Interestingly, overlapping but also complementary ideas emerged during the two workshops which paved the way for future collaborative action in the field page 7

20 Box 1. SEAE Workshop on Organic Research under Mediterranean conditions On September 18th 2009 an expert workshop on Organic Research under Mediterranean conditions took place within the XV Technical Symposium of SEAE Organic production in the Mediterranean Basin held in Bunyola, Mallorca (Spain), organized by SEAE and sponsored by the Balearic Government and the Spanish Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs (MARM). The workshop, attended by 30 participants from 15 countries, included experts presentations and a final brainstorming to list the potential areas of interest for future applied research in the Mediterranean countries. From the discussion many problems and hot issues arose: target research on organic farming has increased enormously in recent year but is not yet massive and it is little known; sector participation in setting research priorities is essential and it is therefore necessary to establish mechanisms that facilitate it; the participation of Mediterranean countries in EU research projects is still very low, even for the EU-Med countries; agricultural research is quite fragmented between International Research Centre and Institution, University and Field level research; often there is inadequate communication between these different levels, particularly over research priorities; disciplinary boundaries often inhibit the adoption of a holistic approach, required in organic farming; lack of long-term experiment on organic agriculture in Mediterranean countries. According to participants, in order to determine research priorities for the Mediterranean there is a need to: improve the funding for research in organic farming for Mediterranean context; increase the participation of Mediterranean Research Institutions in research projects, especially in EU contexts; create coordination of networking and information exchange between Mediterranean countries and in particular between the existing regional IFOAM group (i.e. IFOAM UE, ISOFAR, etc.) and other institutes (i.e. CIHEAM-MAIB); introduce farmers perspective and experience in research program; increase the dissemination of research output through conferences and publications; better understand who influences who, the role of research for policy on organic farming; focus on the appropriate methodology; participatory research and agroecological approach is a very appropriate methodology to promote organic farming but is rarely practiced today. Direct, Indirect and AgroEcoSystems methodology can answer different and specific questions; increase support that is vital to enhance the sustainability of Mediterranean farming systems and pastures; know what kind of organic farming and which organic farmers we want in the future in order to understand which are the main research priorities and topics we need. (to be continued) page 8

21 Box 1. SEAE Workshop on Organic Research under Mediterranean conditions (continued) Finally, some research topics were also preliminary indicated: the use of the functional biodiversity: we need a huge amount of basic and applied research to understand the Mediterranean specificities; the resilience capacity of Mediterranean organic farming for climate mitigation, drought resistance; the use of local and resistant varieties; the farm autonomy, closely linked to the interaction between crops and husbandry, especially in the Mediterranean where organic matter is scarce; safety and high quality organic typical food: organic arable crops, animal husbandry, olive and viticulture, organic citrus and fruit; local markets; multi-functionality; traditional knowledge. Source: Workshop report prepared by P. Migliorini, IFOAM-ABM The pivotal importance of research to enhance organic farming s abilities to develop local potential and offer viable solutions to context-specific needs is evident looking at the evolutionary trends of organic agriculture worldwide. As discussed above, a number of initiatives have recently contributed to help such a debate emerging also in the Mediterranean region. Clearly, in order to design, justify and support adequate research programmes and activities in organic agriculture at the Mediterranean level, a detailed and comprehensive knowledge of the current stateof-the-art of research in organic agriculture appears to be a crucial, preliminary step to take. Therefore, precisely to meet such a fundamental need and building on previous work in the same field by Al-Bitar (2002 and 2004) 16, a questionnaire-based survey was carried out in in the framework of InterBio project with the two main objectives: 16 Al-Bitar L. (Ed), (2002). Report on organic agriculture in the Mediterranean area. Options Méditerranéennes, (Série B, no. 40). 166 p. ISBN ; Al-Bitar L. (Ed), (2004). Report on organic agriculture in the Mediterranean area. Options Méditerranéennes, (Série B, no. 50). 166 p. ISBN page 9

22 Box 2. MAIB Workshop on Cooperation and Research in Organic Agriculture in the Mediterranean On October 15th 2009 an expert workshop took place at MAIB in the framework of InterBIO Project Promotion of domestic and international demand for organic products, financed by the Italian Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies (MiPAAF) and coordinated by MAIB. The workshop was attended by 38 participants from 7 countries and included plenary sessions and experts brainstorming to discuss problem areas and needs of organic agriculture in the Mediterranean as well as main research priorities. Participants opinions and suggestions were elicited by using the metaplan method. The following problems, areas of interest and needs were identified and debated: Policy and governance: lack of ability to foresee challenges; lack of support/ contradictory policies; bad/poor EU policy; lack of harmonisation; lack of a Mediterranean platform; poor organisation of small farmers; lack of organic agriculture plan; lack of capacity at community level; Research: lack of animal husbandry research; lack of dialogue between research and policy; insufficient research; poor identification of problems; lack of coordination and risk to waste money; unstructured exchange among researchers; not rational funding initiatives; lack of funds; limited number of researchers able to carry out research on organic issues with a truly innovative approach; Institutional building: lack of SME in rural areas; fragmentation of organic organisations; lack of cooperation between farmers and other stakeholders; low representation and organisation of organic sector; lack of multilevel dialogue; too many representatives of stakeholders; disorganization of the sector; sustainability for international cooperation to support SEM countries; Training, information and education: poor farmers training; lack of advisory services; poor dissemination of research results; low level of formal education especially for women whose role in agriculture is increasing; Quality and local food: undefined quality of organic food; food quality, unexplained benefits of organic food on health; organics and local food; organic systems and terroir; lack of definition of organic quality; poor definition of quality indicator for organic food; Soil fertility: poor management of soil fertility; arid soils; scarcity of organic matter; relationship between soil fertility and quality; recycling of organic matter; reducing nutrient loss; preserve soil fertility; long-term experiment for soil fertility; anaerobic digestion; Inputs and agronomic practices: lack of organic inputs; lack of legislation on botanical agents; lack of knowledge on plant protection; lack of input for organic agriculture; lack of materials for plant protection; organic nursery production; improvement of local varieties and breeds; weed control by agronomic practices; collection of local species to be usedin plant protection; need to improve the cultivation of local crops; Environment and natural resources: arid conditions; water shortage and climate change; carbon trading; reduction of plastic waste; sustainable management of agricultural resources; (to be continued) page 10

23 Box 2. MAIB Workshop on Cooperation and Research in Organic Agriculture in the Mediterranean (continued) Markets: lack or limited existence of domestic markets in the Southern shore; bad marketing; lack of promotion of domestic market, lack of market information; consumers ignorance/lack of consumers awareness; poor local distribution; prevalence of export-oriented approach in SEMountries; few organic products exported from the South to the North; international trade issues for organic products; Lack of social impact studies of large-cale conversion; Low level of environmental and socio-conomic sustainability of many Mediterranean organic farms; New fields: Organic wine production, organic aquaculture; Protected agriculture and horticulture. A second round of consultation was focused on research priorities for organic agrofood chains in the Mediterranean and the following research areas and topics were expressed and discussed: Marketing: marketing initiatives; marketing systems; marketing constrains; local marketing; people information; consumers behaviour; consumers motivation and behaviour; development of national markets; promotion of organic agriculture in the society; Socio-economic aspects: socio-economic sustainability; social impact on rural areas; diversification and organic agriculture; farmers organisation; organic agriculture and rural exodus; Inputs, compost, nurseries: propagation material; organic nursery; recycling of organic waste; compost and pest control; plastic material substitution; Food quality and local Mediterranean foods: food quality; local typical products; diversification of organic products on local biodiversity, biodiversity; organic breeding for high quality local food; processing technologies with focus on traditional processing methods; production quality for sustainable management; Soil fertility: soil fertility and quality based on farm-resources; soil fertility management; Animal productions: cost-saving husbandry, certification of rangeland livestock systems following wild collection model; Participatory certification system; Appropriate research and extension approach; the need for a system, transdisciplinary and holistic approach (in socio-economic and agro-ecological issues) Protected organic horticulture; Environmental impact assessment methods specific for organic farming; Fruit orchards. Source: Workshop report prepared by P. Migliorini, IFOAM-ABM and F.M. Santucci, Perugia University page 11

24 1. to provide an updated overview of organisational features and strategic orientations of organic research activities in Mediterranean countries; 2. to map research institutions working on organic agriculture across the Mediterranean, enhancing their visibility and paving the way for future exchange and collaborative work at the regional as well as the international level. The present document illustrates the findings of the survey into two main sections. In Section I, after the background description and some preliminary methodological considerations, the outputs are presented following the questionnaire structure. In Section II, essentially organised as a directory, contact details and basic information on key research projects and activities in the past five years are provided, per country, for single research institutions that have answered to the questionnaire. 2 Survey Design, Questionnaire and Data Collection The tool used to carry out the survey is a questionnaire designed in June -July 2009 through the joint efforts of MOAN Steering and Coordination Committees. The questionnaire is divided into two parts. Part A includes six questions regarding the overall situation of the national organisation and policies for organic research. This part was mainly addressed to a decision-maker, preferably from the MoA, with a broad knowledge of the country s organic sector. Part B includes ten questions addressed to single research institutions involved in organic research in each country and mainly investigating their organisational features, research capacity and facilities, research projects and activities in the past five years, partnership and networking aspects as well as main thematic areas of interest and work. The questionnaire was circulated via in September 2009 by MAIB and IFOAM-ABM to their networks of contacts across the Mediterranean. MAIB handed out the questionnaire to MOAN country representatives that were asked to fill part A since they are, in most cases, national decisionmakers on organic issues within the MoA and have a global view of the organic situation. MOAN delegates subsequently handed out part B of the page 12

25 questionnaire to public and private institutions dealing with organic research in their country. In three cases the MOAN delegate was not able to contact the research institutions of the country, therefore, MAIB managed directly the administration of part B of the questionnaire. IFOAM-ABM actively circulated the questionnaire (part A and B) to all its members in the Mediterranean and received in total eight responses (from Croatia, Egypt, Greece, France, Israel, Lebanon, Palestine and Spain). Unfortunately, not all the gathered information could be used in the analysis because of some inconsistencies and/or incomplete parts in the collected questionnaires. In Italy the survey was carried out in close cooperation with SINAB (Sistema d Informazione Nazionale sull Agricoltura Biologica), the Italian Information System on Organic Farming 17. For its involvement in the census of Italian organic research activities and institutions over the past years SINAB has developed a dense network of relations with relevant national and regional actors which facilitated the circulation of the questionnaire. The number of research institutions to which part B of the questionnaire was addressed is extremely variable across countries. In each country this part of the questionnaire was circulated to a list of relevant research institutions preliminary drafted on the basis of previous research work (Al-Bitar, 2002 and 2004) as well as of additional available information. Subsequently, this list was cross-checked, and updated when needed, in collaboration with MOAN representatives and country experts that, in most cases, had compiled part A of the questionnaire. For some countries (BiH, Croatia, Greece and Jordan) such country lists could not be produced or updated. 3 Survey Findings 3.1 Part A findings Organic research in the Mediterranean from the point of view of decision-makers and country experts Response rate and geographical coverage Overall the survey covered 23 Euro-Mediterranean countries. Responses 17 page 13

26 for Part A of the questionnaire were gathered from the 21 MOAN country representatives 18 and, through ABM, from Greece and Israel. The results are presented and analysed according to three geographical areas as follows: European Union (EU) countries: France, Greece, Italy, Slovenia and Spain; Candidates and potential candidates (CPC) countries: Albania, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina (with its two entities, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) and Republika Srpska), Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey; South and East Mediterranean (SEM) countries: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria and Tunisia National frameworks for organic research in the Mediterranean The analysis reveals that national frameworks for organic research may include a specific action plan for organic research which can be combined or not with a dedicated central office coordinating organic research. Alternatively, more simply, specific reference to organic research can be found in the national action plan for the organic sector. All EU Mediterranean countries covered by this survey have an action plan for organic agriculture. Only France has a specific action plan for organic research and a dedicated national central office that coordinates it. In Slovenia and Spain there is no specific action plan for organic research, but the need for research in the organic sector is mentioned in their national action plan for organic agriculture. The Slovenian National Action Plan for organic agriculture defines specific goals to be reached through research and the Spanish National Action Plan includes an ad hoc action that aims at promoting organic research works and their findings. In most EU Mediterranean countries criteria for defining organic research topics are not clear and, according to many interviewees, the choice of 18 MOAN member countries are: Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Egypt, France, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, F.Y. Rep. of Macedonia, Malta, Montenegro, Morocco, Palestinian Authority, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey. Membership of Cyprus, Greece and Portugal has not yet been finalized. page 14

27 thematic areas and topics is, in fact, largely influenced by the priorities and interests of the institutions carrying out or financing the research work. In CPC countries, only Turkey has a national action plan for organic research with a dedicated central body that coordinates research activities, while Serbia and BiH (Bosnia and Herzegovina) only have a draft document that is not yet implemented. In Albania organic research is considered as the main axis of agricultural research activities that the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Consumer Protection included both in the strategy for the development of agriculture and in the action plan for organic agriculture development. Tunisia is the only country in SEM that drafted an action plan for research in organic agriculture. Nevertheless, it is not the only country in this area with a dedicated office for coordinating and orienting organic research activities. Indeed, Egypt, Israel and Syria have a central body directly dependent from the Ministry of Agriculture that manages the organic research activities and selects themes to be investigated. As to the identification of research priorities, also in CPC and SEM countries a significant influence of single research institutions and individual researchers preferences and concerns has been reported, especially in those contexts where no national priorities are defined in official documents and/or no coordinating central office has been established. Funding is another fundamental component of national frameworks for organic research. National funds supporting the organic sector are available in all surveyed EU countries except in Greece. In CPC countries, national funds allocated specifically for research in organic agriculture are available in Albania, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey. In SEM countries organic research is nationally funded in Egypt, Israel and Tunisia. In some countries national funds are also complemented by regional channels. In many Mediterranean countries international funding - including EU research funding as well as international donors and private sector s funding also plays a significant role in supporting organic research. In EU and CPC areas, this is the case of France, Slovenia, Albania, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey. Among SEM countries it is worth mentioning the example of Morocco and Lebanon, where public resources lack and funding from both international donors and (international and national) private sector prevails not only in supporting organic research but also the development of the organic sector as a whole. page 15

28 3.1.3 Priorities for organic research in the Mediterranean Decision-makers and country experts were also asked to express their opinion about the main research priorities for organic research in the Mediterranean. Diverse thematic areas were identified. In the following list they are grouped and presented per geographical sub-division: i) In EU Mediterranean countries: Plant and animal genetic resources Cropping systems Market study and promotion Improving knowledge and technologies ii) In CPC countries: Pest management/plant protection Soil fertility management Agroecology and biodiversity Market study and promotion iii) In SEM countries: Plant protection/biological control Soil fertility management Post harvest and food processing Quality control and inspection system Clearly and expectedly, the thematic areas listed by respondents to part A of the questionnaire match to a large extent with those identified, more in detail, by participants to the two workshops held in Spain and in Italy in 2009 (Box 1 and 2). 3.2 Part B findings Institutions, resources and topics of organic research in the Mediterranean Like findings of Part A, Part B results, too, are illustrated according to the three geographical subdivisions considered for the Mediterranean area: EU Mediterranean, CPC and SEM countries. page 16

29 3.2.1 Response rate and geographical coverage The number of research institutions working on organic agriculture topics is very diverse across Mediterranean countries and it is affected by many factors, among which: the structure and organisation of agricultural research and, of course, the stage of development of the sector. Overall, 93 institutions, out of a total of 174 institutions contacted across the Mediterranean, responded to part B of the questionnaire: 34 from EU Mediterranean countries, 31 from CPC countries and 28 from SEM countries. Figure 1 shows the response rate, expressed in percentage, per geographical subdivision. The highest response rate was registered in CPC (83%), followed by SEM (64%) and EU Mediterranean countries (50%). To better understand such results it is worth noticing that in some countries, the survey could cover 100% of the institutions, like in FYROM, Montenegro, Morocco and Syria, because of the limited number of institutions dealing with organic research as well as of MOAN delegates and country expert s commitment to contribute to the survey. In EU Mediterranean countries, mainly in France and in Italy where research in organic issues is more developed and consequently the number of research institutions involved is higher than in the other Mediterranean countries, the total rate of received responses was relatively low (Italy) and very low (France). Figure 1. Response rate to part B of the questionnaire by geographical subdivision in the Mediterra EU Med 51% SEM 64% CPC 83% CPC 83% SEM 64% EU Med 51% 0% 50% 100% Figure 1: Response rate to part B of the questionnaire by geographical subdivision in the Mediterranean It is interesting to look more in detail at the type of research institutions dealing with organic agriculture across the Mediterranean. Table 1 shows the responses received per type of research institution and Figure 2 illustrates the share (%) of responses per type of institution in the three geographical subdivisions. The highest number of responses page 17

30 was received from the different agricultural research institutes connected to MoAs, perhaps as a result also of the direct contact with MOAN representatives charged to circulate Part B of the questionnaire. T able 1: Total respondents on part B per type of institution Respondents Number Total countries covered 23 Total institutions (Part B) 93 Agricultural Research Institutes of MoA 43 Universities 32 Associations / NGOs 12 Other public institutions 6 The number of questionnaires sent back by universities was also interesting. It was highest in SEM countries (43%), where most of the organic research activities are carried out almost exclusively the university professors. Responses from the private sector (associations and NGOs), instead, were quite scarce since private research operators often operate independently from the MoA and, in many cases, appeared to be quite disconnected from public research structures and from MOAN delegates too. This is particularly evident in many CPC and SEM countries. T he other public institutions category mainly included regional agencies and public research and technical institutions that are not considered as agricultural research institutions of the MoA but are either affiliated to it (like in Tunisia) or linked to other ministries such as the Ministry of Education (like in Algeria). 2.a 21% 9% 38% 2.b 29% 3% 68% 32% 14% 11% 32% 2.c Figure 2: Response rate by type of institutions per Mediterranean geographical subdivision (EU Mediterranean: 2.a, CPC: 2.b, SEM: 2.c) page 18 43% ARI-MoA Universities Assoc./NGOs Other public Institutions

31 3.2.2 Relevance of organic research within the activities of surveyed institutions For many of the surveyed institutions, research on organic agriculture represents but one of many other activities. Also, in many cases, organic agriculture is not an exclusive area of research work. Part B of the questionnaire included a section to investigate such issues and get a better understanding of the weight of organic research activities. Overall, the survey findings underlined that research in organic is still a small niche within the total institutional and research activities in the Mediterranean region. More in particular, in EU Mediterranean countries, only in 22% of surveyed institutions, organic research activities stand for more than half of the total institutional activities; in 62% they represent less than 25% of the total institutional activities (Figure 3.a). In terms of weight on total research activities, research in organic agriculture exceeds half of the total research activities in only 34% of surveyed institutions. In 46% of cases the share of organic research does not reach the quarter of the total research activities (Figure 3.b). This points out that the institutions and centres specialised in organic research are still lacking in EU Mediterranean compared to the central and northern EU countries such as Germany, Switzerland and The Netherlands, where important organic research centres and departments are established. 3.a 3.b 16% 22% 100% 80% 60% 46% 34% 40% 20% 62% 20% 0% <25% 25% to 50% >50% <25% 25% to 50% >50% Fi gure 3: Share of organic research on the total institutional activities (3.a) and total research activities (3.b) in EU Mediterranean The situation is not better in CPC countries. In 92% of surveyed institutions, organic research represents less than a quarter both of total institutional activities and of total research (Figure 4.a and 4.b). page 19

32 4.a 4.b 4% 4% 100% 92% 80% 60% 92% 40% 20% 0% 8% 0% <25% 25% to 50% >50% <25% 25% to 50% >50% Fig ure 4: Share of organic research on the total institutional activities (4.a) and total research activities (4.b) in CPC In SEM countries the weight of organic research on total institutional activities is slightly more encouraging than in CPC countries. In 21% of cases its share exceeds 50% of the total activities (Figure 5.a), mainly due to the existence of public institutions specialised in organic research and training like in Egypt and Tunisia. 5.a 5.b 21% 100% 80% 72% 60% 16% 63% 40% 20% 12% 16% 0% <25% 25% to 50% >50% <25% 25% to 50% >50% Figu re 5: Share of organic research out of the total institutional activities (5.a) and total research activities (5.b) in SEM Main research topics Figures 6, 7 and 8 show the most investigated research topics by surveyed institutions. In all geographical subdivisions, agronomic practices are always included in the top ten topics. Market and policy issues have been mentioned only in EU Mediterranean and CPC countries. Not many studies, instead, seem to be carried out on landscape design, hedges, quality/inspection systems, organic human nutrition, animal health and welfare, medicinal and aromatic plants, viticulture, biodynamic agriculture, rural sociology, territory and environment, which do not appear in any of the top ten lists. page 20

33 Soil management Agroecology Fertilization Soil fertility Agricultural policy Market/consumption Vegetables Plant protection Fruit growing Weed control 62% 59% 56% 56% 53% 50% 50% 44% 44% 44% 0% 50% 100% Figure 6: Top ten studied organic research topics in EU Mediterranean countries Plant protection Soil fertility Vegetables Fertilization Economics Soil management Fruit growing Composting Biological control Weed control 67% 63% 57% 53% 50% 43% 37% 37% 33% 33% 0% 50% 100% Figure 7: Top ten studied organic research topics in CPC countries Composting Plant protection Biological control Fertilization Soil management Soil fertility Vegetables Pesticides Olive growing Irrigation Weed control 50% 46% 39% 39% 39% 75% 71% 68% 64% 61% 61% 0% 50% 100% Figure 8: Top ten studied organic research topics in SEM countries page 21

34 3.2.4 Human resources The survey revealed that in the EU Mediterranean countries more than half of the persons working on organic research are university graduates (60%) and those with post-graduate qualifications represent 22% and 18% respectively (Figure 9). In CPC and SEM countries the situation is more balanced between the different degrees considered. The qualifications of human resources involved in research in organic agriculture are more or less equally distributed between university graduates (27% and 34%), Master degrees (34% and 32%) and PhD degrees (38% and 34%). SEM 34% 32% 34% CPC 27% 34% 38% EU Med 60% 22% 18% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% University graduate MSc PhD University graduate MSc PhD Figure 9: Human resources working in organic research in the Mediterranean One of the reasons behind this difference in human resource qualifications could be the educational situation in CPC and SEM countries where students often seek for high educational degrees, frequently acquired in EU or North American countries, before coming back to their country of origin and invest in research Facilities Experimental farms, laboratories and experimental plots are the most widespread facilities used at surveyed institutions to conduct research in organic agriculture (Figure 10). Laboratories appear to prevail in EU Mediterranean countries while in CPC and SEM countries experimental farms are more important. page 22

35 However, the experimental farms used to carry out research in organic agriculture are not always certified as organic, especially in CPC and SEM countries. It is noteworthy to mention that other infrastructure refers mainly to private farms certified as organic and used by the institutions for research purposes. Private farms (like experimental ones) are generally used to assess and test research results under real farm conditions. 100% 93% 88% 80% 80% 73% 61% 59% 78% 60% 48% 44% 36% 40% 27% 20% 7% 0% EU Med CPC SEM Experimental Experimental farms farms Experimental plots Laboratories Laboratories Others Others Figure 10 : Available facilities for research in organic agriculture in the Mediterranean Funding Concerning funding for organic research, representatives of surveyed institutions essentially confirmed what decision-makers and country experts stated in compiling part A of the questionnaire. In all geographical subdivisions, most of the financial support for the research in organic comes from national funds, followed by the international ones. Regional and local funds appear to contribute in a considerable way only in EU Mediterranean countries, they do not count much in CPC and SEM countries instead (Figure 11). page 23