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International GOMA Conference 2012

Let Good Products Flow! For ten years, FAO, IFOAM and UNCTAD have worked in partnership to address and reduce barriers to trade of organic products resulting from the global proliferation of organic standards and technical regulations. At this high-level International Conference, the partners draw together a distinguished group of public and private sector leaders to examine the past, present and future of organic market access relative to systems of organic standards and conformity assessment. The conference looks at emerging issues, such as the potential for organic standards to promote the growth of organic agriculture vis-à-vis their potential to stifle growth. Developments and challenges for dominant and emerging exporting/importing economies and for still-developing countries are highlighted and discussed. Models of public-private and regional cooperation are considered as potential pathways for global solutions to the challenges. In addition to four eminent keynote speakers, participants are afforded an opportunity to discuss key issues with distinguished government and private-sector speakers from Bhutan, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, China, Great Britain, France, India, the Netherlands, Sri Lanka and United States. Representatives of intergovernmental and international organizations such as The European Commission, International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements, International Trade Commission, International Organic Accreditation Service and Pacific Islands Community will also contribute to the presentations and discussions. Stay In Front of a Rapidly Growing Market Recognizing that multiple organic standards, certification requirements and other regulations were major obstacles to organic trade, FAO, IFOAM and UNCTAD organized a Conference in February 2002 on International Harmonization and Equivalence in organic agriculture. In line with the needs identified during this conference and the readiness of participants to learn from each others’ organic guarantee systems and seek convergence, the three partners sought and developed solutions by organizing and leading the International Task Force on Harmonization and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture (ITF). Results include two practical tools, an established networking among standard setters, regulators, and certification bodies and a common understanding of organic guarantee systems. Ten years later, this partnership continues to facilitate harmonization, equivalence and other forms of cooperation to enhance organic agriculture development worldwide. Working under the project title, Global Organic Market Access (GOMA) the partners announce a follow-up Conference in February 2012. This international Conference will assemble, on a global scale, key government and private sector actors to review the progress made in the last decade on organic guarantee systems, including outcomes of the ITF and GOMA, as well as envision strategies for the next ten years of public-private cooperation that are crucial for the continued growth of organic agriculture and markets. Registration Project support from the Norwegian Organization for Development Cooperation (Norad) enables us to offer a low conference registration fee, €95, and our partnership with BioFach affords a convenient date and venue for the conference. Who Should Attend? Government regulators Government trade promoters and negotiators Intergovernmental organizations working in trade policy and development Certification and accreditation bodies Farmers cooperatives and associations Researchers Traders and retailers Inquiries regarding specific funding request, please contact: d.bowen@ifoam.org Any questions or difficulties regarding the online registration, please contact: goma-conference@ifoam.org From IFAOM

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