FiBL Deutschland e.V.

FiBL Deutschland e.V. provides scientific services to organic agriculture, especially at the interface between research and agricultural practice.

From this mandate it derives the four pillars of its work for organic agriculture and the organic food industry:

• Knowledge transfer
• Drawing up concepts to strengthen organic agriculture
• Scientific support for actors in the field
• Promotion of actor networks

Making information accessible for users

Few in farming, processing, trade or consultancy today are in a position to absorb all the scientific findings on organic agriculture. There is a growing demand for this complex information to be made accessible via print media and on the Internet. FiBL Deutschland e.V. tailors information on organic agriculture to the needs of specific target groups: for scientists, farmers and businesspeople, as well as for the general public.

Some examples are:

• coordination and scientific leadership of the Internet organic farming portal www.oekolandbau.de as a key measure of the Federal Scheme for Organic Farming.
• collection of worldwide regulations on organic agriculture in the database www.oeko-regelungen.de
• establishment of the producers’ and children’s sections on the Internet portal www.oekolandbau.de
• production of summarized guidelines giving practical advice on quality assurance for organic feedstuffs
• preparation of a manual on public relations work for organic agriculture
• preparation of Internet-based guidelines enabling farmers to carry out trials themselves (www.praxisversuche.de)
• presentation of research findings on the organic research site http://forschung.oekolandbau.de
• sets of transparencies on organic foods and organic farming for “aid”, a consumer information service on farming and food (infodienst Verbraucherschutz – Ernährung – Landwirtschaft e.V.)
• Supporting the establishment of a farm-level nature conservation consultancy service for organic agriculture covering the whole of Germany (www.naturschutzberatung.info)
• A 260-page standard reference manual on planning, design, and interpretation of trials in organic vegetable production, which aims at standardizing experimental design procedures and which also improves transparency and transferability of results.

Approaches to strengthening organic agriculture

The aim of this work is to develop approaches by which to remove barriers currently impeding the further development of organic agriculture. Involvement of industry practitioners and interdisciplinary cooperation are vital in order to develop solutions which work in practice.

Some examples are:

• uniform approval procedure for agricultural inputs and processing aids (www.betriebsmittel.org)
• standards for initial and in-service training of inspectors
• quality assurance for organic feedstuffs (report in the database organic eprints)
• introduction of a test to determine the value of organic varieties
• improvement of the availability of organic seed (www.organicxseeds.com)
• measures for keeping genetic engineering out of organic agriculture (www.bioxgen.de)
• Ensuring the traceability of organic products
• Providing jobs in organic enterprises for people with disabilities
• Developing participatory approaches for integrating nature conservation goals into organic agriculture
• Support for multifunctional holdings through Social Farming (www.sofar-d.de)

• development of proposals for position papers by the organic food production alliance, BÖLW (Bund Ökologische Lebensmittelwirtschaft)
• overseeing content for the young people’s “biofoodproject” area of the central Internet portal
• professional coordination of the BÖLW expert committee on seed and plant breeding
• checking the content of curriculum materials for secondary schools as part of the German Federal Scheme for Organic Farming
• overseeing content for the BÖLW genetic engineering campaign
• expert input to Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND), backing up its genetic engineering campaign
• Jobs for people with disabilities in North Rhine/Westphalia (Agriculture Ministry and Landschaftsverband regional council)

Promoting networking

The expansion of organic agriculture and the major increase in activities associated with this expansion, such as organic farming research, call for coordinated and effective cooperation on the part of all participants. FiBL Detschland e.V. has set itself the goal of initiating and supporting networking processes in organic agriculture.

Some examples are:

• a ‘Forum on plant protection in organic farming’ as a communication platform for stakeholders, advisory bodies and authorities
• joint work in the BÖLW expert committee on issues concerning seed and plant breeding
• work towards a uniform approval procedure for agricultural inputs with the aim of achieving widespread consensus among associations, inspection and certification bodies and authorities, nationally and internationally, on the approval of suitable inputs
• coordination of a BÖLW working group for further development of the Research & Development programme within the German Federal Scheme for Organic Farming
• Running conferences and maintaining the website www.gruene-werkstatt.de for ‘green sector’ networking among workshops for people with disabilities
• Carrying out training courses on conservation consultancy in agriculture (www.naturschutzberatung.info)
• Coordination of the network in organic vegetable production with the aim of improving communication between practitioners, advisors, researchers and scientists in organic vegetable production. (www.biogemuesebau.net)
• Networking of stakeholders for the nationwide protection of endangered arable weed species on arable conservation sites. (www.schutzaecker.de)

Financing

FiBL Deutschland e.V. finances itself essentially through projects and services.

Structure

At its Frankfurt headquarter and its Witzenhausen site FiBL Germany currently employs thirteen staff. The board consists of eight members.

Team FiBL Germany
Board FiBL Germany (in german)

A high priority is placed on networking with actors and organizations involved in the organic food industry. FiBL Germany is an associate member of the German Federation of the Organic Food Industry (BÖLW). Solid cooperation has been established with the Büro Lebensmittelkunde & Qualität (Institute for Food Science & Quality) and the Department of Organic Farming and Cropping of the University of Kassel in Witzenhausen.

FiBL - Research Institute of Organic Agriculture
FiBL Deutschland e.V.
Galvanistr. 28
D-60486 Frankfurt am Main
Telephone +49 69 7137699-0
Fax +49 69 7137699-9

Location Witzenhausen:
Nordbahnhofstr. 1a
D-37213 Witzenhausen
Telephone +49 5542 981655
Fax +49 5542 981670

E-Mail

Managing Director: Robert Hermanowski
Registry of Associations: Frankfurt/Main
Registry Nr.: VR 13289
VAT ID.: DE222931657