International Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, Pune, India

&

Third World Network, Malaysia

Announcing the first TWN-IISA International Conference on “Outstanding Organic Agriculture Techniques”

This announcement is about an International Conference on “Outstanding Organic Agriculture Techniques” being organised by the International Institute of Sustainable Agriculture (IISA) and the Third World Network at Pune city (India>) from September 30-October 2, 2009.

The conference will host participants exclusively from south Asia> including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal and Myanmar>.

The conference will be held at the Yashoda Complex in Pune city, India>, while the concluding function will be held at the IISA campus at Ovale, near Pune. TWN has agreed to assist IISA by co-sponsoring this regional meeting for the promotion of sustainable and organic farming.

Organic agriculture is once again beginning to receive attention in south Asia, once a major reservoir of such sustainable practices handed down from generation to generation through actual practice, literature and word of mouth.

The conference will build on the available knowledge and skills of the farming communities as well as expose and promote innovations that can be replicated across the South Asia>> region and even beyond.

The focus of the regional conference will be a careful stocktaking of the status of organic farming in the countries represented; identification of bottle-necks; sharing of innovative techniques for replication elsewhere; development of organic farming policies for adoption by concerned governments; lobbying; creation of training facilities to meet the needs of small and marginal farmers; promotion of low-cost internal certification schemes like PGS; development of alliances and networking with consumer groups and media; campaigning against the introduction of GM crops and foods and other issues.

TWN will arrange sponsorship for travel costs of delegates to the regional conference, while local hospitality costs of the Ovale meeting will be borne by IISA, the Organic Farming Association of India and the Maharashtra Organic Farming Federation. Local participation will be encouraged, specially from MaharashtraName>NAME> StateType>>TYPE>> in which Pune city is located, and which has a very strong organic farming movement and organic farmers’ groups connected to MOFF and OFAI, which are the promoters of IISA.

Organic farming promoters/organizations are requested to identify potential participants and inform them by 31 May, 2009. Prospective participants may please be requested to send their curriculum vitae, recent photograph and abstract [approx100 words] of their proposed sharing/presentation at the regional conference by email and/or FAX or post to reach the Organizing Secretary of the regional conference by 30 June, 2009.

Selected delegates will be informed and will have to submit by 31 July, 2009, their final presentations as text [preferably with an English translation if the text is in any other language] for publication. The final power point presentations must be sent in advance [with supporting software, where needed].

Correspondence Addresses:

Organic Farming Association of India> (OFAI),

G-8, St Britto Apts, Feira Alta, Mapusa- 403507 Goa, India

Phone: 91-832-2255913; Tele-Fax: 91-832- 2263305

Email: myofai@gmail.com Website: www.ofai.org

Maharashtra>> Organic Farming Federation (MOFF)

1038/11, Balaji Niwas, Flat No.5

Cosmos Bank Lane, Deep Bungalow Chowk,

Model Colony Pune 411 016 Maharashtra>, India>

Phone: 91-20-25659090/32907302. Email: moffpune@gmail.com

Claude Alvares
President IISA (email: ofaigoa@gmail.com)

Ms Chee Yoke Ling
Third World Network (email: yokeling@myjaring.net)

Miguel Braganza
Organizing Secretary (email: myofai@gmail.com)