An important step towards the implementation of the Green Public Procurement Policy in Public Services has been made by the Public Procurement Directorate who signed a contract with suppliers / producers of organic food. In a recent letter to the general directors of the three Cypriot Ministries (Education and Culture, Health and Defense), the list
Research and innovation are two themes identified in the “Italian Strategic Plan for the development of the organic system”. A decree initiating the public selection for the granting of contributions aimed at the development of projects for organic agriculture has been signed by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture (MIPAAFT). The total amount of resources available
In a recent letter, the Department of Environment of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment refers to the implementation of the Green Public Procurement Action Plan (GPP) and more specifically to the organic food purchase by the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education and Culture. It is
The G7 Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture took place on 14-15 October in Bergamo and the theme was “Empowering farmers, developing rural areas and enhancing cooperation to feed the planet”. The meeting concluded with the joint adoption of a final declaration that includes the following points: 1) Agriculture makes an important contribution to rural incomes 2)
A report for the evaluation of the scheme promoting the consumption of fruits and vegetables in schools for the school years 2013-2014, 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 has been published. The effectiveness of the School Fruit Scheme (SFS) was assessed with filed surveys but the absence of baseline measurements for fruit and vegetable consumption didn’t allow for
Since August 1 2017, the EU school fruit, vegetables and milk scheme is in place, so that it can be implemented in the 2017-18 school year, across the 28 Member States, including Cyprus. The new scheme is a combination of the previous schemes – the School Fruit and Vegetables Scheme and the School Milk Scheme
IFOAM – Organics International have released their annual report. The title of the 2016 report “Powered by People” reflects the countless actions of people: Staff, World Board, Ambassadors, Volunteers, Self-Organized-Structures, Members and like-minded Partners. 2016 is a year of strategic change in the organic movement. Speakers from the World Board and the Head Office discuss
The High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on sustainable development in 2017, convened under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council, is held on 10 – 19 July, 2017. The theme of the meeting is “Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world”. In 2017, 44 countries have volunteered to present their national voluntary reviews
On June 29, a preliminary agreement on the EU rules on organic farming was reached. The new rules aim to encourage the sustainable development of organic farming, to increase consumer trust in organic foodstuffs and to guarantee fair competition for farmers and operators. Some key aspects of the new rules are strict, risk-based controls along
A recent review assessed the benefits and costs of organic agriculture across four dimensions (production, environment, producers and consumers) with specific indicators. The review showed that organic agriculture has some clear benefits such as high local biodiversity, high productivity under some circumstances and livelihood for poor farmers in some occasions. However, there are issues with
