Organic agriculture is a great solution to achieve food security and environmental sustainability. However, the sector is still relatively underdeveloped in the Mediterranean Region and differences between countries in that regard have been aggravated by the COVID-19. 

For this reason, the ORGANIC ECOSYSTEM project has a crucial role in the success of the region: build the foundation to access new markets, to improve the value chain and to exchange knowledge among Mediterranean countries regarding organic agriculture. 

In this context, the project took the initiative to gather the project’s partners and private sector agents, in order to boost the sector and establish alliances among ministries, businesses, BSOs, Chambers, farmers and other key stakeholders. 

ASCAME as partner of the ORGANIC ECOSYSTEM project, organised two events at its headquarters in the Chamber of Commerce of Barcelona: the Organic Ecosystem 2nd Interim Meeting and the 3rd Organic Ecosystem Seminar. 

Organic Ecosystem 2nd Interim Meeting (15th December 2021)

This meeting brought together the project’s partners (Ministry of Agriculture of Jordan, JEPA, CCIAZ, SYNAGRI, CIHEAM-Bari, INNOPOLIS, ASCAME) and associated partners (Ministry of Agriculture of Lebanon, Ministry of Agriculture of Tunisia, BIOMASS, Puglia Region, SEKEM Development Foundation, Organic Products Cluster and Ministry of Agriculture of Greece). 

It was a full day of presentations and bilateral meetings to discuss strategies to boost the organic agriculture sector. The main goals of the meeting were to meet in-person for the first time, to make an overview of the achievements until now and to establish the next steps. 

Some of the achievements and services developed so far include: 

• The Mediterranean Poll of Experts in organic agriculture, which provide free-of-charge consultancy services through the assistance platform. 

• Training to +50 Small and Medium Enterprises working on organic agriculture in the Mediterranean region 

• Interviewing +500 farmers and operators in the region to carry out a cross-country SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) about the state of the sector nowadays. 

Some of the next steps agreed on include: 

• Mapping the organic agriculture stakeholders in the Mediterranean. 

• Developing a comprehensive paper for policy makers and the business community on how to boost the organic sector in the region. 

• Establishing a cross-border lab on organic agriculture for knowledge transfer and to enhance the organic value chain. 

3rd Organic Ecosystem Seminar (16th and 17th December 2021) 

The seminar counted with the participation of the project partners and the private sector, both well-established SMEs and start-ups working on organic agriculture with innovative value chains and business models. These companies were from the project’s countries: Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia, Italy and Greece. There was also participation from companies of the project’s associated countries, Spain and Egypt. 

All these companies are making a relevant contribution to the organic agriculture sector in the Mediterranean. A small sample of the many companies that participated includes: Good Food Mood (Jordan), Biomass (Lebanon), Groupement Interprofessionel des Légumes (Tunisia), Arcadia Mandorle (Italy), Golden Tree (Greece), Sekem Development Foundation (Egypt) and Agribio (Spain). 

The main goal of the seminar was to exchange knowledge, solutions and strategies among the sector’s businesspeople, farmers and regulators. 

These two days were full of discussions on how to apply successful frameworks in the organic agriculture sector, such as the cases of Tunisia or Spain, in other neighbouring countries. It was also an opportunity to network, connect and get inspired by business ideas and success stories. 

What Organic Ecosystem can do for you: getting involved 

ORGANIC ECOSYSTEM puts at the disposal of interested agents in the organic agriculture sector a wide variety of services and tools, such as: 

• training for farmers and ministries 

• a database on certification bodies, procedures, companies and other operators at a Mediterranean level 

• cross-border innovation labs 

• an assistance platform 

• step-by-step strategies by country on how to develop an organic ecosystem in the Mediterranean region. 

For more information, we invite you to check the ORGANIC ECOSYSTEM's website and to connect with the project’s profile on LinkedIn and Facebook, where you can send an invitation or direct message for assistance.