6th International Conference on Organic Agriculture Sciences (ICOAS);

7 - 9 November 2018. Esterhazy Palace, Eisenstadt, Austria. 6th International Conference on Organic Agriculture Sciences (ICOAS).

• ICOAS brought together scientists, advisors, entrepreneurs, policy makers, associations, non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders to meet and discuss latest research results and developments in organic agriculture in Central and Eastern European countries.
• ICOAS fosters the strong partnership across stakeholders in Central and Eastern Europe. Knowledge dissemination and capacity building along the value chain in Central and Eastern European countries are the main focus of ICOAS. Therefore, ICOAS actively contributes to the promotion of research and innovation in the organic sector.

ICOAS took place in two main parts – the two-day Scientific Conference, followed by the Organic Policy Summit.

Extracts of the programme

Pathways to phase-out contentious inputs 

Chair: Ulrich Schmutz – Coventry University, UK 

• Replacement of Contentious Inputs in Organic Farming Systems (RELACS) – a comprehensive Horizon 2020 project, Veronika Maurer, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), CH 
• Pathways to phase-out contentious inputs from organic agriculture in Europe – Research overview and preliminary results, Ulrich Schmutz, Coventry University, UK 
• Lessons learned from phase-outs – the case of the peat phase-out in the United Kingdom, Judith Conroy, Coventry University, UK

Better knowledge transfer and dissemination across all stakeholders in organic agriculture 

• Chair: Klaus Wiesinger, Bavarian State Reseach Center for Agriculture (LfL), Germany 
• Knowledge transfer in organic farming in Estonia, Elen Peetsmann, Estonian University of Life Sciences, EEstonia
• Low Input dairy farming in Austria – Experiences from training courses and results of participating farmers, Andreas Steinwidder, Höhere Bundeslehrund Forschungsanstalt Raumberg Gumpenstein, Austria 
• Pleasurable Cooking Lessons work! Findings from the Pilot Phase of Schule des Essens (School of Eating), Theres Rathmanner, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FIBL), Austria

Consumers’ perspectives and attitudes towards organics 

• Chair: Anja Eichinger, Research Institute for Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Austria 
• Organic - what consumers think, Reinhard Geßl, Freiland Verband, Austria
• Organic Agriculture and Food Industry in Austria - attitudes, wishes, expectations and knowledge of young people and young adults, Andreas Steinwidder, Höhere Bundeslehr- und Forschungsanstalt Raumberg Gumpenstein, Austria 
• Organic or Local Food: Consumers’ Attitudes and Preferences for Vouchers, Iva Zvěřinová, Charles University, Czech republic