Brussels, 09/06/2010 (Agence Europe) - International experts met in Tunis on 7-9 June 2010 to discuss the “opportunities and challenges for Mediterranean organic agriculture”. The meeting, the fifth of its kind, was organised under the aegis of the Mediterranean Organic Agriculture Network (MOAN), on the initiative of the Tunisian Ministry of Agriculture and the Mediterranean Agromomic Institute.
The purpose of the meeting was to determine the extent to which the new EU import rules might constitute an obstacle to the export of agricultural goods from the southern rim to the European market. Since 1 January 2009, new rules have been in place on the production, verification and labelling of organic produce. Some of the new rules, however, will only be applied from 1 July 2010, the Commission points out.
MOAN, which was set up in Venice in November 2003, following a decision adopted by the Euro-Mediterranean conference of agriculture ministers, is committed to the development and dissemination of organic farming-related scientific and technical knowledge in the Mediterranean region.
Another of the Network's objectives is development of organic farming models that can be applied successfully in the agri-eco systems specific to the Mediterranean region. (F.B./transl.rt)