MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN AGROFARMA AND FEDERBIO

The federation of organizations from the entire organic and biodynamic agriculture supply chain, during which the signing of a memorandum of understanding was announced aimed at increasing collaboration between the two Associations in order to provide an adequate response to the needs of organic agriculture .

The protocol, signed by the President of Agrofarma-Federchimica, Paolo Tassani, and the President of FederBio, Maria Grazia Mammuccini, marks the beginning of a strategic collaboration aimed at ensuring quality and greater innovation of the technical means used in organic farming. The two Organizations have, in fact, agreed to support the growth of organic farming as a model of excellence for Italy, promoting the responsible use of cutting-edge solutions in agriculture, in full compliance with European regulations.

To achieve these objectives, the Associations will initiate a constant dialogue to identify common instances capable, first of all, of promoting a normative definition of the term “biocontrol”, as a basis for the development of a regulatory framework capable of supporting the development of organic farming both at national and European level. In this context, it is essential to focus on specific procedures for the registration of biocontrol products, thus avoiding delaying access to tools that could already be available to farmers.

At the same time, initiatives will also be activated for the correct training and information of the supply chain on the correct use of technical means that can also be used in organic farming. Finally, it is a priority to focus on strategic investments in terms of research to offer farmers innovative solutions in the field of technical means with active ingredients of natural origin.

“The signing of this protocol is in line with the path towards an innovative and increasingly sustainable agri-food system that our industry has been pursuing for years now” – stated Paolo Tassani, President of Agrofarma-Federchimica. – “ From our point of view, organic farming is an important component of a modern agri-food system and, for this reason, we have long been committed to developing products that can adequately respond to the needs of this type of production. This collaboration underlines the importance of supporting farmers with increasingly efficient tools and products, but also of creating a regulatory framework that goes hand in hand with technological innovation, to best face the challenges that await us.”

“ To achieve the key objectives of the European Green Deal, a strategic investment in biocontrol is needed” – underlined Maria Grazia Mammuccini, President of FederBio. – “The signing of the protocol with Agrofarma represents an important step in this direction, which opens a dialogue oriented towards a strong commitment to research, innovation and training on biocontrol and will offer support for transparency and safety on the technical means used in organic farming, in full coherence with FederBio's multi-year commitment to the Italian Input List. To encourage the spread of organic farming, it is necessary to provide farmers with advanced solutions, based on the principles of agroecology, capable of addressing the impact of the climate crisis and the spread of diseases, innovations that can also be transferred to the rest of agriculture”.

Agropharmaceuticals

Agrofarma is the Association that represents 31 Italian companies in the agropharmaceutical sector. It is one of the 17 associations of Federchimica (National Federation of the Chemical Industry). Born as a product group of Assochimica, it was established as an Association in October 1987. At an international level, Agrofarma adheres to Croplife Europe, a European Association that promotes the use of advanced solutions for the defense and management of crops for sustainable agriculture.

Paolo Tassani is the current President of Federchimica Agrofarma.

FederBio

FederBio (www.feder.bio) is a national federation founded in 1992 by the initiative of organizations from the entire organic and biodynamic agriculture supply chain, with the aim of protecting and promoting its development. FederBio is a member of IFOAM and ACCREDIA, the Italian body for the accreditation of certification bodies, and is recognized as the institutional representation of the sector within national and regional tables.

Through its associated organizations, FederBio brings together almost all of the representatives of the organic sector, including the main Italian entities in the sectors of production, distribution, certification, standardization and protection of the interests of organic operators and technicians.