Bioinstitute's project is one of 79 projects selected under the first open call under the €10 million Czech NGO Fund, financed by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
Karolína Dytrtová of Bioinstitut reported strong interest for the ongoing project among Czech agricultural producers. Organic farming is gaining territory in the Czech Republic, and this strong attention to eco-farming is to a large extent spurred by EU and national subsidies, increasing consumer demand for organic food, and corresponding interest by large grocery chains. Bioinstitut plans to follow up the eagerness among Czech farmers to go organic by offering practical solutions on how to make the transition to organic agriculture.
The project was first initiated with support from the Swiss Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBl) in 2006, and is now being further developed with support from the EEA and Norwegian Financial Mechanisms. In order to demonstrate organic farming in practice, a network of 20 eco-farms will be developed, of which six will be model farms.
In addition to study visits and open days at the Czech organic farms, close to 40 Czech participants have already been to Norway to see organic farming under northern conditions. Bioforsk, the Norwegian Institute for Agricultural and Environmental Research, hosted the visit and will also contribute with their know-how throughout the project.
# To read more about the Czech farmers' study trip to Norway, click here.
Bioinstitut was founded in 2004 by the PRO-BIO, the Czech organisation for ecological farmers, the University in Olomouc and the Swiss Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBl). The Czech NGO covers activities involving research, education and advisory services within the field of organic farming.