Agroecology in the EU: an unique opportunity for the EU

Thursday, 17 September 2015, 9h- 13h15 PUBLIC DEBATE Agroecology in the EU: an unique opportunity for European food and agricultural model European Parliament Altiero Spinelli Building – A1G-2 room Brussels, Belgium The European Coordination Via Campesina organises a public debate on Agroecology, based on the work achieved by the food producers worldwide that agreed on common understanding of the principle of Agroecology as presented in the declaration of the International Forum for Agroecology (2015). The conference will be an opportunity to discuss the public policies needed in order to support and implement agroecology in Europe with representatives from EU institutions and the scientific community in Europe. The public debate will be held in the European Parliament building and hosted by MEP Lidia Senra Rodríguez (GUE/NGL). Representatives of farmers and small-scale food producers’ organisations will challenge EU institutions and the scientific community through an interactive debate. The event will be held in the European Parliament on the 17th of September. The event will be held in English and Spanish The overall objectives of the debate are: • To increase the knowledge and understanding on Agroecology within the EU; • To present the declaration of the International Forum for Agroecology to the EU institutions and the scientific community in the EU; • To discuss the public policies needed in order to support and implement agroecology in Europe; • To strengthen the dialogue between farmers and small-scale food producers’ organisations, EU institutions and academics in the EU in order to identify key challenges and opportunities within the framework of Agroecology. PROGRAMME 9:00 – 9:30 Registration 9:30 – 9:45 Welcoming remarks by Andrea Ferrante , representatives of ECVC (presentation of the declaration of the International Forum for Agroecology) 9:45 – 10:30 SESSION 1 - Agroecology a concrete reality Moderated by Maryam Rahmanian , member of the Steering Committee of the High Level Panel of Experts on food security and nutrition (HLPE) Jyoti Fernandes , Representatives of ECVC, Agroecology in Europe as a reality: concrete experiences on agroecology within the EU Expert on the Agroecology policy in Brazil (tbc) Michel Pimbert , Executive Director of the Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience (Coventry University), Agroecology and research 10:30 – 11:15 Coffee break 11:15 – 13:15 SESSION II – Roundtable: Agroecology in the EU Moderated by Andrea Ferrante , representative of ECVC. Lidia Senra Rodrìguez, MEP of the European United Left - Nordic Green Left group (GUE/NGL) in the EP, Member of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development Representative of the Socialist and Democrats group (S&D) in the EP (tbc) Representative of the European People's Party (EPP) in the EP (tbc) Maria Heubuch , MEP of the Greens/European Free Alliance (Greens/EFA), Member of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development Iman BOOT , Deputy Head of Unit Research and Innovation, European Commission, Directorate General for Agriculture & Rural Development;  Claudia Olazabal , Head of Unit B1 – Agriculture, Forests & Soil, European Commission, Directorate General for Enviroment; Unai Aranguren , Representatives of ECVC Open debate 13:00 Conclusions 13:15 End of the public debate ---- For registration please contact ivan@eurovia.org by Monday September 14th @ noon Initiative with the financial support from the European Union. This is Event is part of the Hands on the Land Campaign, an education and awareness raising campaign carried out with the financial support of the European Union.