PBAB project participates in BIOFACH at Nuremberg

13 Feb, 2019

The Private Business Action for Biodiversity (PBAB) project participated in BIOFACH 2019 (13–16 Feb) at Nuremberg, Germany. BIOFACH is the largest international trade fair for organic products and is organised by Nuremberg Messe with the support of International Forum for Organic Agricultural Movement (IFOAM) and German Federation of the Organic Food Industry (BOLW).

The PBAB project conducted a session on Integrating Biodiversity into Agriculture on 15th February at BIOFACH. A case study on Biodiversity Action Pan and its implementation in Indian Spice Sector was also presented during the session. The event was represented by some important stakeholders like, the World Spice Organization (WSO), Rainforest Alliance, Global Nature Fund (GNF), Peermade Development Society (PDS) and Union for Ethical Bio trade. Mr. Ram Kumar Menon, Vice chairman, WSO highlighted that the global spice trade was estimated to reach 18 billion USD by 2020—and India’s goal is 5 billion USD—which is about 28% of the world trade. Most of the spice farmers are small and marginal farmers and 70% of them have a land holding of less than one hectare. He emphasised that spice producers face many challenges such as declining productivity, lack of awareness about latest technology, cultivation practices, sustainability and biodiversity parameters amongst others.

Mr. Tobias from GNF presented the methodology on Biodiversity Action Plan for Spices which were identified under the project like, Pepper, Cardamom, Nutmeg, Cinnamon and Chillies. The panel discussion drew attention on the relevance of biodiversity for agricultural production systems. Discussions also showed the significance of Biodiversity Action Plans (BAP) and their relevance for Spice Supply Chain in India. Dr. Thomas from PDS elaborated how BAP is being implemented with PDS small producers in Kerala.

BIOFACH is a meeting place for the organic stakeholders from around the world. It is a platform to share updates on developments in the sector, discover new markets, discuss future market issues and jointly shape the current and future policy of the organic sector. The FORUM BIOFACH congress offered several interesting seminars dealing with the latest challenges, issues of the future and the developments and trends within the industry.