European System of Cooperative Research Networks in Agriculture ESCORENA

ESCORENA, the European System of Cooperative Research Networks in Agriculture, was established in 1974 by the Food and Agriculture Organisation FAO and European research institutions. ESCORENA is an umbrella organisation which fosters cooperation between research institutions focused on food, agriculture, and related fields. It aims to promote the voluntary exchange of information, especially from the more advanced nations to developing countries.

Following a paper commissioned by the Food and Agriculture Organisation FAO on Research, Perspectives, Status, and Requirements for Organic Agriculture and an expert roundtable held in Braunschweig, Germany, in June 1997, network collaboration on organic agriculture started under ESCORENA.

Between 1998 and 2003, the FAO Regional Office for Europe coordinated the ESCORENA Working Group on Organic Farming Research. The Network held technical workshops on research methodologies unique to organic agriculture; one in Frick, Switzerland, in October 1998 and one in Bari, Italy, in September 1999.

Efforts led to collaboration with major EU-financed initiatives, regional training seminars and the development of open-information fora. The Regional Office for Europe also worked closely with the International Society for Agriculture Research ISOFAR launched in 2003.

Research on organic production and marketing has been included in several other ESCORENA networks (e.g. sheep and goats, and pasture and fodder crops networks).

The new initiative Organic.Edunet initiative is part of the ESCORENA network. It aims to facilitate access, usage, and exploitation of digital educational content related to organic agriculture and agroecology.