Newsletter October 2019 | Organic Operators Australia

OIA Ltd

NEWSLETTER — OCTOBER 2019

Representing all certified organic operators

Save the date—Annual General Meeting—13 November 2019

The AGM for OIA Ltd will be held in Sydney at 9.30am on 13 November 2019. A meeting notice will be sent to all members soon.

ITS NOT TOO LATE FOR THIS AGM TO BECOME A MEMBER OF OIA LTD

There will be several vacancies for Director that will be filled at the AGM. Enquiries about becoming a Director can be made with the Company Secretary (secretary@organicindustries.com.au or 0448439334). Only Full Members of OIA Ltd may nominate a Director or vote for Directors; however, anyone with the requisite skills and experience can be a Director.

Following the AGM, there will be a workshop for the Australian Organic Industry Working Group to consider industry governance and policy issues. And on the following day, OTARE will be hosting a workshop on organic data.

AGM

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AOIWG Workshop

There will be a meeting of the Australian Organic Industry Workshop from 11.00am to 4.30pm on 13 November in Sydney. The workshop will consider industry governance and policy issues.

Further information will be circulated to the AOIWG mailing list. If you would like to join the AOIWG, simply contact secretary@organicindustries.com.au. Membership is free and informal.

Workshop

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Data in the Organic Industry

The Organic Trust Australia for Research and Education (website) is a charitable trust established to encourage research and education in the organic industry in Australia.

OTARE will hold a one-day workshop on Data in the Organic Industry in Sydney on 14 November.

The workshop will establish what data is currently available on organic production, processing, retail and export in Australia, how it is collected, whether that data is sufficient for management of the industry, who should be responsible for data collection and how that might be done and paid for.

Attendance is limited to 50 people. To receive an invitation to attend, send an email to chair@organictrustaustralia.org.au.

Tax deductible donations to support the work of OTARE can be made at http://organictrustaustralia.org.au/donation

OrganicData

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Become a member

Benefits of membership Become a member of the interim peak body which represents Australia's organic industries in government forums and industry initiatives.

Organic Industries of Australia Ltd is a new and independent organisation which acts in the interests of all certified organic operators.

There are two categories of membership—Full Membership for certified organic operators and Associate Membership for others. Membership is only $10. Foundation Memberships are also available for a limited time for $250.

GM technology regulation

State of play

The Senate will consider a Greens disallowance motion on 13 November.

Feedback indicates that the ALP will not support the Green's motion. Without ALP support, this GM technology will no longer be regulated in Australia.

Our website has further information on this technology and its implications. Read more ...

Our position

OIA has been providing industry leadership on this issue. We have been lobbying the Government and ALP, and are working with the Greens and other community groups to get GM deregulation disallowed.

We will continue lobbying to have the deregulation disallowed and then, if that fails, to seek adequate redress.

We don't trust that FSANZ can provide the necessary food standards to regulate GM in food products, and this path doesn't adequately cover the whole supply chain in food production. Further, we understand that FSANZ also wants to deregulate GM foods along similar lines to the Gene Technology Regulator.

We are concerned that there are huge complexities, particularly in respect of trade and consumer sovereignty, that simply have not been considered by the Government. We are mostly concerned that China and the EU may impose a blanket ban on Australian organic imports.

Survey results

We surveyed organic operators during September to seek industry views on the Government's deregulation of genetic modification technology.

GM survey

More details are available on our website. Read more ...

GMtech

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Sam Statham on the virtues of organic food

Sam Statham thinks we need to take a more thoughtful approach to our food. Watch the video on our website.

SamVirtues

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Export strategy

The Organic Industry Export Strategy was launched in June. It followed an industry survey in May and a workshop of the Australian Organic Industry Working Group to finalise the strategy.

The aim in the project was to improve strategic and organisational capacity in export market knowledge and access for Australia’s organics industry. The project comprises a suite of initiatives to leverage the strong fundamentals for growth and international demand, with a view to focussing efforts in target export markets where there is greatest comparative advantage.

OIA is considering how best to implement the strategy in order to acheive the targets for 2019-24:

Annual growth in organic trade volumes and values of 15 per cent
Exports of organic products have doubled by 2024 in volumes and value
The peak body is recognised as an important facilitator of organic exports
Equivalency arrangements in place by 2024 with South Korea and China
The project was co-funded by the Australian Government.

Into Organics seminar

NASAA is hosting an Into Organics seminar, being held in Coffs Harbour, NSW on Friday 25th October.

There is also a field day on Thursday 24th October, visiting Biodynamic Agriculture Australia (BAA) in Bellingen, for an interactive discussion on how biodynamic preparations are made and used, followed by a tour of NCO certified biodynamic Kiwi Down Under Organic Farm.

For dinner reservations and more information contact Lee Mastus on 08 7231 7703 or email Lee.Mastus@nasaa.com.au

OrganicsSeminar

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Fruit fly workshop

Fruit Fly Workshop ORICoop was successful in receiving a fruitfly grant from the Department of Agriculture (Vic), enabling Jade Miles (ORICoop Board Member) to pull together this combined great day in October!

If you are an organic grower, producer or backyard fruit grower, then come along and learn how we can manage fruit fly within the organic standards & be responsible fruit growers! And meet some ORICoop members in the process.

27 October 2019 in Seymour, Victoria

Lunch is included, & provided from mostly local & organic produce, by Cynthia Lim of Blue Tongue Berries.

We are excited about our upcoming AGM & the fruitfly workshop - you can book your tickets HERE.

FruitFly

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