ICROFS

The International Centre for Research in Organic Food Systems (ICROFS) was founded in 2008. The centre is an expansion of the former Danish Agricultural Research Centre for Organic Farming (DARCOF), which the Danish Government decided to provide with an international mandate and an international board. The vision of ICROFS or the "Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG)" is that "the principles of organic agriculture have become a global reference for sustainability in agriculture and food systems due to evidence based on research and adaptive management."

A centre without walls

The International Centre for Research in Organic Food Systems (ICROFS) is a "centre without walls," where the research is performed in interdisciplinary collaboration between research groups in different institutions and universities. The Centre will contribute to the coordination, management and performance of strategic and user oriented, high quality research at the national as well as the international level, on the basis of the organic philosophy and organic principles and issues.

Organisation

ICROFS is headed by a Board of directors consisting of research leaders and stakeholders from Asia, Africa, America, Europe, and Denmark. The board will develop and evaluate the Centre's vision and strategy for enhancing international research in organic food systems. Further, to oversee and advise on the Centre's national research and development activities in Denmark, a Danish programme committee has been appointed, with representatives from universities, farmers' associations and NGOs affiliated with organic farming. As the coordinating centre for Danish research in organic farming, researchers working on the so-called DARCOF III research projects remain in their own research environment but collaborate across institutes. This type of collaboration currently implicates about 100 research scientists working at nearly 20 different institutes. The ICROFS secretariat consists of eight scientific and communication staff.

Activities

The secretariat of ICROFS initiates, coordinates, and participates in national and international research activities in organic farming and food systems. It is also very active in disseminating organic research results and knowledge on the importance of organic food systems to the environment, nature and biodiversity, animal welfare, health, food safety and quality, economy, structural and market development as well as social significance. Moreover, the Centre promotes understanding of the characteristics of organic food systems and contributes to a knowledge-based development of organic food systems, nationally and internationally.