GENERAL INFORMATION

The overall objective of RELACS is to foster development and facilitate adoption of cost-effective and safe tools and technologies to reduce the dependency on and usage of contentious inputs in organic farming systems. RELACS will reduce the use of copper, mineral oil and manure from conventional farms, provide alternatives to replace excessive use of anthelmintics in ruminants, and reduce antibiotic use in dairy production and synthetic vitamins use in cattle, pig and poultry production.

GENERAL OBJECTIVE

Foster development and facilitate adoption of cost-effective and environmentally-safe tools and technologies, to phase out the dependency on and use of contentious inputs in organic farming systems.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

• Provide an overview of the use and critical evaluation of the need for external inputs in organic plant and animal production;
• Provide tools and techniques to reduce or gradually phase out copper, mineral oil, conventional manure, anthelmintics, antibiotics and synthetic vitamins, while building on previous projects;
• Evaluate products and management practices in different pedo-climatic and farming conditions in Europe, Tunisia, Egypt and Lebanon;
• Develop roadmaps for phasing out contentious inputs together with organic farmers, advisors, industry, scientists and policy makers;
• Reach out to farmers to ensure effective dissemination and adoption of the tools and techniques through farmer advisory networks in eleven European countries.

MAIN ACTIVITIES

• Provide an overview of the use and critical evaluation of the need for external inputs in organic plant and animal production;
• Provide tools and techniques to reduce or gradually phase out copper, mineral oil, conventional manure, anthelmintics, antibiotics and synthetic vitamins, while building on previous projects;
• Evaluate products and management practices in different pedo-climatic and farming conditions in Europe, Tunisia, Egypt and Lebanon;
• Develop roadmaps for phasing out contentious inputs together with organic farmers, advisors, industry, scientists and policy makers;
• Reach out to farmers to ensure effective dissemination and adoption of the tools and techniques through farmer advisory networks in eleven European countries.