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ORFC Global 2021

Full Programme

This seven-day programme offers over 150 sessions that have been programmed with partners and farming communities from across six continents.  It includes a mix of talks, panel discussions, workshops and cultural events on everything from farm practice to climate justice to indigenous knowledge. Please take some time to explore!

Please note that although workshops are free to all registered delegates, separate, advance registration is required for all workshops, and spaces are limited. Workshop registration opened to all registered delegates from Tuesday, 29 December 2020 and was sent via email. Register early to avoid disappointment!

View a PDF of the full programme here

View a printable PDF programme here

Please note the times in the online programme below should display in your local time zone.

Panel Discussion

Speakers

Verónica Villa

Chair

Nnimmo Bassey

Languages

English, Español, Français

15:00 - 16:00 GMT
Tuesday, 12 January

Which Way Forward? Grassroots-led Conversations on the Role of Technology in the Food System

Global corporations claim their new technologies will benefit us all, but they could threaten us, particularly small-scale food producers and consumers. Even before COVID-19, the arrival of big data, synthetic biology, robotics and other tech were being hailed as the answers to hunger, climate change and even infectious disease. In the summer of 2020, ETC Group began convening conversations with, and among, civil society organisations, social movement allies and communities with whom we work. “Which…

Farm Practice
Panel Discussion
15:00 - 16:00 GMT
Tuesday, 12 January

The Value of Trees in a Hotter Climate

Co-hosted by MVArc (Portugal) and the Woodland Trust (UK)

Already we are seeing the difference in our weather patterns from climate change. Integrating trees within the farming system can buffer extremes by providing shade for crops and livestock. In this session, we will hear from speakers from the UK, Spain and the USA about the role of trees in a hotter climate, including practical management considerations and benefits for both livestock and crops. Can you…

Workshop

Speakers

Liz O’Neill

Ralph Underhill

Pat Thomas

Languages

English

15:00 - 16:30 GMT
Tuesday, 12 January

We’ve Been Framed: Changing the Way We Talk about GM to Address Urgent New Threats

ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED. LIMITED SPACES: 500

The rise of gene editing techniques, Brexit and other factors have turbo-charged the promotion of genetic modification (GM) in food and farming. At the same time, many of the words, images and metaphors used to oppose GM inadvertently reinforce beliefs and narratives that undermine the cause they are intended to serve. This workshop will help ORFC global delegates to understand the problem and become part of the solution.

GM…

Panel Discussion

Speakers

Guy Singh-Watson

Gabriela Delgado

Josiah Meldrum

Chair

Rob Haward

Languages

English, Español

16:00 - 17:00 GMT
Tuesday, 12 January

Why Ownership Matters

Conventional structures of business ownership have been shown to be completely incompatible with the needs of the planet and society. Short term profit motivated thinking has cost us dearly and the implications of veracious capitalism and the consumerist society that it has created are now coming home to roost. Urgent action is required and business needs to be a big part of this – they can’t just wait for customers to demand action from them.…

Panel Discussion

Speakers

Saulo Araujo

Deirdre (Dee) Woods

Gisèle Yasmeen

Chair

Colin Ray Anderson

Languages

English, Español

16:00 - 17:00 GMT
Tuesday, 12 January

In the Belly of the Beast: Organising for Food Sovereignty in the US and Beyond

This session will focus on the US Food Sovereignty Movement (USFSA) and the process of organizing for food sovereignty in the “Belly of the Beast”. We will think together about how we can work across boundaries, amongst different constituencies to mobilize for food sovereignty in contexts, like the US and the UK, from where industrial and corporate agriculture is consolidated and projected onto the world. This session is organized in the spirit of mutual learning…

Farm Practice
Workshop

Speakers

Gavin Towers

Philip Burgess

Amanda Frisby

Chair

Hugh Blogg

Languages

English

16:00 - 17:30 GMT
Tuesday, 12 January

Let’s Kick the Copper Habit: Promoting Blight Resistant Potatoes Within Retail

ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED. LIMITED SPACES: 500

How do we transition away from copper reliance in potato production? A look at the latest blight resistant potato varieties, a discussion on the barriers of getting these into the mainstream and how supermarkets could play a major role. How can we emulate the Netherlands covenant which transformed the organic potato sector?

Appealing to those interested in how we transition away from copper reliance in potato production, and building…

Farm Practice
Panel Discussion

Speakers

Will Harris

Emily Miles

Marisa Heath

Sara Grady

Alice Robinson

 

 

Chair

Patrick Holden

Languages

English, Italiano

17:00 - 18:00 GMT
Tuesday, 12 January

Making Small Abattoirs Sustainable

Abattoirs are the linchpins of local food and sustainable livestock systems, adding value to meat, serving local consumers, reducing distance to slaughter and producing traceable by-products. Organised by the Sustainable Food Trust, this session is chaired by CEO Patrick Holden who will outline the current situation in light of the Agriculture Bill, Covid and Brexit. The panel will then discuss what is needed to make small abattoirs sustainable for the future.

Beginning with Will Harris,…

Panel Discussion
17:00 - 18:00 GMT
Tuesday, 12 January

Healthy Soil, Healthy Food in Africa

Most soils across Africa are degrading and being lost to erosion. The conventional approach has been to push chemicals to ensure production. Research increasingly reveals that these chemicals contribute to killing soils, as well as causing harm to human health. Unfortunately, corporate and academic interests ensure a continuation of this ‘chemical life support system’.
During the last 50 years an increasing number of alternatives to the mainstream chemical approach have been emerging around the…

Workshop

Speakers

Didi Pershouse

Languages

English

17:00 - 19:00 GMT
Tuesday, 12 January

How Farms Can Soak up the Rain, Create Resilience to Flooding and Drought, and Improve the Health of Crops, Animals, and People

ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED. LIMITED SPACES: 500

Healthy topsoil forms a living matrix, a “soil sponge” that can soak up, hold, and filter rainwater, and maintain its structural integrity during water and wind events. This natural infrastructure makes life on land possible. By regenerating it, can address many of our major challenges:

- improve the health of crops, animals, and people
- provide resilience to flooding, drought, heatwaves, and wildfires
- recharge water tables