18 of April 2023, Capua – Italy: IN.N.E.R. and GAOD meet the Biodynamic Federation Demeter International

On 18 April 2023 Salvatore Basile, President IN.N.E.R. and GAOD met at the Archaeological Museum of Capua the members of the Supervisory Board and the Executive Board of the Biodynamic Federation Demeter International (BFDI).

The meeting in Italy of the BFDI was strongly supported by the Supervisory Board and was based in Capua at the La Colombaia farm owned by Enrico Amico, President of Demeter Italia.

On the morning of the 18th, a discussion was held at the Archaeological Museum of Capua between the BFDI Supervisory Board, representatives of the three Italian associations belonging to the international federation (Demeter Italia, Associazione per l’Agricoltura Biodinamica and Arge) and representatives of IN.N.E.R. / GAOD (Salvatore Basile) and Coldiretti Bio (President Maria Letizia Gardoni and Director Francesco Giardina).

For the Supervisory Board were present: President Helmy Abouleish from Egypt, Vice-President Alexander Gerber from Germany, and Board members Regina Haller (Argentina), Edouard Rousseau (France), Maja Kolar (Slovenia), Bettina Holenstein (Switzerland), Jean-Michel Florin (France) and Ueli Hurter (Switzerland).

For the Executive Board: Christoph Simpfendörfer (Germany) and Alysoun Barrett Bolger (Great Britain). For Demeter Italy, in addition to president Enrico Amico, vice-president Alois Lageder and all the board members: Carlo Brivio, Paolo Fontanabona, Elisabetta Foradori, Marco Paravicini and Antonello Russo. The Biodynamic Association participated remotely with president Carlo Triarico and councillors Valentina Carlà Campa and Domenico Genovesi. For Arge, president Andreas Zuegg and councillors Bernhard Zuegg and Klaus Visintin were present.

In addition to meeting the Italian associations, the BFDI representatives during their visit were able to see how biodynamic agriculture is applied, starting with the Amico Bio farm. They were thus able to see the commitment, punctuality, precision, professionalism and passion with which Italian biodynamic farmers and their employees work not only in the production phase but also in the transformation processes.

Of course, there were also opportunities for cultural exploration such as a visit to the Capua museum, which houses archaeological finds from the Romanesque and pre-Romanesque periods, a visit to the Royal Palace of Caserta and a final tour to Naples, Pompeii and Sorrento, where a farm on the coast cultivating lemons and olives was also visited.

Salvatore Basile had the opportunity to meet Executive Board Chairman Christoph Simpfendörfer in South Korea, on the occasion of the International Organic EXPO 2022 IFOAM-Goesan, and a common desire to collaborate globally in the development of new Organic Districts was immediately born. Salvatore Basile also has a more than twenty-year acquaintance with Enrico Amico, owner of the farm La Colombaia and President of Demeter Italia, with whom he had the opportunity to share many good moments of organic development in Campania region..

Basile was very satisfied with the participation in the meeting and sees many future collaborations possible for the development of the Bio-Districts at international level.

18th of April 2023, Capua, Italy, Archaeological Museum, Salvatore Basile, Enrico Amico, Christoph Simpfendörfer