Education

An important task in DARCOF II is to strengthen the interdisciplinary research education and at the same time contribute to the build up of expertise at the institutions that explicitly prioritises research in organic farming.

Training of researchers
To strengthen the education of researchers with qualifications in organic farming DARCOF offers supplementary funding of Ph.D. students in relevant areas. Eight scholarships have been awarded in DARCOF I. Nine new scholarships are to be awarded as a part of DARCOF II. Apart from the Ph.D. students, 36 master students have been attached to research projects in DARCOF I.

Post-graduate research school in organic farming
A post-graduate research school in organic farming has been in preparation since 1998. In the spring of 2001 "The Research School for Organic Agriculture and Food Systems" was finally approved. The school is established at the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University in cooperation with DARCOF.

The purpose of the school is to strengthen the quality of research education in organic farming. It will offer scientific courses as well as a network environment for post-graduate students in organic agriculture. The students are to be encouraged to interdisciplinary and wholeness-oriented work. And the school aims to reinforce the cooperation of students and supervisors in and across institutions.

Scientific workshops
Under the auspices of DARCOF, scientific workshops on a variety of technical aspects of organic farming are also convened. These workshops have different objectives, but generally they focus on the presentation and discussion of pressing problems in particular areas, and the formulation of research strategies for making progress in these areas.

Recent Danish workshops have discussed organic plant protection and nature quality in organic agriculture. Two international scientific workshops dealt with the designing and testing of crop rotations for organic farming and with ecological animal husbandry in the Nordic countries.