Co-operation

In 2007, we initiated a comprehensive research project with FiBL and the bioRe Association. The project is a long-term comparison of four different farming methods in India, i.e. biodynamic, organic, and conventional farming as well as GMO seeds. Read more

The long-term systems comparison in India is funded by SDC, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Coop sustainability fund, and carried out within the scope of System Comparison Trial, an international research project.

More on FiBL
More on Syscom (systems comparison)
More on POR (participatory on-farm research)

Evaluation of non-GMO cotton seeds is one of the bioRe Foundation’s significant projects. This seeds project is aimed at supplying high-quality organic and non-GMO seeds to farmers so as to promote their independence, among other things.

The project is carried out in co-operation with Dharwad University. It was built up together with FiBL, the Swiss Research Institute of Organic Agriculture.

With the support of Helvetas and SDC, the bioRe Foundation and Remei India Ltd. are conducting a project for the promotion of water productivity and drought-resistant types of cotton (WAPRO project).
Read more

Co-operation partners: Helvetas and SDC, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

Together with IZB, the Institute for International Cooperation in Education, of the University of Teacher Education of Zug, Switzerland, we conduct exchange programmes for would-be teachers. Students from this university have gone on exchanges to work as trainees in animation schools in India and regular schools in Tanzania since 2006 and 2013 respectively. Around 40 would-be teachers have been involved in the bioRe Foundation’s projects so far. Read more

For the purposes of developing and verifying the bioRe® Standards, the bioRe® Foundation works with FLO-CERT, an external auditing and certification agency for Fairtrade standards.
“So we work with the best agency for the verification of fairness criteria for smallholders. We were looking for a well-informed and experienced sparring partner to sharpen our minds and define our standards so as to find the best and most sustainable solution for smallholders,” explains Christa Suter, former Managing Director of the bioRe Foundation.

Textile Exchange, a global network for sustainable textile production, promotes textiles from organic cotton. The bioRe Foundation is part of this network. It is represented specifically in the Pan-African Sourcing Group, which identifies and promotes synergies among organic-cotton projects in Africa. Raising awareness of the progress of genetically modified cotton in African countries among decision-makers in the textile market and the public at large is a significant result of this co-operation (seeWhitepaper).

In co-operation with George Washington University’s School of International Affairs, we conducted a reforestation study in Tanzania. The study team evaluated the most suitable technical design of sustainable reforestation in the project region of Meatu, Tanzania.