Travel Grant – Research and Education
Andrew Lawson (right) receives the travel grant from OTARE trustee Dr Paul Kristiansen
Overall cost:$1,000
Grant sought:$1,000
Donations:$1,000
Grant awarded:$1,000
In 2014, the OTARE Travel Grant went to Mr Andrew Lawson, a PhD student at UNE’s Australian Centre for Agriculture and Law (AgLaw), who was delighted to receive a Travel Grant awarded by the Organic Trust Australia – Research and Education.
This industry-funded award “will enable me to travel to Turkey to participate in the Organic World Congress in Istanbul in October 2014”, said Andrew. The Congress is held every three years by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM).
“I’m keen to learn more about how organic certification can assist farmers and non-farmers become more involved in managing agriculture’s impacts on the environment”, said Andrew.
Andrew LawsonAndrew Lawson (right) receives the travel grant from OTARE trustee Dr Paul Kristiansen.
Given the importance of international markets to Australian agriculture, Andrew added, “The OTARE grant gives me a wonderful opportunity to exchange ideas at one of the premier international forums for discussing sustainable agriculture” (see Andrew’s report).
Andrew’s PhD project focused on the experience of farmers participating in certification systems such as organic certification, and was part of the AgLa Centre’s collaborative research into innovations in rural environmental governance. His research was funded through an Australian Research Council Linkage Project, with a major organic organization – Australian Organic Ltd – as an industry linkage partner.
The next IFOAM Organic World Congress will take place from 9 to 11 November 2017 in New Delhi, India.