FiBL Germany is organised as a registered non-profit association and offers scientific expertise on current issues in organic agriculture and food industry. It conducts interdisciplinary and practice-oriented research together with farmers and experts from science and industry. This way, knowledge from research is swiftly transferred into practice.
FiBL currently has five focus areas in Germany
- Input List for Organic Production in Germany: Experts check whether inputs meet all requirements for organic farming in Germany. Positively assessed commercial products are published in the Input List.
- Animal Welfare: The current husbandry systems will be assessed together with practical farms and research institutions in application-oriented projekts and concepts for improving animal welfare will be developed.
- FiBL Academy: The training and further education of junior staff, advisory and control personnel, and practitioners in the organic food industry is realized through the FiBL Academy.
- The Organic Field Days are a new platform on which farmers can network and obtain comprehensive information about innovations in organic farming. The trade fair offers new products, machine demonstrations, and a lecture and cultural programme.
- Rural Areas and Value Chains: projects and services relating to the topic of "developing regional value chains" - from market analyses, networking of stakeholders and the conceptual design of marketing strategies to the active establishment of regional value chains.
A complete overview of the work areas can be found under the heading Work Areas.
Together with Stiftung Ökologie & Landbau (SÖL), Bioland, Naturland and Demeter, FiBL Deutschland e. V. is a shareholder of FiBL Projekte GmbH.
FiBL Germany (e.V. and GmbH) currently employs about 50 people. The board of FiBL e.V. consists of eleven persons.
We place great value on networking with stakeholders and organisations in the organic sector. FiBL Germany is a supporting member of the Bund Ökologische Lebensmittelwirtschaft (BÖLW) and a member of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM). There are strong cooperations with the Büro Lebensmittelkunde & Qualität (Office of Food Science & Quality), the Department of Organic Agriculture and Plant Production of the University of Kassel and the University of Gießen. FiBL Germany is also one of the initiators and founding members of the Association for the Promotion of the Employment of People with Disabilities in Agriculture.