The Asian Local Governments for Organic Agriculture (ALGOA), an initiative of IFOAM-Organics Asia was established in September 2015 and is unique within the world organic family. The local governments in most Asian countries are playing a more important role in the economic, ecological and social development of their respective areas. For the development of organic agriculture movements, the support from local governments is so critical to setting up organic technical platforms, implementing incentive policies, providing training opportunities to organic stakeholders, introducing good experience from outside, helping the organization of small farmers, promoting organic education in schools, etc.

Under the generous support of Goesan County, South Korea and with the close cooperation and participation of local governments in Asia, ALGOA has accomplished significant achievements since its beginning, such as organizing the annual Organic Foundation Courses which have trained more than two hundred organic activists and leaders. The annual ALGOA Summits enables the exchange of experience and cooperation between local governments and other stakeholders in Asia.

In the international arena, ALGOA works actively with like-minded organizations like the International Network of Eco-regions and other inter-governmental organizations. Such cooperation led to the formation of the Global Alliance of Organic Districts (GAOD), a global action network for cooperation among local governments for developing organic agriculture in the world.

I would like to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt gratitude to all our friends especially Goesan County for their generous support of the works of ALGOA over the years.

ZHOU Zejiang,
President of IFOAM Asia