INOFO was founded in 2008 as a self-organised structure of organic farmer organisations within the IFOAM Organics International Network. In 2011, the first INOFO General Assembly was held in South Korea.
In 2014, a capacity development program was initiated through the IFOAM OI Academy, funded by IFAD. Representatives from the Global South participated in Leadership Workshops to develop a connection between organic farmer organisations worldwide.
Arising from these workshops, INOFO General Assemblies were conducted as pre-events during the Organic World Conferences in Turkey (2014) and India (2017), respectively, and a Council of Convenors were elected to take the network forward.
Ad Hoc regional meetings were held and INOFO was brought into the advocacy representation through IFOAM Organics International. Shamika Mone, elected President of INOFO, initiated the engagement of INOFO and Andreas Hermes Akademie for assistance in further developing INOFO, its reach and impact.
Since 2018, this collaboration and its focus on organisational development has enabled INOFO, through the active participation of all Council of Convenors, to develop its existing structure and positioning itself within the IFOAM Network since 2018.
INOFO developed a global structure and since 2021 with six regional INOFO bodies covering the entire globe.
Once our vision and mission statement had been approved by the General Assembly, the Council embarked on the strategic plan that supported the needs of farmer organisations. As this is a participatory process and requires the input directly from organic farmer organisations – its membership – the strategy has been developed and ratified by the membership through the Council of Convenors. The succession will be developed and submitted for approval at the next General Assembly which will be in 2024.
At the General Assembly in 2021, the Board of Continents’ mandate allowed to draft this strategic plan, building on the work from the previous Council Members and aligning with the IFOAM Network strategic plan. The Board would like to thank all for their participation in the development of the strategic plan, to date.