African Organic Product Standards for the African Continent? Prospects and Limitations (original) (raw)

Achieving social and economic development in africa through ecological and organic agricultural alternatives. Proceedings of the plenary presentations of the 3rd african organic conference

3. African Organic Conference (AOC), 2015

This publication, Achieving Social and Economic Development in Africa through Ecological and Organic Agricultural Alternatives, is a follow up to FAO's 2013 publication Organic Agriculture: African Experiences in Resilience and Sustainability. It follows firstly, because it reports on the progress made since the Lusaka Conference in 2012, but secondly, because it pushes forward our understanding of how ecological organic agriculture contribute not only to agricultural and ecosystem development, but also to social and economic developments. In Lagos, we learned that Ecological organic agriculture (EOA) "has a significant role to play in addressing the pressing problems of poverty, food insecurity, land degradation, market access, food safety and climate change in Africa. Ecological organic farming systems increase yields, are resilient to climate change effects and are cost-effective. Further, EOA is climate smart, preserves biodiversity, provides ecosystem services, and produces lower carbon emissions." Both of these lessons remain pertinent to our ability to meet the new Sustainable Development Goals to eliminate global hunger and malnutrition. This publication gathers together in one volume the plenary papers presented during the Third African Organic Conference that took place in Lagos, Nigeria from 5-9 October, 2015. The different chapters document the institutional support that is developing across Africa to ensure that research, markets, and policies can contribute to the positive developmental impact of ecological organic agriculture. Together, they provide information about the status of ongoing initiatives to develop continent wide policy supports, national approaches and local innovations. A core theme of the event was the value of organic trade globally and the particular importance of focusing attention towards deepening access to national, regional and global markets for ecological and organic products. The topics addressed in this volume reiterate the contribution of farmers, consumers, researchers, educators, public officials, civil servants, policy-makers, entrepreneurs, financiers and other promoters of ecological organic agriculture to reducing food insecurity and rural poverty, by making agriculture, forestry and fisheries more sustainable and productive, enabling the creation of sustainable food systems and increasing the overall resilience of farmers' livelihoods. Thus, FAO remains committed to promoting this type of work, and is in the process of placing ecological organic agriculture on the global agenda for agricultural development and policy through its series of International and Regional Symposia on Agroecology for Food Security and Nutrition in 2014-2015. In partnership with the main organizers of the conference [Association of Organic Agriculture Practitioners of Nigeria (NOAN), Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nigeria, African Organic Network (AfrONet), African Union Commission and IFOAM Organics International] the FAO is pleased to keep the dialogue open on the importance of ecologic and organic agriculture in Africa and encourages all partners to continue to work towards our collective goals of social and economic development in Africa.

Organic agriculture development strategies in Tunisia and Uganda: Lessons for African organics

The core objective of this thesis was to draw lessons from the factors of success that underlie the development of Tunisian and Ugandan organic sectors to advance recommendations that can help spur the development of African organics. The study drew on secondary data obtained from an array of sources, supplemented with clarifying information obtained through phone discussions and email exchanges with organic stakeholders in the two countries. The study framed broad and specific questions aimed at identifying and explaining the roles played by different stakeholders, governmental and non-governmental, in fostering the development of the organic sectors in the two countries. Also, the questions enabled the study to identify and account for the roles of organic standards/regulations and certification, organic policies and action plans, organic market development and awareness creation, and organic research, training and extension service in the evolution of Tunisian and Ugandan organic sectors as the most successful in Africa and as one of the world’s most highly ranked. Specific lessons included the need to create effective and well-structured institutions at all levels of the organic value chain. These include institutions that will serve as national organic umbrella bodies and other that will undertake activities and provide services such as organic certification and inspection, organic standards development and policy formulation, organic market development and awareness creation, organic research, training and outreach. A mix of state and market was also recommended as a way to advance the development of African organics.

Organic Agriculture and Food Security: The Story of Africa

Global food security problem has raise concerns on the best agricultural practices that will stand the test of time to replace the already failing conventional agriculture. Yields are reportedly decreasing despite the increasing use of imputes. In the quest of solving this problem, researches have revealed that organic agriculture can get the needed results in a more sustainable manner. Activists of organic agriculture are therefore of the view that it is the best option for food sustainability especially in developing worlds like Africa. Critics also think organic agriculture is a sort of luxurious lifestyle being champion by some few rich consumers at the expense of the vulnerable majority. It is therefore unclear whether organic agriculture is the answer to Africa’s food crisis. It was shown by literature that organic agriculture is the best model of agriculture for Africa in tackling the food needs of the continent. The superiority of organic agriculture over conventional agriculture was seen in its high yielding crops, high nutrient food produced, less energy consumption and less greenhouse gas produced during production, high drought and flood resistant crops with an overall positive impact on the ecosystem. However, challenges such as lack of national organic agriculture policies, low/no research in organic agriculture, high cost of organic certification and imputes, high illiteracy rate, and under developed markets in most African countries hampers widespread adoption of organic agriculture in Africa. Until these challenges are addressed by governments of African countries, organic agriculture cannot be the answer to Africa’s food crises.

Factors influencing organic agriculture policies with a focus on developing countries

IFOAM 2000 Scientific Conference, Basel, Switzerland, 2000

Organic agriculture is frequently understood as a system of food production and consumption proper to environmentally-and health-conscious people of the developed world. The main drive of many developing countries to produce organic food and fibres is to tap market opportunities in developed nations.

Advancing Organic Agriculture Research in Africa—A Case Study of the Science Track of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th African Organic Conferences (AOCs)

Sustainability

The development of certified organic agriculture in Africa has been partly impeded by limited sound science-based information to tackle multifarious challenges facing the subsector along the value chains. Robust and well-articulated research strategies are key to driving this desired development. Therefore, a case study was carried out to appraise the science track of the last four African Organic Conferences (AOCs) with a view to identifying the direction of research activities in the continent across the regions and suggest areas presently being overlooked. Out of the 251 research papers evaluated, the majority were dealing with agronomy (41.4%) and socioeconomic (16.3%) aspects during the four editions of AOC. Research areas largely overlooked include organic aquaculture, policy issues, standards and certification, cross-disciplinary and participatory research methods, health and safety of organic products and research methodology. Papers presented at the AOCs were spread across ...

Exploring the Drivers and Barriers of Organic Food Consumption in Africa

This literature review aims to investigate the factors influencing organic food consumption in Africa, with a focus on 10 countries. The study explores the drivers and barriers of organic food adoption, including economic, social, cultural, and environmental factors. The review highlights the need for a comprehensive understanding of these factors to inform policies and programs promoting sustainable agriculture and healthy eating habits in Africa.

Global Governance for Environmentally Sustainable Food Systems: Certified Organics in a North – South and South-South Perspective

2010

Challenged to consume with less environmental impact, consumers buy certified organic products to “proxy” environmental governance. The paper explores how far certified organic agriculture is institutionally embedded in Brazil, China, and Egypt. The three case studies illustrate how regulation, including standard-setting and certification processes differ between south and north, in terms of the evolution and nature of certification, as well as stakeholders and agency involved in shaping the regulation. A comparative analysis is presented on south-south differences in this regard along with some possible explanations of these. The paper finally discusses the perspectives in the global success of organic certification and whether it has potential to transform global agriculture towards higher overall levels of sustainability.

Organic agriculture in Africa: A critical review from a multidisciplinary perspective

Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Tropics and Subtropics

Climate change, soil degradation and an increase of health problems impede a sustainable development of livelihoods in rural areas in (sub) tropical regions all over the world. Prevalent traditional farming systems have been replaced and modified by the Green Revolution, LEISA (low external input sustainable agriculture) and agroforestry systems.

Setting and reviewing standards for organic farming

Burleigh Dodds series in agricultural science, 2018

One of the cornerstones of organic farming is the fact that it is governed by clear standards which are legally protected in many parts of the world, but there is concern that the current certification system does not fully safeguard the objectives and principles of the movement and encourage further improvements in sustainability. The chapter provides a brief history of organic standard development, and introduces the values and principles of organic farming that have guided this process. A section on how organic farming is regulated discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the different types of rules that are currently used to achieve common objectives, such as prohibitions or obligations to use specified inputs and practices. The final section explores whether trends in sustainability assessment could help to close the gap between ambition and rules, concluding that research can improve the evidence base, evaluate the impact of standards and gain a better understanding of the barriers that prevent new producers of converting to organic farming.