The first meeting towards the harmonization process was held in Kampala, Uganda on October 20 2005, where the Regional Standard Technical Working Group (RSTWG) was formed. The working group has been meeting biannually to reflect upon outcomes of the National meetings where the standards are discussed by each country. A first and second draft were circulated widely for comment and regional inputs will be incorporated at the third RSTWG meeting to be held in Nairobi, Kenya in December 2006. Afterwards, the standard will be ready for field testing to be carried out in Uganda. Thereafter a final draft and results of the testing will be incorporated into the final standards and discussed before the standards can be implemented, which is scheduled for mid-2007. UNEP, UNCTAD-CBTF & IFOAM have played a key role in facilitating this whole process by co-financing the meetings and providing consultants and experts who have worked together with the East African Countries. Without them this process would not be achieved as concisely as it has and their support and insurmountable knowledge has gone a long way in making the regional standard a reality.

Fairtrade’s Timothy Ngom and Simon Mawele from the Mpongwe organics cooperative society admitted being very proud to be associated with fair-trade, but nonetheless noted that information about fairtrade is not readily available to those without internet access. It has also been a challenge to meet volume demands on fairtrade goods as they are a growing organization. Extensive documentation and procedures and lengthy conversion periods (annuals 2yrs Perennials 3 yrs) pose a challenge for their cooperative. Other challenges noted included poor roads, farmer geographical locations being too far apart, inadequately trained and committed staff and low initial organic yields. Workshop participants were from Zimbabwe, Malawi, South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia, Uganda, Germany and Zambia.

• An explanation of the role of the IFOAM Africa Office.
• The most recent and also archived issues of the newsletter Africa Organic News in both French and English.
• An overview of and links to existing organic movements in Africa and to on-going regional organic projects on the continent.
• Links to existing organic market surveys relevant to the marketing of African produce.
• Links to available virtual marketplaces for African organic produce.
• An overview of IFOAM Contact Points in Africa and links to their organizations.
• Links to IFOAM publications about organic agriculture in Africa, etc.

In the near future, the website will also host discussion forums open to the broad public on topics of relevance to Organic Agriculture in Africa. If you wish to contribute to the development of the website by sharing your ideas or proposing links to your project, publication, etc, then please contact aosc.coordinator@africa.org.  

Their contact information has been included below. They speak English, French and German.

Franz Joseph Witte
 
Rohstoffagentur Witte & Partner
Uppenbergstrasse 9
48149 Münster
Tel  + 49 251 1627837
Fax  + 49 251 2007685
info@rohstoffagentur.de
www.rohstoffagentur.de
DE-001-Öko-Kontrollstelle
D-NW-1-9567-D

• to give participants a better understanding of the international context for organic standards, certification and regulations
• to present the East African Organic Standard for regional stakeholders, international participants and the public
• to give invited international guests an understanding of the perspectives from East Africa

Participants are decision makers in the area of agriculture, trade and standardization, leaders in the organic sector in Africa and regional and international organizations active in East Africa.

Participation: Attendance is by invitation and there is no funding available for travel cost.
Participation in the Forum is free including the organic buffet dinner for selected participants. 

For those who would like to be considered, please apply by sending your full Name, the name of your organization, telephone number and email address to osea@grolink.se not later than 12 November 2006. 

NB:  Confirmation for participation will be sent no later than 1 December 2006.

Other Events:

In Nairobi Kenya:
OSEA Advisory Committee Meeting           10 & 16 December 2006
IFOAM Standards Committee Meeting        9 -11 December 2006
Policy Workshop                                      11 December 2006
The Regional Standards Working Group     14 & 15 December 2006
Africa Organic Advisory Committee           12 December 2006