| |  | | March 2006, vol.1, no. 3 |
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- IFOAM launches East African standards project
Funding has been
recently acquired by IFOAM for a project to come up with a regional
organic standard for East Africa. The project will bring together many
differernt stakeholders in the organic movement, each of them playing
their part in what is a unique example of multi-sectoral cooperation,
and of how IFOAM unifies the movement.
The results of this
experiment in regional cooperation will have far-reacing repurcussions
and lessons for the development of organic agriculture in other parts
of Africa.. .
- IFOAM on committee of FAO organic export promotion project
The
AOSC represents IFOAM on the steering committee of a project being
implemented by the Food and Afgricultural Organization to promote the
export of organic and fair-trade produce from four countries in west
and central Africa.
The project allows small-scale farmers who
would normally have difficulty to access the booming European market
for organic and fair-trade products to do so. It assists groups of
farmers to meet the exacting quality and certification requirements of
this trade...
- AOSC up and running in Senegal
The move of the Africa Organic
Centre to Senegal is now complete. The task of setting up the office in
Dakar has been achieved and the center has begun to tackle the core
issues of its reason for existence...
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| | IFOAM launches East African standards project
| | | In March IFOAM launched
its Organic Standards in East Africa (OSEA) project in the Tanzanian city of Arusha. Funded by the Swedish International Development Agency,
the project's purpose is to have Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda adopt a
regional organic standard. It is hoped that it would be accepted by the
three countries as a replacement for their national standards.
This
would facilitate easier organic trade between the three countries and
help the region to attain the volumes required for better penetration
of the export market. It would also give East Africa a stronger
international voice in matters to do with organic trade.
The United Nations Conference on Trade and and Development (UNCTAD) and United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) have through their joint Capacity Building Forum (CBTF) also had a project that had a component promoting an East African regional organic standard. A Regional Standards Technical Working Group (RSTWG) to guide the process. The workshop was the ocassion for the second meeting of the group, the first having been held in Kampala in October 2005.
UNCTAD, UNEP and IFOAM announced at the workshop that they were now joining forces and bring their two separate regional standards projects under one umbrella, led by IFOAM. The combined project pools together the expertise and
experience of a wide range of stakeholders at the national and regional
level. UNCTAD's partner in each country is the ministry responsible for trade, while UNEP's is the ministry responsible for the environment. IFOAM's network includes the producers, processors, traders, certifiers, national movements and others who constitute the organic movement.
The CBTF project has initiated the standards work and had a regional structure in place. To this the OSEA project will add more resources to conduct national consultations, field testig of the standard, the development of a joint inspection between the various certifiers and a consumer education campaign once the standard is approved.
IFOAM is in charge of the overall coordiination and implementation of the project. The implementing period is years 2006 and 2007. It is hoped that if things move smoothly a regional standard could be adopted by mid-2007.
| | | | | IFOAM on committee of FAO export promotion project
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The AOSC is IFOAM's respresentative on a project executed by the
Food and Agricultural Organization to promote the export of produce
from a number of countries in west and central Africa. Funded by the
German government, the FAO project provides technical assistance to small
farmers and other players in the trade chain to help them gain organic and fair-trade certification in order
to access the European market.
The countries involved in the project
are Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana and Sierra Leone. The project is a
test-bed for what it is hoped can be replicated in other countries. It
will support household food security and income generation.
The emphasis is on products with high demand in the European market, as well as with a good potential for high added value. Those chosen for the project are tropical fruit (pineapple and mango), cocoa and shea butter. Project partners are farmer groups, processors, exporters and importers, local NGOs, representatives from governments and the organic and fair trade movements. A paritcipatory approach is being used and the project seeks to develop and strengthen long-term relationships between the African partners and importers in Europe.
| | | | | AOSC up and running in Senegal
| | | The move of the AOSC to Senegal began in December is now complete. The task of setting up the office has been achieved and the center has begun to tackle its core activities. With all its communication infrastructure finally in place, the Africa page of IFOAM's web-site is now being managed from Dakar, as is the production of this newsletter.
The organic movement in Senegal has welcomed the establishment of the AOSC in Dakar with open arms and given its full support. Some of the AOSC's initial local tasks have been to introduce itself to local IFOAM members and other organizations involved in sustainable development. Many new contacts are being made within the region, as well as the revival and strengthening of long-standing relationships.
Since the move to Senegal, the AOSC Coordinator has been at two important organic meetings to talk about the center's work. The first was at Biofach in Nuremberg, Germany in February. The AOSC moderated a discussion program in which several of IFOAM's partners in projects in Africa gave brief presentation of their work and how IFOAM was linked to their projects. It was attended by representatives of partner organizations and many members of the organic movement from Africa and beyond.
Among organizations whose representatives spoke at the AOSC forum were Grolink, to talk about its role in the OSEA project mentioned elsewhere in this letter. AgroEco was also represented in connection with its Export Promotion of Organic Products from Africa (EPOPA) project, which is linked to the UNCTAD/UNEP CBTF standards projects in East Africa that has now being joined together with the OSEA project. The Coordinator of the FAO organic/fair-trade export project also gave a summary of the project at this meeting. Others who spoke were a processor/exporter and a farmer who are participants in the EPOPA and FAO projects respectively. It was a good oppportunity to show the various ways in which IFOAM is involved in promoting organic agriculture in Africa.
Shortly after Biofach, the AOSC was represented by its Coordinator at the CBTF workshop in Arusha at which the OSEA project was officially launched, and where UNCTAD, UNEP and IFOAM announced their joining the two previosuly separate regional standards projects under one umbrella. Many contacts were made and it was another opportunity to explain how the AOSC would strive to assist the various organic initiatives taking place through its communication and networking vehicles.
Africa Organic Service Center
B.P. 45603 Fann
Dakar, Senegal
Tel/Fax 221-867-4021
Cell 221-455-2216
c.makunike@ifoam.org
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Email: h.bouagnimbeck@ifoam.org
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