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- Meet IFOAM at BioFach 2013
- Burundi organic agriculture week: Increased awareness of the diversity
of organic consumption and production models and their multiple benefits
- Benin international workshop on organic certification
- IFOAM advocates for organic agriculture at the African Union
- Institute of Sustainable Development to support the development of the Ethiopian Association for Organic Agriculture
- Ibadan Organic Farmers Market launched in Nigeria
- New Book Release: Organic Agriculture for Sustainable Livelihoods
- Upcoming organic agriculture-related events
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| | 1. Meet IFOAM at BioFach 2013 | | | BioFach 2013, the largest International Organic Fair, will take place from February 13-16, 2013 in Nuremberg. During these four days, IFOAM will organize a series of events to share information and some of the latest debates in the Organic World. The detailed program of the IFOAM Congress sessions will be available soon on the IFOAM website.
IFOAM’s staff will also warmly welcome you in Hall #1, Booth #240. We will be happy to inform you about IFOAM's work, introduce you to our new publications, or process your membership fee payment for 2013.
In the wake of IFOAM’s 40th Anniversary last November and in anticipation of the IFOAM EU Group’s celebration of its 10th year of existence this coming November, we also invite you to come and celebrate at our booth on Thursday, February 16, where drinks and snacks will be served.
For more information about IFOAM's participation at BioFach 2013, please contact Cristina Andrei, c.andrei@ifoam.org.
| | | | | 2. Burundi organic agriculture week: Increased awareness of the diversity
of organic consumption and production models and their multiple benefits
| | | Last November, the IFOAM OSEA II Project successfully organized a Burundi organic week in Bujumbura, Burundi. The program had a good mix of sensitization workshop, field trip & gala dinner with influential government stakeholders; OSEA internal meetings and capacity building workshops for traders, NGOs and donors.
The event aimed at increasing awareness of the opportunities presented by organic production and trade in the context of increasing food security and improving livelihoods in Burundi. It also provided an excellent platform for experience sharing and discussion on best practices, trade, sector mobilization, local and regional market development as well as supporting the Burundi Organic Agriculture Movement (BOAM) and other local stakeholders in their efforts of mainstreaming organic agriculture into national policies and development programs.
The OSEA II Project is implemented by IFOAM and the National Organic Agriculture Movements in Burundi (BOAM), Kenya (KOAN), Rwanda (ROAM), Tanzania (TOAM) and Uganda (NOGAMU) in close cooperation with organic stakeholders and governments in East African. It is financed by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Sida. IFOAM contracted Grolink for the Project Management and Gunnar Rundgren is the Project Leader.
More information: http://www.ifoam.org/partners/projects/osea.html.
| | | | | 3. Benin international workshop on organic certification
| | | At the end of November, the West African Network for Organic Agriculture Research and Training (WANOART) held a full-week workshop on organic certification in Benin. The event was funded by the European Union through a project managed by Coventry University in the UK, and by SSNC (Swedish Society for Nature Conservation) through a project managed by IFOAM. It gathered 28 participants, including scientists, farmers, national and international NGO representatives and other stakeholders from 9 countries (Benin, Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Togo, Germany, Senegal and UK) eager to learn more about and discuss the topic.
Participants of the workshop shared information about the status of development of organic agriculture in their countries, and about their main challenges to develop the sector. IFOAM was also represented at the workshop, by Joelle Katto-Andrighetto, Value Chain Manager, who provided information on Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) and their challenges and opportunities, as well as those of third party certification. Participants had extensive group work focused on the steps needed for the development and promotion of PGS in the West Africa region. Finally, participants worked on the detailed development of a regional curriculum for a university program on organic agriculture.
The workshop concluded a 3-year project centered on regional cooperation in higher education. It was amazing to see how the participants, representing the newly formed WANOART network, could communicate in both French and English (the region has both Francophone and Anglophone countries) to advance regional priorities. PGS also generated a lot of enthusiasm and ideas for future development of regional organic marketing to complement export activities and give consumers access to organic products within the region.
For more information, please contact: Dr Emile N. HOUNGBO, enomh2@yahoo.fr, and Dr. Valentin KINDOMIHOU, kindomihou@gmail.com.
| | | | | 4. IFOAM advocates for organic agriculture at the African Union
| | | Last December, organic ambassadors from IFOAM, AFRONET (African
Organic Network) - the umbrella organization uniting and representing
African ecological/organic stakeholders - the Institute for Sustainable
Development (ISD) in Ethiopia and UNCTAD strengthened the recognition of
organic agriculture within the African community through participation
at the African Union Commission’s Joint Ministerial Conference for
Agriculture and Trade and a successful Ministerial level dinner at the
AUC Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The Ministerial level
dinner organized by UNCTAD and funded by the Millennium Institute in
conjunction with IFOAM was aimed at increasing awareness of the
opportunities presented by organic production and trade in the context
of increasing food security and improving livelihoods in Africa. It
brought together some 120 participants, including H.E. Tumusiime Rhoda
Peace, AU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Economy, H.E. Fatima H.
Acyl, AU Commissioner for Trade and Industry, African trade and
agricultural ministers and experts as well as African and international
stakeholders and development partners.
IFOAM was represented at the
event by IFOAM President Andre Leu and IFOAM’s Organic for Africa!
Coordinator Hervé Bouagnimbeck.
| | | | | 5. Institute of Sustainable Development to support the development of the Ethiopian Association for Organic Agriculture
| | | IFOAM President Andre Leu, IFOAM’s Organic for Africa! Coordinator Hervé Bouagnimbeck and AFRONET Interim President Jordan Gama attended a meeting organized by the Institute of Sustainable Development (ISD) with organic stakeholders in Ethiopia to discuss how to revive the Ethiopian Association of Organic Agriculture (EAOA).
The key outcome of the meeting was the agreement that ISD to take lead and develop an action plan for the revival of the association.
The development and strengthening of national organic platforms in Africa is critical for the long-term success of organic production in Africa. Umbrella organizations represent the organic sector at the national and international level, link stakeholders and make efforts to promote and get recognition for organic agriculture among farmers groups, NGOs, governments and intergovernmental organizations, and development organizations.
For more information, please contact Azeb Worku, azworku@yahoo.com.
| | | | | 6. Ibadan Organic Farmers Market launched in Nigeria | | | Ibadan Organic Farmers Market was launched in December by the Association of Organic Agriculture Practitioners of Nigeria – NOAN (formerly Nigerian Organic Agriculture Network), the umbrella body for organic agriculture in Nigeria . The market launch was chaired by a representative of the Honorable Commissioner of Agriculture and Rural Development, Oyo State, Nigeria.
The market is an output of the Value Chain and Market Development component of the Ecological Organic Agriculture (EOA) initiative being supported by the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC) through the National Organic Agricultural Movement of Uganda (NOGAMU).
Nigeria is among the six countries in which the EOA initiative is being piloted in Africa. The market operates every Saturday serving organic farmer groups in Oyo and Osun States of Nigeria and strategically targets up to 10 % of the estimated 7.5 million residents of Ibadan.
It is envisaged that the launch of the market will stimulate development of similar organic market outlets in Nigeria. Since its launch the market volume has been increasing steadily each week with more organic farmers encouraged to bring their produce to the market to meet the growing demand of local customers. Fruits and vegetables are currently the thrust of this market outlet.
For more information, please contact Dr. Olugbenga O. AdeOluwa, adeoluwaoo@yahoo.com.
| | | | | 7. New Book Release: Organic Agriculture for Sustainable Livelihoods
| | | The book "Organic Agriculture for Sustainable Livelihoods", edited by Niels Halberg, ICROFS, and Adrian Müller, FiBL, was recently published by Routledge. The book contains African cases and is an important tool for advocating for the Organic Alternative for Africa.
The book provides a timely analysis and assessment of the potential of organic agriculture (OA) for rural development and the improvement of livelihoods. It focuses on smallholders in developing countries and in countries of economic transition, but there is also coverage of and comparisons with developed countries. It covers market-oriented approaches and challenges for OA as part of high value chains and as an agro-ecologically based development for improving food security. It demonstrates the often unrecognized roles that organic farming can play in climate change, food security and sovereignty, carbon sequestration, cost internalizations, ecosystems services, human health and the restoration of degraded landscapes.
For more information, visit: http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9781849712965/
| | | | | 8. Upcoming organic agriculture-related events
| | | First International Conference on Organic Agriculture Research and Training
March 18-22, 2013
Njala University, Njala, Sierra Leone
For more information: Sloaconf2013@gmail.com or +232-76-615229 / +232-33-615229.
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Email: h.bouagnimbeck@ifoam.org
Head Office Contact Information
Charles-de-Gaulle-Str. 5
53113 Bonn, Germany
Tel: +49-228-92650-10
Fax: +49-228-92650-99
Email: headoffice@ifoam.org
http://www.ifoam.org
© 2013 IFOAM - All rights reserved. International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) e.V.
Trial Court Bonn, Association Register no. 8726
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