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| January 2010 |
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- The organic industry is now represented in the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in Ghana
- News from the Organic African Pavilion at BioFach 2010
- African farmers to benefit from organic farming manual
- The full diversity of Organic Agriculture
- The Ghana Organic Agriculture Network (GOAN) initiates a radio program to increase awareness of Organic Agriculture
- Training on principles and practices of Organic Agriculture in Nigeria
- Upcoming Organic Agriculture related events
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| | 1. The organic industry is now represented in the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in Ghana |
| | Considering the multiples benefits of Organic Agriculture and the growth of the organic sector in Ghana, a desk for Organic Agriculture has been established in the Ministry of Agriculture. The desk works as a contact point for Organic Agriculture to liaise between the government and the organic industry.
The desk plans to increase awareness of Organic Agriculture and build the capacity of officers of the Ministry of Agriculture at the district and regional levels, so that they can better serve the interests of organic farmers and support the further development of the organic sector in the country.
We congratulate the organic sector of Ghana for this achievement!
Please contact Samuel Adimado (adimadosam@yahoo.com), National Coordinator of the Ghana Organic Agriculture Network (GOAN), and Emilia Monney (eomonney@gmail.com), Desk Officer for Organic Agriculture, to learn about their experiences in the development process of this desk.
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| | 2. News from the Organic African Pavilion at BioFach 2010
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| | At this year’s BioFach, to be held from February 17 to 20 in Nuremberg, Germany, there will be again an African Pavilion (Hall 4: 340-450 and 440-450). It is still possible to book a stand in the pavilion. At present, 60 exhibitors from 16 African countries are registered. These are mainly exporters and national organic movements.
In addition to the pavilion, there will be a day-long African Symposium on February 19 about organic markets as motors for sustainability.
For more information about the African Organic Pavilion and the Symposium, visit: www.organicafricapavilion.com/.
All of you attending BioFach are also warmly invited to visit the IFOAM booth in Hall #1, Booth #330. Furthermore, we encourage you to participate in all of our events at BioFach.
A detailed program of all IFOAM’s events at BioFach is available at: www.ifoam.org/events/fairs.
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| | 3. African farmers to benefit from organic farming manual
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| | Harnessing the potential of Organic Agriculture to break Africa’s cycle of hunger and poverty, the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) recently launched its project to develop a field manual to help small African farmers adopt appropriate organic farming practices. The project is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which granted support the development of organic farming in Africa for the first time.
Working in partnership with IFOAM and national African organic agricultural movements, FiBL aims to devise practical farmer training methods that will configure organic farming knowledge into a dual-purposed, modular system designed for both trainers and small-scale farmers. The manual is tailored to the on-the-ground realities and learning constraints of the variable African rural environments. As such it will be an easy-to-use, extensively illustrated organic growing and crop management guide that can be used by illiterate or less educated farmers and can easily be used in farmer-to-farmer extension.
For more information, please contact Ged Buffee at: ged.buffee@fibl.org.
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| | 4. The full diversity of Organic Agriculture
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| | The term “Organic Agriculture” is often taken to mean only certified organic. However, IFOAM’s view of Organic Agriculture goes far beyond this narrow definition; IFOAM’s mission embraces the world-wide adoption of Organic Agriculture in its full diversity, including various forms of non-certified Organic Agriculture.
IFOAM regards any system that uses organic methods and is based on the Principles of Organic Agriculture, as ‘organic’ and any farmer practicing such a system as an ‘organic farmer’.
Organic Agriculture benefits farmers and society, well beyond the market place. IFOAM supports the adoption of Organic Agriculture regardless of whether the products are marketed as organic or not.
There are many African organic farmers for whom formal certification does not have any advantages: this is true for farmers who practice subsistence farming and do not engage in the market at all, and for farmers for whom the organic claim has little or no marketing value. These groups engage in Organic Agriculture because of benefits such as increased productivity, lower production costs, a healthier working environment, and other social, environmental, and economic sustainability considerations.
For farmers wanting to demonstrate the organic quality of their production to their buyers (whether for local or export markets), there are several possibilities such as third party certification, or Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS).
Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) are locally focused quality assurance systems. They certify producers based on active participation of stakeholders and are built on a foundation of trust, social networks and knowledge building and exchange. In Africa, PGS could become the primary means by which organic producers are certified and organized for supplying and expanding the local organic market. They are particularly appropriate for local markets and smallholder farmers due to low financial costs and less paperwork involved in the verification process.
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| | 5. The Ghana Organic Agriculture Network (GOAN) initiates a radio program to increase awareness of Organic Agriculture |
| | As part of its advocacy strategy, GOAN has initiated in collaboration with QUIN, an organic company in Ghana, a successful radio program called “Farmers' voice” to increase public awareness of Organic Agriculture. The radio program started last December and goes on air every Tuesday on Unique FM, a radio with nation-wide coverage.
For more information, please contact Ivy Sampah at: ivysampa@yahoo.com.
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| | 6. Training on principles and practices of Organic Agriculture in Nigeria |
| | Last December, the Nigerian Organic Agriculture Network (NOAN) organized, in collaboration with Eloc Farms Ltd. (Ghana) and with the support of IFOAM, a five-day training on Principles and Practices of Organic Agriculture. Some 25 participants attended, including farmers, agricultural extension officers, and government representatives.
After this training, selected participants planned to attend a follow up practical training of six months. It is planned that the acquisition of new farming skills will enable these farmers to create new opportunities and support others to enter organic farming.
For more information, please contact Dr. Olugbenga Adeoluwa at: adeoluwaoo@yahoo.com.
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| | 7. Upcoming Organic Agriculture related events
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| | Organic Africa Pavilion at BioFach 2010
February 17-20, 2010
Nuremberg, Germany
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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
© 2010 IFOAM - All rights reserved. International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) e.V.
Trial Court Bonn, Association Register no. 8726
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