BY: GETHSEMANI MWIZABI AND ANNIE SAMPA,
EXPANDING Africa's shift towards organic
farming will be good for the continent's nutritional needs, the environment,
farmers' incomes, African markets and employment.
United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD) Deputy Secretary-General Petko Draganov said this recently
at the 2nd African Organic Conference in Lusaka Zambia.
The conference, attended by more than 300
participants from 40 countries, had the theme "Main-streaming organic
agriculture into the African development agenda."
No doubt, organic agriculture can offer an
impressive array of food security, economic, environmental, and health benefits
for developing countries, especially in Africa.
It has been clear for some years that organic
farming "fits" Africa. Organic agriculture does not use artificial
fertiliser and other chemicals, which are expensive for the continent's
farmers, as 90 per cent of these inputs are imported.
It preserves and enhances the soil in a
region where land degradation and expanding deserts are a serious concern.
It relies primarily on locally available
renewable resources, which shields farmers from price shocks associated with
external farming inputs; it frequently increases farm yields by 100 per cent or
more; and it brings higher prices to farmers, since organic produce sells at a
premium.
In addition, it helps create jobs in rural
regions - as organic inputs are usually produced locally - and helps to stem
the tide of migrants from rural areas to African cities.
The UNCTAD strongly supports the growing use
of organic farming practices on the continent.
Africa already has more certified organic
farms than any other continent - and noted that this form of agriculture comprehensively
illustrates the central topic of UNCTAD's just concluded quadrennial conference
in Doha, Qatar: 'Development-centred globalisation: Towards inclusive and
sustainable growth and development.'
Zambia's first Republican President Kenneth
Kaunda, patron of Organic Producers and Processers Association of Zambia
(OPPAZ) said "Organic agriculture is extremely important in human
life".
The former head of State who is passionate
about organic foods, encouraged the country to engage in organic agriculture.
The conference emphasised the importance of
food security, sustainable agriculture, and a transition towards a 'green'
economy.
It had among its objectives the development
of an African Organic Action Plan intended to spur expansion of the organic
farming sector, streamline certification and "organic equivalency"
systems that allow more vigorous trade in organic goods, and add to the
continent's markets for organic produce.
Organic agriculture in Africa is growing
rapidly. More than one million hectares of arable land and at least 530,000
farmers are certified according to organic standards in Africa.
Uganda and Ethiopia have each more than
100,000 certified organic farms and Tanzania has some 85,000. Most of the
certified organic production is sold for exports, but there are good organic
markets in South Africa and Egypt and emerging markets in countries such as
Senegal and Kenya. Many more farmers, from Morocco to Madagascar, from Cairo to
Cape Town, practice organic farming.
OPPAZ chief executive officer Munshimbwe
Chitalu who spoke on Ubuntu vis-à-vis organic agriculture, said Ubuntu
under-pinned organic agriculture which is farming in harmony with nature for
social justice and economic development in a sustained environment.
"Organic agriculture sustains the
fertility of soils, ecosystems and the health of the people. It also relies on
locally adapted improved ecological processes and cycles, and natural
biodiversity. It is therefore important that farmers are encouraged to practice
organic farming," said Zambia's Minister of Agriculture and Livestock
Emmanuel Chenda when he officiated at the conference.
The three-day Lusaka meeting was organised by
UNCTAD, Organic Producers and Processors Association of Zambia (OPPAZ), the
African Union, the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements
(IFOAM), the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and
Zambian Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock.
Yemi Akinbamijo, head of Agriculture and Food
Security from African Union Commission said, "Africa is food deficient,
which is why organic farming provides another way of improving food security on
the continent."
Manjo Smith of International Federation of
Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) said one of the achievements of the
conference was the establishment of the Southern African regional network that
would continue focus on organics in the region adding that there is a lot of
research being done on soil fertilisation which is very important for farmers.
She said governments should realise that this
is important to get into policies, my hope is for policy makers and governments
to understand that GMOs and chemical fertilisers is not an answer, we have seen
that organic agriculture is the answer for us because it increases organic production
and production of crops so much more in Africa. We can use the materials that
we have available.
And FAO representative in Zambia on behalf of
the UN Development System in Zambia said sustainable development has been a
major issue on the agenda of the UN system.
"In view of the urgency that climate
change is imposing on our communities and economies, we need to move into
action beyond our good intentions, policies and conferences to stop resources
degradation, wasteful consumption, negative habits and customs so that the
future generations are not disadvantaged," said Ad Spijkers.
He said organic agriculture needs to be
embraced in an integrated manner with climate change initiatives so that
positive synergies are built, harnessed, sustained and improved for the good of
our world and a better future.
Spijkers also stated that the UN Development
System in Zambia is engaging the Zambian Government in pursuing a green economy
through environmentally friendly farming practices and management of natural
resources as "our agriculture system is getting into Climate Smart
Agriculture with a focus on sustained and resilient production farming systems
that have minimum environmental effect to produce food and create jobs."
At the end of the conference participants
called on the European Union (EU) and other actors of the global trade partners
to take all possible steps to facilitate the participation of Africa in global
organic markets.
This includes a request to recognise as
equivalent the East African Organic Products Standard (EAOPS), which was
developed through a consultative regional public-private partnership and
adopted as the official East African Community organic standard in 2007.
In what they called the Lusaka Declaration on
Mainstreaming Organic Agriculture into the African Development Agenda, they
also applauded efforts made by the growing number of member States that have
embraced the concept of Organic Agriculture.
They urged African governments to include
organic agriculture in their policies and programmes, in consultation with the
organic/ecological agriculture stakeholders in their countries. The UNCTAD-UNEP
"Best Practices for Organic Policy" (UNCTAD/DITC/TED/2007/3) can
provide useful guidance.
They also came up with a six pillars of the
African Organic Action Plan which are:
1. Research, training and extension: To
conduct participatory, interdisciplinary, multi-cultural research that informs
stakeholder training and offers appropriate knowledge and skills and innovative
solutions to the community.
2. Information and communication: To
develop information and communication strategies to sensitise the stakeholders
and the general public on the value and practices of ecological organic
agriculture.
3. Value chain and market development: To
increase trade in ecological/organic products from Africa at domestic, regional
and export markets.
4. Networking and partnership: To strengthen
synergies among stakeholders and beneficiaries to support ecological organic
agriculture through networks and partnerships.
5. Supportive policies and programmes: To
support the development and implementation of enabling policies and programmes.
6. Institutional capacity development: To
establish, develop and support ecological/organic agriculture institutions in
Africa.
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