International_EN

Are mosquitoes with gene drive soon to be released in West Africa?

International_EN Africa

Scientists at London's Imperial College have successfully tested mosquitoes with gene drive in the laboratory. They now plan to release GM mosquitoes in Burkina Faso in West Africa to combat malaria.

Cocoa conference: Hunger prices for cheap chocolate

International_EN Africa

"The cocoa sector will only be sustainable when farmers earn a living." This was stated in the Berlin Declaration adopted at the end of the 4th International Cocoa Conference that took place recently in the German capital. The three-day meeting of around 1,500 cocoa industry players focused on the continuing catastrophic living conditions of cocoa producers, particularly in West Africa. We took a closer look on the cocoa industry and on the organic sector.

Mediterranean countries with almost 7 million ha organic area

International_EN Africa

The Mediterranean Organic Agriculture Network (MOAN) collects and disseminates data on the organic sector in the Mediterranean region.

Sue Edwards has passed away

International_EN Africa

Sue Edwards was committed organic advocate and long-standing member of IFOAM - Organics International. “We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Sue Edwards”, says IFOAM.

Fairafric: crowdfunding for fair chocolate

International_EN Africa

The German-Ghanaian chocolate start-up fairafric has launched an investment campaign on the crowdinvestment platform Seedrs.

Ethiopia: first International Green Fair by NABU

International_EN Africa

The German environment and nature protection organisation NABU is hosting the first International Green Fair and field visits in the Kafa Biosphere Reserve in South-West Ethiopia.

Organic competence for smallholders in Africa and India

International_EN Africa

IFOAM Organics International, Naturland and FiBL are working together to build up organic competence in selected Green Innovation Centres.

UAE: Organic milk delivered to the door

International_EN Africa

Koita’s organic long-life milk is delivered by a new service: a milkman brings the milk daily to the door of people who ordered it, reports the newspaper The National (online).

SEKEM: Sustainability Report 2016 published

International_EN Africa

Recently, the Egyptian initiative SEKEM has published its tenth sustainability report. This report depicts SEKEM’s efforts for a sustainable development in areas such as economy, ecology, culture and society.

Fall in the price of cocoa – but not of organic cocoa

International_EN Africa

The producer price of cocoa has fallen by 40 % within one year. It is currently hovering between 1,800 and 1,900 US dollars per tonne. That's 1,600 to 1,700 euros – not enough for the cocoa farmers to live on. Do organic producers get more? Organic-Market.info asked organic cocoa importers and suppliers this question.

Pesticide-Free Cotton in Ethiopia

International_EN Africa

Tadesse Amera, Director of PAN Ethiopia, reports that since 2013 they have been working to support cotton farmers in Southern Ethiopia to adopt safer and more sustainable methods of growing pesticide-free cotton.

Transport: Followfood wants to offset CO₂

International_EN Africa

From the beginning of 2017  Followfood wants to compensate for CO₂ emissions caused by transporting its goods by planting trees in Uganda. 

Kenya: organic farming is productive and resource-conserving

International_EN Africa

A long-term study in Kenya shows that maize yields and nutrient uptake in the organic farming systems are quite similar to conventional systems. Due to premium prices, organic systems are more profitable for farmers than conventional ones. The study was carried out by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) in close cooperation with partners in Kenya.

Nigeria: Agency warns against consumption of genetically-modified foods

International_EN Africa

The National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) of Nigeria has warned the public of genetically-modified products that are on offer in some stores. None of the products has yet been approved for local and commercial consumption.

COP22: Manifesto for a Bio Morocco and for the Support for a Bio Africa

International_EN Africa

IFOAM President Andre Leu was speaker at the COP22 Green Zone debate by the federation of Moroccan organic agriculture professionals (FIMABIO) in Marrakech.

Regeneration Hub: new platform is launched

International_EN Africa

Regeneration International (RI) and Open Team, in partnership with 17 organizations launched The Regeneration Hub (RHub) at the COP22 Climate Summit.

Saudi Arabia: after the oil comes the green gold

International_EN Africa

Saudi Gazette announced the opening of the Saudi Agriculture & Saudi Agro Food 2016 Exhibition on the 2nd of October in the capital, Riyadh. Over 350 companies from more than 31 countries participate at the event.

Tribunal gathers evidence of Monsanto´s ecocide

International_EN Africa

The Monsanto Tribunal was held in the middle of October in The Hague. A panel of five prestigious judges listened to witnesses from all over the world. Lawyers, farmers, mothers, health experts and scientists made serious accusations against the American chemicals and seed corporation Monsanto. The aim is to incorporate ecocide into international law. The People´s Assembly, that was held in parallel to the Tribunal, has already  “condemned“ Monsanto (watch the videos). More reports from The Hague.

Empowering small farmers and advocating for their interests

International_EN Africa

IFAD Annual report 2015 has recently been published in order to explain about their work, investments and results.

Organic methods to save Egyptian agriculture

International_EN Africa

In the last 20 years the Egyptian government has promoted heavily the expansion of agricultural land into the “Newlands” located in the desert.

Anti-GMO March and Protest Movement against Monsanto

International_EN Africa

On the 21st of May 2016, South Africans will once again unite, in numerous cities throughout the country, to protest Monsanto’s aggressive attempts to force genetically modified organisms.

Tradin Organic: new projects for sourcing organic cocoa

International_EN Africa

Since the 1980’s, Tradin Organic have been active in sourcing organic cocoa and is developing new projects each year. In 2015, some of the new origins added to the project list were Peru and Sierra Leone.

UK: Leading businesses back Fairtrade Fortnight

International_EN Africa

BioTropic sets up projects in West Africa and the Dominican Republic

International_EN Africa

As an importer operating in many countries in four continents, BioTropic GmbH is continuing to create cropping projects of its own, plus projects for processed products.

Gourmet Gardens: Vanilla from congolese women small holders

International_EN Africa