Zambia: African Organic Conference

The second African Organic Conference (AOC2) ”Mainstreaming organic agriculture in the African development agenda” will take place in Lusaka, Zambia from 2 to 4 May 2012. The objective of the conference is to report and further promote mainstreaming of organic agriculture in African Government policies, in African intergovernmental organizations as well as among development partners. It is aimed at presenting successful small-scale organic agriculture projects and case studies in organic production including biodiversity and seed production, livestock, climate mitigation, demonstrating impacts on food security; presenting successful organic agriculture projects and case studies in marketing and trade of organic products, including how organic guarantee systems can be shaped to be supportive of both local, regional and external trade; and highlighting successful initiatives and case studies in public policy, research and sector development.

Based on this, the conference will propose ways ahead for organic agriculture to reach its full potential and contribute substantially to the African agriculture and development agenda. The AOC2 will build on the successes of the First African Organic Conference, at which more than 250 participants shared views on fast tracking sustainable development in Africa through harnessing organic agriculture and Bio-technology.
 

OPPAZ (Organic Producers and Processors Association of Zambia) requests proposals from practitioners and farmers, policymakers, scientists, researchers and other interested persons for presentation during the conference in Lusaka. Abstracts for oral-slide presentations (15 to 20 minutes) and poster presentations focusing on the following topics are welcome:

1.Organic policy development and implementation
2.Organization of and methodologies for research, training and extension in Africa
3.Practical application of organic agriculture
4.Organic market development
5.Organic guarantee systems
6.Climate change, mitigation, adaptation and resilience
7.Livestock production and holistic management

Apart from the general call for papers there is also a special call for the submission of case studies of successful organic projects in Sub-Saharan Africa covering the themes of the conference with a particular emphasis on the relevance for climate change, food security, poverty alleviation and Millennium Development Goals. Priority will be given to reports from Sub-Saharan Africa with a special emphasis on Southern and Western Africa. The deadline for the submission of abstracts is 31 January 2012. More information is available here