Growth in African organic sector unity

Over 300 participants from 35 countries attended the second African organic conference “Mainstreaming Organic Agriculture in the African Development Agenda", held in Lusaka, Zambia, from 2 to 4 May 2012. The conference, organised by the IFOAM member Organic Producers and Processors Association of Zambia (OPPAZ) in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of Zambia, UNCTAD and Grow Organic Africa under the auspice of the African Union and IFOAM, was an excellent platform for experience sharing and discussion on best practices, standards, research, trade, policy formulation and other development initiatives, IFOAM reports. The conference had a number of important outcomes:
 

• The networking within African sub-regions was strengthened and the African Organic Network (AfroNet), the umbrella organisation uniting and representing African ecological/organic stakeholders, was institutionalised.

• Plans for strengthening the Network for Organic Agriculture Research in Africa (NOARA) were further developed.

• The participants agreed that organic agriculture can contribute to sustainable development, food security, poverty reduction, environmental security, climate change adaptation, human health, preservation of indigenous knowledge, plant varieties and animal breeds as well as socio-cultural development in Africa and called for increased support for African organic agriculture from technical, financial and institutional perspectives.

• A conference declaration was adopted and will be used to continue lobbying a comprehensive range of stakeholders capable of unlocking the potential that organic/ecological agriculture offers Africa.

The next African Organic Conference will be held in Nigeria in 2015. More information about the past conference is available here: www.africanorganicconference.com.