Nairobi, Kenya
December 13, 2006
The second draft of an East
African Organic Standard will be presented to the public on 13
December in Nairobi at the first Organic Standards Forum to be
organized in Africa. The Kenyan Agriculture Secretary, Dr.
Wilson Songa, will open the forum, which is part of a week-long
series of events focusing on organic agriculture in East Africa.
The standard is being developed by a public-private partnership
made up of East African businesses, Government Bureaus, Organic
Movements and Certification bodies, in cooperation with the
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the
United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the
International Federation of
Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM).
It is expected that the standard,
once finalized, will boost organic trade and market development
in the region, define a common vision of organic agriculture in
East Africa, raise awareness about organic produce among farmers
and consumers, enable economies of scale in training materials
and certification, and create a unified negotiating position
that should help organic farmers win access to export markets.
It is also expected to influence international organic standard
setting processes.
"The East African Organic Standard will be a powerful tool to
promote organic agriculture in the region and ultimately bring
social, environmental and economic benefits to the people of
East Africa," said Gunnar Rundgren, IFOAM project leader.
The standard is being developed by a regional public-private
sector working group whose members include representatives of
the national bureaus of standards, national organic movements
and organic certifying bodies of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda,
Burundi and Rwanda, and the East African Business Council. There
have been several rounds of national multi-stakeholder
consultations, and field testing has been carried out. On 14-15
December, the Regional Standard Technical Working Group (RSTWG)
will consider comments received on the second draft of the
standard following wide circulation and consultation.
Innovative public-private work on the project is also taking
place at regional and national levels among members of a
self-proclaimed "East African Organic Team," which is open to
all who are interested in the sector’s development.
Organic agriculture is a holistic production management system
which enhances agro-ecosystem health, utilizing both traditional
and scientific knowledge. Organic Agricultural systems rely on
ecosystem management rather than external agricultural inputs.
East Africa currently leads the continent in exports of
certified organic products. Organic produce generally sells at
premium prices in overseas markets and wins higher profits for
farmers. Domestic markets are also growing rapidly, in part
through the efforts of the Kenyan Organic Agriculture Network
(KOAN), the Tanzanian Organic Agriculture Movement (TOAM) and
the National Organic Movement of Uganda (NOGAMU). Recently
governments in the region have been throwing their support
behind efforts to expand the sector.
A UNEP-UNCTAD Capacity Building Task Force on Trade, Environment
and Development (CBTF)-IFOAM East Africa Organic Policy Workshop
on 11 December provided a platform for dialogue among those
developing policies to promote organic agriculture. Selected
experts from other African countries and international
organizations shared their experiences.
Inputs to the Policy Workshop include UNCTAD’s Trade and
Environment Review 2006 and research carried out under the CBTF
East Africa Organic Project, particularly a study on best
practices for government organic policies and initial findings
of integrated assessment projects in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
These assessment projects analyze the environmental, social and
economic impacts of different policy options.
The Standards Forum, Policy Workshop and RSTWG are part of a
series of organic agriculture-related events organized by CBTF
and IFOAM for 10-16 December at the Stanley Hotel in Nairobi.
Other events include meetings of the IFOAM Standards Committee,
including a joint session with the RSTWG to discuss
international private sector acceptance of the organic standard,
and a meeting of the IFOAM Africa Advisory Group.
Work on the East African Organic Standard, or EAOS, has been
made possible by financial support from the European Commission,
the Swedish International Agency for Development Cooperation
(Sida), and the Government of Norway.
The draft EAOS and other documents are available at the
following websites:
http://www.ifoam.org/partners/projects/osea.html
http://www.unep-unctad.org/cbtf/projecteastafrica.asp.
The UNCTAD Trade and Environment Review may be freely downloaded
at
www.unctad.org/trade_env/documentsPUBLI.asp.
IFOAM is the international umbrella organization of organic
agriculture movements worldwide. IFOAM’s mission is leading,
uniting and assisting the organic movement in its full
diversity. Our goal is the worldwide adoption of ecologically,
socially and economically sound systems that are based on the
Principles of Organic Agriculture. |