ifoam_newsletter


August 2011

Get involved in the IFOAM General Assembly to be held in Namyangju City, South Korea, from October 3 to 5, 2011 African Ecological Organic Agriculture Conference to be held at the UNEP Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, from November 15 to 16, 2011 Call for tender: Development of simple guidelines for operators that want to be certified against the East African Organic Products Standards (EAOPS) Growth of organic sector unity and development of organic standards in Burkina Faso, with the technical assistance of IFOAM Growing support of the South African government for organic agriculture Organic Pineapple Farming in Ghana - A Good Choice for Smallholders? Upcoming Organic Agriculture related events

	1. Get involved in the IFOAM General Assembly to be held in Namyangju City, South Korea, from October 3 to 5, 2011
	The IFOAM General Assembly (GA) is fast approaching but it is not too late to get involved even if you or your organization is unable to attend. The IFOAM In Action - Special GA Edition has all the information you need to know about what will happen and what the hot topics will be in Korea, including profiles on the World Board candidates and details on how to vote by proxy. World Board Election The GA will elect ten World Board members who will work voluntarily to lead IFOAM. Of the current 20 candidates for the World Board 3 are from Africa: Moses Kiggundu Muwanga, Uganda Manjo Smith, Namibia James Benjamin Cole, Ghana Vote by proxy if your organization is unable to attend in person There is no doubt that all African members agree about the importance to be represented at the GA but not all can send a representative. Proxy voting allows you to appoint another member to vote on your behalf. According to IFOAM statutes a member attending the GA can act as a proxy for a maximum of four other members. Please contact IFOAM member organizations in your area that are attending the GA who have your trust, consult the GA edition of the IFOAM In Action on how to transfer your voting right by proxy and then brief them on how you want them to vote for you.

	2. African Ecological Organic Agriculture Conference to be held at the UNEP Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, from November 15 to 16, 2011
	The development of organic agriculture in Africa is entering a new phase. Jointly organized by IFOAM, the African Union, the Kenyan Organic Agriculture Network (KOAN) and COLABORA, the conference will provide a platform for exciting new developments in the African organic sector to be brought to a comprehensive range of stakeholders capable of unlocking the potential that ecological and people centered systems offer Africa. In addition to building awareness of accessible, productive and resilient organic farming systems the conference will help build the alliances required to capitalize on the African Union’s Resolution on Organic Farming and implement the African Ecological Organic Agriculture Action Plan. With the active participation of international donors and government officials from across the continent the conference will position organic agriculture higher on the agenda of African governments and donor organizations. Main thematic focus points include: The Right to Food - affordability and accessibility of organic agriculture The relevance of organic agriculture for poverty alleviation and trade The significance of non-certified organic production and alternative guarantee systems The climate change adaptation potential and mitigation benefits of organic agriculture Alliance and capacity building for organic agriculture in Africa If you would like to participate in this conference please send an e-mail to Hervé Bouagnimbeck (h.bouagnimbeck@ifoam.org) stating the following information: Name of the person wishing to attend Name and acronym of the organization Responsibility within the organization Country or region of activity Reasons why the applicant would like to attend the conference. All applications will be confirmed by e-mail and subsequently informed by IFOAM about the final decision. Please note while there is no conference fee due to the generous support of conference partners all arrangements for travel and accommodation, as well as all expenses incurred, are solely the responsibility of the participants or their sponsoring organizations. Partners of the conference include: BioFach Biovision Heinrich Böll Foundation Hivos Mahle Foundation Mercator Foundation Rapunzel The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) For further information, partnership opportunities, please visit the conference website or contact Hervé Bouagnimbeck (h.bouagnimbeck@ifoam.org).

	3. Call for tender: Development of simple guidelines for operators that want to be certified against the East African Organic Products Standards (EAOPS)
	The IFOAM OSEA project is seeking a consultant to produce simple guidelines for operators that want to be certified against the EAOPS. For more information about the OSEA project and to download the call, please visit www.ifoam.org/partners/projects/osea.html.

	4. Growth of organic sector unity and development of organic standards in Burkina Faso, with the technical assistance of IFOAM
	Burkina Faso has been export certified organic produce for more than twenty years, but the local market for organic products is still in its infancy. Significant constraints exist such as the lack of an organized structure uniting all organic stakeholders and the lack of national standards and conformity assessments adapted to the local market. In order to overcome these constraints, various actors in the field of organic agriculture in Burkina Faso have initiated national consultations since 2000 for the creation of an umbrella organization representing the sector. With the support from AFRA – l’Association pour la Recherche et la Formation en Agro écologie (ARFA) - a local NGO in Burkina Faso mainly involved in the promotion of organic agriculture, The National Organic Agricultural Council of Burkina Faso (CNABio) was formed in 2010. Its first General Assembly was held in March 2011. The main objectives of the new established structure are: To facilitate the information flow and communication between and among all stakeholders of the organic sector To enhance capacity building of different actors in the organic sector To promote organic agriculture at the national level To enable a supportive legal framework for the development of the organic sector To promote and develop local marketing of organic produce One of the first activities of the CNABio was the organization of different meetings last June in Ouagadougou, with the technical assistance of IFOAM. Meetings include discussions with government officials, capacity building training for the Executive Board of the CNABio and a workshop on the development of national organic standards. This workshop brought together 30 members of CNABio and other interested stakeholders and has enabled participants to get a better understanding of the current status of organic standards and regulations in the world and to know the different standards to be taken into consideration while developing their own national standards. The meeting also provides to participants the opportunity to discuss the objectives and the scope of the national standard. Based on the outcomes of the discussions and the recommendations of IFOAM, the CNABio will develop a standards development process roadmap. For more information, contact Mathieu Savadogo (arfaeco@yahoo.fr) of ARFA, which recently joined IFOAM as a member.

	5. Growing support of the South African government for organic agriculture
	Grolink AB recently held in Johannesburg, South Africa, an organic agriculture development follow-up training for delegates from 13 African countries. The event was organized with financial support from Sida and co-hosted by the Bryanston Organic & Natural Market, one of the most successful local organic markets in Africa. In addition to the training, two workshops were held to involve the local organic sector and government departments. The first one was a series of presentations to increase awareness of the members of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on the latest developments in international organic markets as well as the most recent developments in the South African organic sector. As a result of this workshop, the DTI is now recognizing the potential of organic agriculture for trade and is willing to promote organic export opportunities. The second workshop was a seminar on organic agriculture development in and outside South Africa. 85 delegates from 15 countries got to learn about developments related to organic agriculture in Africa, and to get updates on the development of the national organic policy, which is in the process of being developed. Next steps include final approval by the Cabinet by November 2011. It is a great hope that these interactions would be instrumental in the further development of the organic sector not only in South Africa, but also on the entire continent. For more information, please contact Konrad Hauptfleisch (konrad@bryanstonorganicmarket.co.za) or Peter Lustig (peter@grolink.se).

	6. Organic Pineapple Farming in Ghana - A Good Choice for Smallholders?
	Using value chain analysis in the Ghana pineapple sector and extensive data from the European market, the “Organic Pineapple Farming in Ghana - A Good Choice for Smallholders” study by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy in Germany, conducted by Linda Kleemann, sheds light on the feasibility and profitability of organic small-scale pineapple production. The results demonstrate that even though smallholders tend to have quality problems with their fruit, organic production is more profitable for smallholders than conventional production and farmers collect a fair share of the price premium on the retail level. This is an important finding for Africa, as the great majority of African farmers are smallholder farmers. For these farmers, organic is not only affordable, but also profitable. It also highlights however that with greater technical support for smallholders in effective organic based quality control techniques farmers could benefit still further. Read the full paper here!

	7. Upcoming Organic Agriculture related events
	Technical workshop on organic agriculture in Nigeria September 12 - 16, 2011 Ibadan city, Nigeria Further more information, please visit: www.noannigeria.net. The 17th IFOAM Organic World Congress and General Assembly September 26 – October 5, 2011 Gyeonggi Paldang, South Korea

	Email: h.bouagnimbeck@ifoam.org Head Office Contact Information Charles-de-Gaulle-Str. 5 53113 Bonn, Germany Tel: +49-228-92650-10 Fax: +49-228-92650-99 Email: headoffice@ifoam.org http://www.ifoam.org © 2011 IFOAM - All rights reserved. International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) e.V. Trial Court Bonn, Association Register no. 8726

1. Get involved in the IFOAM General Assembly to be held in Namyangju City, South Korea, from October 3 to 5, 2011

2. African Ecological Organic Agriculture Conference to be held at the UNEP Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, from November 15 to 16, 2011

3. Call for tender: Development of simple guidelines for operators that want to be certified against the East African Organic Products Standards (EAOPS)

4. Growth of organic sector unity and development of organic standards in Burkina Faso, with the technical assistance of IFOAM

5. Growing support of the South African government for organic agriculture

6. Organic Pineapple Farming in Ghana - A Good Choice for Smallholders?

7. Upcoming Organic Agriculture related events