Organic Agriculture: An Important

Transcription

1 Organic Agriculture: An Important Contribution to the Long-Term Success of the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Program The Context More than 70% of Africa s population is dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods. But while per capita food production increased in Asia and Latin America by 76% and 28% respectively, in Africa, food production is 10% less today per person than it was in In the years between and , the number of hungry and malnourished people in Sub-Saharan Africa increased from 170 to 234 million 1. The challenges faced by smallholder farmers in sub-saharan Africa include the erosion of their control over agricultural resources, systems that exclude meaningful participation of smallholder farmers in agricultural innovation processes, poorly governed or non-functional markets that marginalize smallholder farmers, inappropriate agriculture technologies and practices, degrading quality of the production base (soils and biodiversity), low yields per unit area due to inappropriate technologies, poor infrastructure in rural areas and climate change. 1 FAO The state of food insecurity in the world. FAO, Rome. fao.org/docrep/016/i3027e/i3027e.pdf

2 The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) was endorsed by the African Union Heads of State in July 2003 with the overall goal of Helping African countries reach a higher path of economic growth through agriculture-led development, which eliminates hunger, reduces poverty and food insecurity, and enables expansion of exports 1. CAADP is implemented along four pillars; (i) Land and water management, (ii) Market access, (iii) Food supply and hunger and (iv) Agricultural research. Productivity measures yield compared to production factors such as land (yield per hectare), labor (yield per labor hour) and capital (other production costs). Profitability is about the net margin for a certain crop, but from a livelihood perspective also net income is relevant. At the continental level, the AU-NEPAD Planning and Coordination Agency (NEPAD Agency) in South Africa is responsible for the coordination of CAADP implementation, resource mobilization and developing continental programs and projects 2. At the African Union Commission in Ethiopia, the Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture (AUC-DREA) mobilizes political and financial support for CAADP. At the regional level, African Regional Economic Communi- 1 Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme. July nepad.org/system/files/caadp.pdf 2 Information about CAADP is available here: ties 3 are responsible for promoting regional coherence in the formulation of agricultural policies and in the design and implementation of investments. At the national level, each country implements the CAADP Agenda by incorporating the CAADP objectives into country agricultural and rural development strategies and/ or by developing National CAADP Investment plans using a common set of CAADP tools. Organic Agriculture can be a key strategy for CAADP Organic agriculture is defined as a production system that enhances and sustains the health of soils, ecosystems and people. It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity and cycles adapted to local conditions, rather than the use of inputs with adverse effects. Organic agriculture combines tradition, innovation and science to benefit the shared environment and promote fair relationships and a good quality of life for all involved 4. Organic agriculture is underpinned by its four principles of Ecology, Health, Fairness and Care 5. Organic agriculture in Africa has broadly developed along two lines. One has been driven by the opportunities created by increasing global demand for organic produce based on its superior health and environmental characte- 3 The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), The East African Community (EAC), The Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) 4 IFOAM. 5 TerrAfrica Sustainable Land Management in Practice: Guidelines and Best Practices for Sub-Saharan Africa, Field Application

3 ristics. The rapidly growing global market was valued at 63 billion US$ in 2011 for certified organic agriculture products alone. The other key driver has been the affordability, appropriateness and effectiveness of organic agriculture approaches for increasing food security and resilience to climate change and drought, as well as for regenerating the productive capacity of degraded lands. Both approaches to organic agriculture are very relevant for CAADP. Given its valuable tool-kit and affordability, national governments, intercontinental bodies and development partners increasingly recognize the relevance of organic agriculture. The Executive Council of the African Union (AU) requested the NEPAD Agency in 2011 to initiate and provide guidance for an AU-led coalition of international partners for the establishment of an African organic farming platform based on available best practices. AUC-DREA has since engaged with private and civil society stakeholders from the African organic sector and organizations such as IFOAM to develop and implement the Action Plan of the African Ecological Organic Agriculture (EOA) Initiative, which is a framework for strategically developing the African organic sector and for engaging with CAADP and contributing to its goals. The potential contribution of Organic Agriculture to CAADP Pillar 1: Extending the area under sustainable land management and reliable water control systems According to the UN, two-thirds of Africa s cropland is projected to become non-productive by 2025 due to land degradation. CAADP recommends the adoption of agro-ecological technologies and practices in its plan for extending the area under sustainable land management in the region 6. Pillar 1 guidelines stipulate that practices must be truly sustainable, must be environmentally friendly, reduce current land degradation, improve biodiversity and increase resilience to climate variation and change with priority being given to low-input agronomic and vegetative measures. 6 TerrAfrica Sustainable Land Management in Practice: Guidelines and Best Practices for Sub-Saharan Africa, Field Application These are fully in line with the Organic Agriculture Principle of Ecology. Pillar 1 guidelines also recommend the application of the precautionary principle in order to protect biodiversity on which Sub-Saharan Africa s agriculture largely depends. This is in congruence with the Organic Agriculture Principle of Care, which advocates for the management of agriculture and ecosystems in a precautionary and responsible manner. Pillar 2: Improving rural infrastructure and trade-related capacities for market access There is great potential for African smallholders to benefit from the rapidly growing global market for organic products by scaling up certified organic agriculture in Africa. Organic agriculture in Africa already has a thriving export sector, which is significantly increasing farming household incomes. Uganda Tanzania and Ethiopia together have more than 450,000 organic farmers. Farmers in Africa produce a diversity of organic crops such as cocoa, coffee, cotton, sesame, cashew nuts, macadamia nuts, tea, shea butter, avocados, pineapples, bananas, mangoes, beans, egg plant, ginger, chili, turmeric, vanilla, honey and bananas. To facilitate the expansion of regional and international trade and cross-country investments in organic agriculture, the East African Community established a regulatory framework by developing a regional organic agriculture standard in 2007, only the second in the world after the European Union s.

4 As a consequence of just one long-term project in East Africa, the trade capabilities of local smallholders in Uganda and their access to high value markets increased to the extent that the value of certified organic exports rose from $4.6 million in 2002 to more than $35 million by These initiatives have also led to building of farmers social capital through training, development of farmers organizations and establishment of networks and partnerships with the private sector (processors/exporters), research organizations and development partners 8. vity and diversifying income streams helping African smallholder farmers and communities achieve food security and resilience to climate change and drought. Such ecosystem and landscape based and community-centered approaches are highly suited to most smallholder farmers throughout Africa and can be the bedrock of inclusive agriculture-lead sustainable development throughout the continent. This potential is supported by the UN Special Pillar 3: Increasing food supply, reducing hunger, and improving responses to food emergency crises Pillar 3 focuses on the chronically food insecure people with the vision to increase resilience by decreasing food insecurity and linking vulnerable people to opportunities for agricultural growth. Organic agriculture is directly and affordably benefiting these people in Africa by building the performance of subsistence farms and rejuvenating the degraded land and ecosystems they depend on. These systems are cutting production costs, increasing producti- 7 Report of the Secretary-General (August 2013) to the 68th UN General Assembly: Agricultural Technology for Development: 8 EPOPA 2008, Organic Exports a way to better life? Publications/Epopa-end-book.pdf Rapporteur on the Right to Food s 9 most recent review of scientific literature in which he found that agro-ecological based projects, in 20 African countries, resulted in the doubling of crop yields over a period of 3 to 10 years. Pillar 4: Improving agriculture research, technology dissemination and adaptation Pillar 4, lead by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), calls for a paradigm shift to a truly integrated agricultural research approach that includes ensuring that researchers work together with smallholders, pastoralists, extension agencies, the private sector and NGOs to have effective impact on the ground. Organic agriculture can contribute significantly to thematic areas of the CAADP Science Agenda for African Agriculture such as crop yields, resilience to climate change, livestock productivity, risk management, water management and innovations addressing gender-related challenges. 9 United Nations 2010, Report submitted by the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter.

5 Recommendations The official recognition of the importance of organic agriculture by the AU and its subsequent support of the EOA action planning process provides a very important springboard for mainstreaming organic agriculture into CAADP processes. The African organic movement will need to mobilize in a strategic and efficient manner to enable effective engagement with CAADP and its partners. National governments and intercontinental bodies should include organic agriculture into their CAADP Investment plans. The following actions need to be taken to mainstream organic agriculture into CAADP: Pillar 1: Extending the area under sustainable land management and reliable water control systems Organic agriculture stakeholders should participate in the ongoing pillar 1 processes at all levels, including the TerrAfrica Partnership, to ensure that their knowledge and experiences inform the development and implementation of the pillar. Organic agriculture initiatives should be documented following the format of the World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT) 2. 2 Information about WOCAT is available at Pillar 2: Improving rural infrastructure and trade-related capacities for market access CAADP should scale up the successes of integrated value chain support programs as well as develop organic markets. It is also important to support the institutional capacity for quality assurance, sector organization and farmer support services. The Framework for Improving Rural Infrastructure and Trade Related Capacities for Market Access (FIMA) guidelines for Pillar 2 should therefore include the identification and targeting of markets for organic agriculture products. Organic agriculture should be recognized in national CAADP compacts and investment plans so as to create clarity in policy and a conducive environment for public and private investment in developing organic value chains. Pillar 3: Increasing food supply, reducing hunger, and improving responses to food emergency crises CAADP should consider the provision of subsidies for the development of organic value chains for vulnerable farmers in line with its pillar 3 objective of linking such farmers to mainstream agriculture growth, including linkages to sustainable markets and investment in affordable organic certification options, especially to participatory guarantee systems (PGS). Organic agriculture approaches should be incorporated into CAADP regional and country pillar 3 strategic implementation and investment plans. Pillar 4: Improving agriculture research, technology dissemination and adaptation Organic agriculture has developed on the continent with negligible research support. Mainstreaming organic agriculture in African and international research should be a high priority for CAADP decision makers, the African organic sector as well as the Technology Innovation Platform of IFOAM.

6 This publication is a summary of the report commissioned by the IFOAM Regional cooperation for organic standards and certification capacity in East Africa (OSEA) Project and authored by Charles Walaga, Uganda. The OSEA Project is undertaken with support from Swedish Development Cooperation. The project is the sole owner of the production and the publisher is responsible for the content. The complete report is available at: