The 2nd African Organic Conference â Mainstreaming ... - ICROFS

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2 nd AFRICAN ORGANIC CONFERENCE 2012 May 2-4, 2012 in Lusaka, Zambia organic food and fibre is one of the fastest growing high-value market chains with potential for benefiting a huge number of smallholder farmers and processing companies in East Africa. Besides the global market, there is an increasing demand in the region partly via up-market supermarkets and the tourist industry. However, it is not clear to which extent market oriented smallholder farmers will be competitive in such markets. Previous projects have demonstrated positive results from development of organic value-chains, however, also concluding that chain actors face a number of challenges, such as limited capacity of local farming communities to respond to requirements of complex market chains as well as capacity needs to be strengthened among the farmers regarding organic agricultural system development and agro-ecological practices. While some research has focused on improving productivity and Natural Resource Management of smallholder farmers in Eastern Africa, this has in most cases not been associated with studies of how to link improved production to market access and quality demands. ProGrOV Project Approach: In the ProGrOV project production elements of organic value chains will be studies with respect to how farmers best can respond to and collaborate with demands of the intermediaries and markets. There will be focus on the integration of livestock, product quality-soil, and product qualitypest management relationship in organic value chains for the export market, high end domestic market and the tourism sector. As collaboration with the chain actors, such as farmers and processers, is essential in the studies, the valuechains approach of the project is combined with participatory approaches in each of the studies, in order to ensure that the knowledge generated through the studies will be useful and applicable to real life situations. DEVELOPMENT&OF&THE&NAMIBIAN&ORGANIC&SECTOR&AND&NAMIBIAN&ORGANIC& ASSOCIATION&(NOA)&PGS& MANJO SMITH Namibian Organic Association, IFOAM World Board Member info@noa.org.na; Website: www.noa.org.na Abstract This paper traces the recent development of the Namibian organic sector. Prior to 2009, there was no formal sector development in the country. A large area of land was certified through an international certification body for the export of devil’s claw (a medicinal product), and one producer was selling biodynamic produce to the local market without a biodynamic or organic quality guarantee. Since then the Namibian Organic Association was established by a group of producers, which acquired funding for the development of the NOA Organic Standards and the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS). Participants in the PGS include producers, consumers, and trade representatives. Currently, a wide range of products are sold with the NOA Organic and NOA Organic-in-Conversion mark in the informal and formal trading sectors. More producers are converting to organic agriculture or have started adopting organic production principles. Key words: organic sector development, participatory guarantee system (PGS), Namibia Organic Association, Namibia BOOK OF ABSTRACTS 57
2 nd AFRICAN ORGANIC CONFERENCE 2012 May 2-4, 2012 in Lusaka, Zambia EXPLORING&THE&CONCEPTS&OF&FOOD&SOVEREIGNTY&AND&SOCIAL&CAPITAL&IN&RELATION& TO&THE&ORGANIC&PRINCIPLES,&PRACTICES&AND&POLICIES& METTE VAARST Aarhus University, Denmark, Mette.Vaarst@agrsci.dk Abstract Food sovereignty is a concept based on an idea of food security (a varied diet with diversified, nutritious and culturally appropriate food) for everybody including the right of people to define their own food and agriculture, to protect and regulate domestic agricultural production and trade in order to achieve sustainable development objectives. Food sovereignty is a concept which has become increasingly discussed and debated, especially in relation to power over seed, water, land and food, which become privatized and belong to corporations, rather than to the people, communities and countries, where farming and processing of food take place. Organic agriculture also faces several challenges in relation to food sovereignty, although the concept can be argued to be strongly related to the organic principles of health, care, fairness and ecology. Organic food is often subjected to food systems and markets, over which the producers or their organisations have no influence. The argument in this presentation is to emphasise the fairness and care aspects of the trade systems, and thus the importance of involving the actors at all levels in organising the food systems. Social capital is defined and used differently in various contexts, but refers to social networking and resources, which can be mobilised in communities and societies through collective action and exchange of e.g. knowledge and experience. Strengthening social capital in local societies may empower and improve the ownership of peasants, processors and societies, which are in risk of losing power over land, food, other agricultural products and trade. In this paper we explore the concept of food sovereignty and the potential role of active social capital building e.g. through farmer organisations, active policy making and governmental regulations related to the current development of the Global food systems. We emphasise in particular the formation of social networks for farmers, processors and small businesses, as well as agricultural learning network building as important pathways to organic farming and food systems with appropriate weight on fairness and care. Key words: Food sovereignty, social capital, organic principles, learning, interaction ORGANIC&NEEM&TREE&(AZADIRACHTA&INDICA)&EXTRACT:&KEY&TO&THE&CONTROL&OF& INSECT&PESTS&COMPLEX&OF&THE&GRAPE:VINE&(VITIS&VINIFERA&L.)&FOR&SUSTAINABLE& CROP&PRODUCTIVITY&& * 1 SAMBO, B. E. AND 2 P. C. OKUTU 1 Department of Horticulture , Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, P.M.B. 2273, Afaka, Kaduna – Nigeria. 2Department of Agronomy, Institute for Agricultural Research, Ahmadu Bello University, P.M.B. 1044, Samaru, Zaria – Nigeria. * Corresponding author. E- mail: banelisam@yahoo.com. Tel: +2348023308577. Abstract The neem tree ( Azadirachta indica) belongs to the family Meliaceae. The neem oil extract (Azadirachtin) has long been discovered to repel or control insect pest species; and entomologist have discovered that the Neem plant extract can affect more than 200 species of insects as well as mites, nematodes, fungi, bacteria and even some viruses. The neem oil is been used to protect stored corn, sorghum, beans and other stored 58 BOOK OF ABSTRACTS
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