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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] African Union to Support Organic Farming
  • Date: Mon, 20 Jun 2011 09:17:22 -0600


ISIS Report 09/05/11
African Union to Support Organic Farming
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/African_Union_to_Support_Organic_Farming.php
Lim Li Ching, Third World Network

An important milestone in sustainable agriculture for Africa was reached in a
little-publicized decision made on organic farming by the African Union’s
Executive Council in January 2011.

The decision requests the African Union (AU) Commission and its New
Partnership for Africa’s Development Planning and Coordinating Agency to
initiate and provide guidance for an AU-led coalition of international
partners to establish an African organic farming platform based on available
best practices; and to provide guidance in support of the development of
sustainable organic farming systems and improve seed quality

In a speech given by Her Excellency Tumusiime Rhoda Peace, AU Commissioner
for Rural Economy and Agriculture, to the Conference of African Ministers of
Agriculture held in October 2010, which highlighted the potentials of
ecological agriculture, she stressed that ecological agriculture generates
both economic value and sustainable development: “We believe that promoting
it in all of our countries would enable Africa to exploit this niche.”

The African Union had in 2008, co-organized a conference on ecological
agriculture in Addis Ababa, together with the UN Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of
Ethiopia, and in collaboration with the Institute for Sustainable Development
(ISD), Ethiopia and the Third World Network (TWN). That conference had
concluded that ecological agriculture can provide food security and improve
rural livelihoods for African farmers, as well as mitigate and help farmers
adapt to climate change. At the time, Her Excellency had remarked that
“Support and greater investment in smallholder farmers should be the path to
end poverty in Africa”. It is hoped that the recent AU decision will herald
the start of a concerted effort to that end.





  • [Livingontheland] African Union to Support Organic Farming, Tradingpost, 06/20/2011

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