International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements

1
Potential of Organic Agriculture for Developing
Countries
International Federation of Organic Agriculture
Movements
2

IFOAMs mission

• 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.

3
Definition of Organic Agriculture

• Organic agriculture is a production system that
  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
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

• Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
• Achieving universal primary education
• Promote gender equality and empower women
• Reduce child mortality
• Improve maternal health
• Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
• Ensure environmental sustainability
• Develop a global partnership for development

5
Organic Agriculture and the MDGs

• 850 million people suffer from hunger
• More than 1 billion people live on less than one
  dollar a day
• Sub-Saharan Africa is facing largest and fastest
  growing food insecurity worldwide
• UN Millennium Project, 2005
• Organic agriculture can play an important
  role in helping to achieve the MDGs...

6
PRINCIPPER for ØKOLOGISK JORDBRUG

• SUNDHEDSPRINCIPPET Økologisk jordbrug bør
  opretholde og forbedre jordens, planternes,
  dyrenes, menneskenes og planetens sundhed som en
  udelelig enhed.
• ØKOLOGIPRINCIPPET Økologisk jordbrug bør bygge på
  levende økologiske systemer og kredsløb,
  samarbejde med dem, efterligne dem og hjælpe med
  at bevare dem.
• RETFÆRDIGHEDSPRINCIPPET Økologisk jordbrug bør
  bygge på forhold der sikrer retfærdighed med
  hensyn til det fælles miljø og livsmuligheder.
• FORSIGTIGHEDSPRINCIPPET Økologisk jordbrug bør
  drives på en forsigtig og ansvarlig måde for at
  beskytte nuværende og fremtidige generationers
  sundhed og trivsel og tage vare på miljøet.

7
1. Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger

• Organic Agriculture increases farmers yields
  over the long term
• Higher yields, less costs for input and premium
  market prices higher incomes
• Small holder farmers can increase their income
  after the conversion period from 30-200
  
• -Onduru 2002, Parrot 2006

Organic farm in Malaysia
8
Food Security

• FAO conference on Organic Agriculture and Food
  Security, May 2007 Organic agriculture can
  contribute to food security but its potential to
  do so depend greatly on political will.
• Organic agriculture and the global food supply.
  Badgley et al, 2007. Organic agriculture has
  the potential to contribute to the global food
  supply, while reducing the detrimental
  environmental impacts of conventional
  agriculture.
• IAASTD Report April 2008 necessity of a deep
  rethinking of the approach to agriculture

9
2. Achieve Universal Primary Education

• Higher incomes allow parents to send children to
  school, especially girls
• Organic agriculture is an important form of
  education in itself
• it requires knowledge of local environment e.g.
  ecosystems, health, soil-plant interactions, pest
  management, etc.
• this knowledge is often transferred to children
  and other farmers

Organic knowledge sharing in Indonesia
10
3. Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women

• Organic Agriculture calls for more diversified
  crops, resulting in more diversified roles and
  responsbilities for women
• Greater responsibility increases decision-making
  power and empowerment
• Due to its specified knowledge and skills,
  Organic Agriculture also exposes women to more
  educational and skills -development opportunities

The Network of Women in Organic Agriculture and
Fair Trade in Senegal
11
4. Reduce Child Mortality

• Organic Agriculture calls for more diversified
  crops, exposing children to more diversified
  diets, thus providing them with mostly all
  nessecary nutrients
• The avoidance of pesticide and herbicide use also
  reduces the risk of health-related problems that
  might affect child survival

Girl holding beans in Tigray
12
5. Improve Maternal Health

• Foods derived from Organic Agriculture have
• higher iron, magnesium, and vitamin C contents
• higher quality proteins in cereals
• greater contents of non-saturated grasses
• due to diversivied crops, the diet is more
  diverse
• This translates into better health for
  mothers and their children
• -Aubert and Leclecc 2003

Organic foods in Malaysia
13
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and Other Diseases

• Organic Agriculture is directly related with
  good nutrition, therefore helping to build the
  immune system and strengthening the health of
  People Living With Aids.
• In organic crops higher levels of essential
  nutritients are found in comparison to
  conventional crops, such as Vitamin C (27 more),
  magnesium (29 more), iron (21 more) and
  phosphorus (14 more)
• Worthington, 2001
• Improved nutrition and diets have potential to
  prolong the asymptomatic phase of HIV
  infection WHO 2003

14
7. Ensure Environmental Sustainability

• Organic Agriculture provides a sustainable
  natural resource base by contributing to
• Biodiversity and genetic diversity
• Combating desertification
• Mitigating Climate Change
• Improving natural resource management

Beautiful West Java
These positive externalities go far beyond the
individual farm, and benefit entire communities,
for example, those located downstream are less
likely to be affected by water contamination
15
Ensure Environmental sustainability through
Biodiversity and Genetic diversity

• Organic Agriculture contributes to the
  preservation of biodiversity because it favors
  the development of a diverse and active ecosystem
• Organic Agriculture contributes to genetic
  diversity because it encourages the conservation
  and expansion of traditional, locally bred
  varieties as a basic insurance against crop and
  livestock pest outbreaks and diseases

Integrated Organic Duck, Rice, and Carp Farming
in Japan
16
Ensure environmental sustainability
throughCombating Desertification

• Organic Agriculture prevents soil erosion and
  land degradation through
• Improving soil fertility
• Preventing wind and water erosion
• Improving water infiltration and retention
  capacity
• Reducing surface and ground water consumption and
  subsequent soil salinization
• Reducing ground and surface water contamination

17
Ensure environmental sustainability
throughCombating Desertification
18
Ensure environmental sustainability
throughCountering Climate Change

• Organic Agriculture mitigates climate change
  through
• Reducing greenhouse gases,
• Storing carbon in soil and plant biomass by
  building organic matter,
• Minimizing energy consumption
• Organic Agriculture also helps farmers to adapt
  to climate change because it
• Prevents nutrient and water loss
• Preserves seed and crop diversity,
• Minimizes risk as a result of stable
  agro-ecosystems and yields

19

8. Develop a Global Partnership for Development

• Certification of Organic Agriculture is by itself
  a method of building up relationships
• IFOAM promotes Participatory Guarantee System
  (PGS)
• IFOAM as global network functions as a
  partnership for development

Participatory Group Certification Workshop in
Brazil
20
Internal Control Systems Group Certification
An Internal Control System (ICS) is the part of
a documented quality assurance system that
allows an external certification body to delegate
the periodical inspection of individual group
members to an identified body or unit within the
certified operator. This means that the third
party certification bodies only have to inspect
the well-functioning of the system. The US
National Organic Standards Board has doubts on
trustworthyness, IFOAM lobbies to maintain the
system. Group Certification in the North?
Louise Luttikholt for SOEL training 20080410-
20
21
Participatory Guarantee Systems
Participatory form of organic guarantee
verification Based on common agreed upon
standards, often the IFOAM Basic
Standards Encourages cooperation and social
development by sharing of knowledge and
experiences, and inclusion of consumers in the
system.
Louise Luttikholt for SOEL training 20080410-
21
22
The OSEA project
Regional Cooperation for Organic Standards and
Certification Capacity in East Africa. Funded by
Sida 2 years (phase 1) Implemented by IFOAM, in
close cooperation with UNCTAD and UNEP Public and
private partners in the regions Output East
African Organic Products Standard Common organic
mark Joint inspection protocol Consumer education
campaign
Louise Luttikholt for SOEL training 20080410-
22
23
The African Pavilion at Biofach
Exhibition of Organic Products from Africa at
global trade show Supported by Sida, Hivos,
Triodos and others In cooperation with national
organic movements and IFOAM and
others Output Over 100 participants First
contacts with traders made Symposium
Louise Luttikholt for SOEL training 20080410-
23
24
International Federation of Organic Agriculture
Movements
www.ifoam.org