EPOPA Impact and the Millennium Development Goals MDGs

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EPOPA Impact and the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs)

• Export Promotion ofOrganic Products from Africa
• Phase IIB
• 2005 2008

Development Through Trade
2
Programme Objective and Sidas Motivation to
Support

• To initiate and facilitate export of organic
  products in order to improve the livelihood of
  African farmers

Irene Kugonza from Bundibugyo, Uganda farming
cocoa and vanilla for ESCO.
3
EPOPA and the MDGs

• The MDGs 1, 7 8
• Eradicate Extreme hunger and Poverty
• Ensure Environment Sustainability
• Develop a global partnership for Development

• EPOPA Relevance
• Development through trade and cross cutting
• Organic certified products with Quality husbandry
• Farmers, traders and buyers linked for secure
  markets

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A programme funded by Sida

• Implemented by Agro Eco and Grolink together
• Programme Directors
• Bo van Elzakker
• Gunnar Rundgren
• Programme officer
• Deepa van Staalduinen

• Country Manager
• Alastair Taylor, Uganda
• Consultants

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A programme funded by Sida

• Initiated in 1994
• Start in Uganda 1995
• Start in Tanzania 1998
• (Zambia 2003-2006)
• Since 2002 in 2nd phase, up to mid 2008
• Evaluations 2000, 2004
• Research -DIIS and others
• Impact Assessments

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Intervention strategy

• Simple logic for export projects
• Lack of market is a major limiting factor for
  agricultural development
• There is a market demand for organic products
• African small-holders are close to organic and
  cant afford expensive inputs
• Access to international organic markets provides
  income incentive to increase production
  productivity
• Exporter/Contract farmer arrangement means that
  farmer effort is rewarded with an assured market

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Grass root benefits of EPOPA

• gt60 000 farmers
• 15-40 higher price organic premium
• Approx 8 persons in household
• gt 480 000 people impacted by EPOPA

• Traditional cash crops e.g. coffee more men
• Non Traditional crops e.g. fruit and food crops
  e.g. Sesame men and women

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Farmer income benefits of EPOPA

• The farmers may increase their total income by
  50 or more
• organic premium
• increased productivity
• Improved quality
• (reduced costs for chemical fertilizers and pest
  control)

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Premium or Not?

• Org 1050
• Con 1000
• Premium 5
• BUT price outside organic project area Con 700
• Premium 30

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Use of the organic premium
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Organic Products Within EPOPA

• Uganda
• Coffee Arabica Robusta
• Cotton
• Tropical Fruits
• Cocoa
• Vanilla
• Shea Butter
• Hibiscus
• Lemon Grass Rosemary Dried and Essential
• Cardamom and pepper
• Tilapia and Nile Perch
• Sesame

• Tanzania
• Coffee - Arabica Robusta
• Cocoa
• Cashew
• Honey
• Sea Fish
• Spices
• Tropical fruits
• Safflower
• Sesame
• Peanuts
• Vanilla

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Development issues SIDA Concerns

• EPOPA attempts to
• Mainstream HIV/Aids in all projects
• Empower women and be gender sensitive
• Assist the farmers to organise themselves
• Work with exporters to combat corruption
• Ensure that organic is more than just no-use of
  agro-chemicals
• Bio-diversity conservation
• Improved farming methods

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MDG 1 Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

• Facilitate farmers into viable organic production
  for food and cash
• Train in organic agriculture technologies and
  practices
• Facilitate farmers to obtain organic
  certification
• Farmers are linked to premium organic markets

• Farmers use this money for food, education and
  health

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MDG 7 Ensure environmental sustainability

• Equip farmers with skills in sustainable natural
  resource management e.g. soil fertility
  management, soil erosion control
• Encourage biodiversity on farm, by tree
  conservation /planting, mixed cropping and
  preservation of traditional varieties
• Supported the development of national organic
  agriculture policy

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MDG 8Develop a global partnership for development

• EPOPA is a development partnership, between the
  Swedish government and organic agriculture
  stakeholders in Uganda and Tanzania
• EPOPA forges the formation of sustainable
  business linkages between producers in Uganda and
  Tanzania with importers in the EU and other
  markets
• See the impact for yourself at the Africa
  Pavilion in Hall 4 the products, the people,
  the MDG impact

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MDGs 2,3,4,5 Education, Equality, Child
Mortality, and Maternal Health

• If family is fed then education is a priority
• Sustainable organic agriculture encourages all
  family inclusion
• Biodiversity means more and better nutrition
• Improved income - better access to health novel
  idea combining health programme with Agric due to
  contract link

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Weaknesses Limitations

• Farmers are opportunistic and not always reliable
  business partners
• Exporters are opportunistic and not always
  reliable business partners (to farmers and to
  importers)
• Value-addition projects have been a real
  challenge
• There are few competent exporters
• Breaking cultural norms and seeking to bring
  benefit equity amongst contact families

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Lessons Learned

• Free technical support is a great boost
• Cost support during conversion period enables
  exporters to take the risk
• Organic product does not mean fast market
• Value addition needs special effort
• Bringing MDG concerns into Markets and Trade

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EPOPA Development through Trade
Prepared by- Alastair Taylor EPOPA Country
Manager Uganda taylor_at_agroeco.ug www.epopa.info ww
w.agroeco.net