He was speaking at the second African Organic Conference held recently in the Zambian capital Lusaka. According to Allafrica.com, more than 300 participants from 40 countries attended the conference, themed "Mainstreaming organic agriculture into the African development agenda."
UNCTAD, Draganov said, strongly supports the growing use of organic farming practices on the continent. He noted that Africa already has more certified organic farms than any other continent: at least 530,000 farmers in Africa are certified according to organic standards. Uganda and Ethiopia have each more than 100,000 certified organic farms and Tanzania has some 85,000.
The conference emphasised the importance of food security, sustainable agriculture, and a transition towards a 'green' economy, Allafrica.com reports. It had among its objectives the development of an African Organic Action Plan intended to spur expansion of the organic farming sector, streamline certification and "organic equivalency" systems that allow more vigorous trade in organic goods while adding to the continent's organic produce markets.
(Bizcommunity)
Speaking at the first stock taking meeting of the World Bank-led Global Tiger Recovery Programme in Delhi, Keshav Varma, programme director of the Global Tiger Initiative, warned that South Africa, unable to contain poaching, was inclined towards opening the trade in rhino horns. International trade in rhino horns is banned under the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Rhino horns, which are costlier than gold today, fetch upwards of $50,000 per kg in the international market and are used in traditional oriental medicine systems.
Varma warned that if the South African proposal found support, the demand for horns from India could surge, leading to higher levels of poaching.
India is home to about 2,500 one-horned rhinos with the armour-plated animal found only in Assam and West Bengal and one patch - Dudhwa National Park in Uttar Pradesh. While poaching at one time threatened the animal in these patches, it has not suffered the kind of pressure the South African rhino faces where more than 400 rhinos were poached for their horns last year. This year, Varma said, South Africa had been losing rhinos at the rate of almost four a day.
Similar debates about opening up ivory trade in African nations had earlier led to heated negotiations at CITES with India wary that legalizing trade in the elephant tusks would lead to international and well-funded poaching networks getting active in Indian forests. With China farming tigers, the international conservation community has also been divided about satiating the demand for such exotic animal parts from farmed animals.
(The Times of India)
Fruit flies are causing a stir in many parts of the world right now. A recent find of the species Bactrocera invadens in Limpopo is worrying growers in South Africa.
Fruit accounts for 32% of SA’s agricultural exports, Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries spokesman Selby Bokaba said yesterday.
"This is a severe pest for subsistence and commercial farmers," Jan Hendrik Venter, manager for early warning systems at the department’s directorate of plant health, said. "Its damage depends on the kind of fruit: it can destroy 70%-100% of mango crops, less of citrus."
The flies originate in Asia and can cause damage to a very wide range of crops, including some vegetables.
The department said it had implemented quarantine measures to contain and eradicate the pest.
If the eradication measures were unsuccessful, it "may lead to the dispersal of the pest from the affected areas to other production areas throughout SA. This may result in production losses … and additionally costly trade restrictions … or even temporary loss of export markets," the department said yesterday.
The export market is a pressing concern. It is worth a great deal - R 16 billion ($1,958,783,005.38 US) and fruit fly issues are likely to make the fruit much less appealing, As Dr Schalk Schoeman, a researcher at the Agricultural Research Council, points out, "The countries importing our fruit don’t want them in their areas."
The fruit flies first seem to have made their way to Southern Africa in 2003 and can now be found in Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
One of the easiest ways for the fly to be transported is via illegal transportation of produce. people are being reminded of the dangers of moving fruits into South Africa without a permit to do so.
(FreshPlaza)
Despite numerous challenges, unemployed youth from the Uis Fish Farm Eco Tourism Enterprise have harvested 1000 tonnes of Tilapia fish from an aquaculture fish-farming venture they started in 2010 at a fresh water pond outside the town.
The fish was harvested on Thursday morning and sold to the Uis community. Proceeds are expected to be divided amongst the members. The youth were euphoric with their first harvest, after nine month of hard labour finally paid off.
The fish is being bred in cages that are kept in a pond in the nearby mountains at Uis that is said to be at least 30 meters deep. The pond was discovered by miners in the 1980s.
The fish is fed twice a day until it reaches the required size. This cage farming initiative is a first of its kind in Namibia. The enterprise aims at youth empowerment and to demonstrate the success of aquaculture as a practice that can produce food, provide employment and generate income.
Tilapia takes up to nine months before it can grow to its full size. The successful fish farming project was inaugurated by the Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Kilus Nguvauva, in 2010 after the project secured funding to the tune of N$540 000 from the Japanese government.
Proud member of the programme, Shuudeni Mwafangeyo said they are fortunate to have reached such a millstone despite facing challenges with transport and funding.
"We however managed to yield our proceeds today. This is our way of empowering our youth and alleviate poverty," he said.
The initial framework of the venture took off in 2006, while the practical process started in 2009, after an assessment was conducted by the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources to establish the viability of the initiative.
"We are also urging both the government and private entities to support the project," Mwafangeyo said.
He said the breeding process is rather long, but remains positive. Once the project takes off, it will definitely become successful.
"We could do with more cages to breed the fish. Currently, it takes 9 months before the fish can be harvested. The fish is fed twice a day and we make use of a small boat to do so," Mwafangeyo said.
The group initially started with 10 youths, but the number has gradually decreased. Currently, only four people are involved in the fish breeding project.
Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources technician, Katrina Hilundwa, said some of the members need training in aquaculture farming, safety and first aid, as well as financial assistance.
"They are passionate but one can't expect them to work and wait for nine month before initially making something," she said.
(AllAfrica)
The unprotected stretch of border with Zimbabwe is not only a criminal-infested safe haven for smugglers but farmers and law enforcers warn that South Africa faces a major agricultural disaster threat of foot and mouth disease with livestock roaming unhindered across the river.
“We have been lucky so far but we are sitting on an explosive powder keg once diseased animals come into contact with our cattle on this side,” several farmers and police officers involved with border patrol warned.
The New Age witnessed cattle, donkeys and other livestock roaming freely through the dry riverbeds on to South African soil where they graze on South African farms while military patrols walk by.
According to a local farmer, Otto Gerner, he was on his way to church one Sunday morning when he came across a suspicious-looking bakkie next to the road running alongside the Limpopo River.
On closer inspection, he discovered it was laden with freshly slaughtered meat carried through the river from Zimbabwe.
He called the police who arrived on the scene but when he later came out of church the suspect was driving around Musina in the same bakkie used for the meat.
Soon afterwards Gerner was arrested and thrown in jail by the police when the same man laid a charge of assault against him for having apprehended him. The case eventually mysteriously “went away”.
Gerner told The New Age it is just a matter of time before South Africa faces a major crisis with foot and mouth disease if the authorities do not act promptly and decisively to prevent such a crisis.
Selby Bokaba of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Daff) said their officials deployed along the border are responsible for patrolling to prevent the entry of cloven-hoofed animals from Zimbabwe into South Africa.
“The Daff is looking at intensifying its presence along the border,” he said.
Daff confirmed that the department is in terms of the Animals Diseases’ Act of 1984 responsible for the control and maintenance of the fence along the border of Zimbabwe as well as all other neighbouring countries.
The Department of Public Works allocates funding for the repair and maintenance of the fences to Daff.
Bokaba added that they try to deal with the issue in an integrated manner with fellow border control government entities within the justice, crime and peace security cluster to secure additional funding for the fences.
His department has through other government structures, including the border control operational coordinating committee, engaged all responsible government departments on the border fence issue.
“Since the redeployment of the SANDF to patrol the borders, the Daff has been in consultation with the military on devising preventative strategies that will satisfy both security and biosecurity gaps identified along the land borders that South Africa shares with its neighbours,” he said.
(De Wet Potgieter and Herbert Matimba-The New Age)
African governments have been called upon to embrace organic agriculture instead of conventional farming as climate change continues to ruin livelihoods due to food shortages.
Organic agriculture is the farming method which is in harmony with nature for social justice and economic development in a sustainable environment where all elements of nature, whether living or non-living, co-exist without the fear of one endangering the existence of the other.
The call was made at the second African Organic Conference held in Lusaka under the theme “Mainstreaming Organic Agriculture in the African Development Agenda.”
Speaker after speaker emphasised the need for countries, especially those in Africa, to seriously consider diverting their attention from conventional agriculture to organic farming as climate change takes its toll.
First to address the more than 300 delegates was chief executive officer of Organic Producers and Processors’ Association of Zambia Mr Mushimbwe Chitalu, who said that it was clear from the creation of mankind that Africans understood well the practice of organic farming which they practised throughout as their way of life.
Mr Chitalu traced back traditional farming methods practised in Tanzania in an area known as Ukara Island.
He said in this area, which measured 80 square kilometres in extent, lived a population of 17 000 inhabitants with each household owning 2,5 hectares of land.
“This is ubuntu. It embodies a culture of precaution which today is reigning against the pride of the so-called civilised and educated who seem now to agree with us Africans that genetic modified materials could have serious social and environmental consequences that would be difficult to address,” he said.
Speaking at the same occasion, Zambian Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Mr Emmanuel Chenda said organic agriculture was one of the best practices in ensuring environmental sustainability as it sustains the fertility of soils, ecosystems and the health of people.
It relies on locally adapted improved ecological processes and cycles as well as natural biodiversity rather than the use of synthetic inputs and genetically modified materials.
He said the number of farmers practising organic farming in his country had tremendously increased from 300 to 60 000 while in Nigeria former head of state Mr Abdulsalami Abubakar had put in practice organic farming to encourage his people with 400 hectares of land under organic farming in his country.
The largest gains from organic agriculture arise from the savings on the damages to public health and the environment estimated at more than US$59,6 billion a year in the United States.
Another is the issue of food security as organic farming retains more nutrients, organic carbon and moisture in the soil, all of which make organic crops more able to withstand climatic stress.
The practice of organic agriculture on a large scale requires strong government commitment and support as well as policy changes that encourage a global shift.(Emilia Zindi - Sunday Mail)
In February, the department withdrew funding for the local Fresh Produce Exporters’ Forum to exhibit its products at the Fruit Logistica in Berlin, Germany — seen as one of the most important trade fairs for South African fruit producers. This forced the sector to attend the show with few resources, participants and products.
According to the department, the organisers had not sufficiently involved emerging South African producers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Wilmot James, DA spokesman on trade and industry, last week accused the department of reneging on its promise last year to fund the exporters’ forum. He said this had led to "a diminished and disorganised presence" of South African exporters at an event of great importance for the fruit export sector.
According to forum organisers, Mr James said, the department "did not honour the final agreement (and) never explained why".
However, Lionel October, director-general of trade and industry, said while there could have been miscommunication, the exporters’ forum lost the department’s support because it failed to satisfy the criteria for promotional funding by lacking a sufficient number of entrepreneurs and small businesses.
"Most funding in the past supported big business, but the government now expects departments to ensure that entrepreneurs in small and medium businesses across all sectors are offered similar opportunities to access international markets and to be assisted to exhibit their products at these international trade fairs," he said.
As an example, Mr October said, the department supported 80 businesses — 50 large companies and 30 SMEs — on a trip to China last year to forge trade links and access that market.
"At the moment big business provides lots of jobs and contributes to the gross domestic product," he said. "However, we have to cater for SMEs because they also have potential to create jobs, provided market access and business opportunities are offered to them."
Mr October added: "We are trying to strike a balance between preserving what we have, which is valuable, and encouraging new entrants, involving sectors that have potential to contribute to the future economic growth of the country."
Mr James said the fruit industry should not be taken lightly because it was a highly productive sector, employing 460000 South Africans who in turn support 2-million dependants. The industry earns roughly R12bn a year in foreign exchange through exports to 70 countries.
He urged the Department of Trade and Industry to repair its relationship with exporters and "clarify its strategy" by working with organised agricultural groups to ensure access for South African products to overseas markets.
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The 2nd African Organic Conference, which runs from 2 to 4 May, has the theme of “Mainstreaming organic agriculture into the African development agenda.”
UNCTAD Deputy Secretary-General Petko Draganov told the opening session, “Organic agriculture can offer an impressive array of food security, economic, environmental, and health benefits for developing countries, including in Africa.”
Mr. Draganov said UNCTAD strongly supports the growing use of organic farming practices on the continent – Africa already has more certified organic farms than any other continent – and noted that this form of agriculture comprehensively illustrates the central topic of UNCTAD’s just concluded quadrennial conference in Doha, Qatar: “Development-centred globalization: Towards inclusive and sustainable growth and development.”
“The conference emphasized the importance of food security, sustainable agriculture, and a transition towards a ‘green’ economy,” Mr. Draganov said. “Clearly the subject of this meeting – organic agriculture – can have an important role in achieving sustainable and inclusive development.”
The three-day Lusaka meeting is jointly organized by UNCTAD, the African Union, the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Zambian Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, the Organic Producers and Processors Association of Zambia (OPPAZ) and Grow Organic Africa. The conference has among its objectives the development of an African Organic Action Plan intended to spur expansion of the organic farming sector, streamline certification and “organic equivalency” systems that allow more vigorous trade in organic goods, and add to the continent’s markets for organic produce.
It has been clear for some years that organic farming “fits” Africa . Organic agriculture does not use artificial fertilizers and other chemicals, which are expensive for the continent’s farmers, as 90 per cent of these inputs are imported. It preserves and enhances the soil in a region where land degradation and expanding deserts are a serious concern.
It relies primarily on locally available renewable resources, which shields farmers from price shocks associated with external farming inputs; it frequently increases farm yields by 100 per cent or more; and it brings higher prices to farmers, since organic produce sells at a premium. In addition, it helps create jobs in rural regions – as organic inputs are usually produced locally – and helps to stem the tide of migrants from rural areas to African cities.
Mr. Draganov told the meeting that UNCTAD’s forthcoming Trade and Environment Review 2012 “will highlight the need for policy-makers to be aware of the potential of organic agriculture, and identify the measures and policies needed to support its wider application. We should all work together to increase awareness about organic agriculture and develop supportive policies and programmes to help it spread.”
UNCTAD has worked with IFOAM, FAO and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) for the past 10 years on reducing technical barriers to trade in organic produce by facilitating harmonization and mutual recognition of organic standards, the Deputy Secretary-General noted. Among the fruits of this collaboration is the East African Organic Products Standard launched in 2007.
(Uganda ScieGirl)
Expanding Africa’s shift towards organic farming will have beneficial effects on the continent’s nutritional needs, the environment, farmers’ incomes, markets and employment, the deputy head of the United Nations trade and development body said today.
“Organic agriculture can offer an impressive array of food security, economic, environmental, and health benefits for developing countries, including in Africa,” said the Deputy Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Petko Draganov, during the opening of the 2nd African Organic Conference in the Zambian capital, Lusaka.
Mr. Draganov said UNCTAD, which is tasked with promoting the integration of developing countries into the global economy, strongly supports the growing use of organic farming practices in Africa – the region has more certified organic farms than any other continent – and pointed out that organic agriculture was a central topic of UNCTAD’s recent quadrennial conference in Doha, Qatar.
“The conference emphasized the importance of food security, sustainable agriculture, and a transition towards a ‘green’ economy,” Mr. Draganov said. “Clearly the subject of this meeting – organic agriculture – can have an important role in achieving sustainable and inclusive development.”
Among the objectives of the three-day conference in Lusaka is the development of an African Organic Action Plan intended to spur expansion of the organic farming sector, streamline certification and ‘organic equivalency’ systems for vigorous trade in organic goods, and add to the continent’s markets for organic produce.
Organic agriculture avoids the use of artificial fertilizers and other chemicals, which are expensive for the continent’s farmers because 90 per cent of them are imported. It also preserves and enhances the soil in a region where land degradation and expanding deserts are a serious concern. The farming method relies primarily on locally available renewable resources, shielding farmers from price shocks associated with external farming inputs.
According to UNCTAD, organic agriculture can increases farm yields by 100 per cent or more and help farmers receive higher prices for their produce, which sells at a premium. The method also helps create jobs in rural areas.
The conference in Lusaka is jointly organized by UNCTAD, the African Union, the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Zambian Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, the Organic Producers and Processors Association of Zambia and Grow Organic Africa.
(UN News Centre)
