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The IFOAM Africa Office Project |
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IFOAM established its Africa Office (IAO) in 2004 to help the growth of Organic Agriculture on the continent.
The IAO is presently based at the IFOAM Head Office in Bonn, Germany, with Hervé Bouagnimbeck as the IAO Coordinator.
Currently, the IAO is mainly funded by HIVOS (Africa Desk) in the form of institutional support.
The work of the IAO is guided by the Strategic Plan which was developed by different actors and stakeholders in the organic and agro-ecological movement in Africa during a strategic planning meeting held in Nairobi, Kenya. In short, the Strategic Plan consists of the four following pillars:
1) Institutionalizing the organic sector in Africa
2) Promoting Organic Agriculture as a development option for Africa
3) Contributing to organic markets and standards development
4) Fostering a supportive policy framework for the development of organic agriculture in Africa
Essentially, the IAO focuses on networking and facilitating the exchange of information on different experiences from various parts of Africa.
The Africa Office has a homepage under the IFOAM’s website. This provides information in English and French on issues relevant to the organic sector in Africa, including online discussion forums.
The IAO publishes a monthly electronic newsletter, Africa Organic News, featuring African organic news. The African Organic News is published in English and French and distributed freely.
The IAO establishes IFOAM Contact Points across sub-Saharan Africa to facilitate the information flow and networking activities within the African organic sector.
The IAO is involved in several projects, such as:
- The OSEA project “Regional Cooperation for Organic Standards and Certification Capacity in East Africa”
- The Rudolf Steiner Foundation Project “Linking African Organic Exporters with Northern Importers and support the establishment of accreditation bodies in Africa”
- The FAO project “Increasing incomes and food security of small farmers in West and Central Africa through export of organic and fair-trade tropical products”, for which the IAO coordinator is part of the steering committee.
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