On 16th February 2022, a delegation comprising of officials from the SDC, Biovision Africa Trust (BvAT) and Kenya Organic Agriculture Network (KOAN), organizations supporting and promoting the African Union led Ecological Organic Agriculture Initiative (EOA-I) paid a courtesy call to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Co-operatives. They were hosted by the Agriculture Secretary, Mr. Josephat Muhunyu, the Director for Crops Management, Mr. Douglas Kangi and the CAADP Desk Officer, Ms. Josephine Love.
The SDC team was represented by Mr. Daniel Valenghi, Programme Officer for the Global Programme Food Security GPFS) and Mr. Amsalu Abate Andarge, the National Programme Officer, GPFS. The BvAT team was represented by Dr. David Amudavi, Executive Director, Ms. Venancia Wambua, EOA-I Project Manager, Mr. Alex Mutungi, EOA-I Secretariat Coordinator while KOAN was represented by Mr. Martin Njoroge, the Programme Officer for the EOA-I Kenya chapter.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Daniel noted that the promotion of agroecology is a priority for the Swiss Government and underscored the need to support farmers to produce quality organic products since it is a trade opportunity in Africa for domestic consumption and exports. He noted that farmers should have a diversity of crops and ensure they understand how to improve their soil fertility to maintain the production of organic produce. He reiterated the importance of organic agriculture as a practice that improves and maintains soil fertility. Dr. Amudavi briefed the meeting about the structure and operation of the EOA Initiative and reiterated the need for close collaboration between the ministry and EOA actors to ensure that the ministry is abreast with latest developments and the work that the organic stakeholders are doing.
Mr. Muhunyu assured the meeting that the ministry is supporting Ecological Organic Agriculture in line with other agricultural practices being promoted by the government to ensure food and nutrition security. He underscored the aspect of food safety and cautioned that the transition from conventional to organic agriculture is a gradual process that needs the support of all stakeholders and capacity enhancement of farmers to make it a success. He emphasized the need for transitional models between conventional and organic farming. He further noted that research is needed, and evidence availed to make farming systems sustainable. Additionally, Mr. Kangi informed the meeting that the ministry has been recognizing organic agriculture for a while now only that it has not been scheduled and it will continue to work with organic stakeholders. He also requested for another strategic stakeholder meeting that would unpackage and deepen the areas of collaboration between the ministry and organic sector actors like BvAT and KOAN.
Venancia urged the ministry to support the policy development of the organic sector. She mentioned that the National Organic Strategy is already under development and the 1st draft has been developed. Alex mentioned that the African Union Commission under the auspices of the CAADP framework is working towards integrating EOA in the CAADP Biennual Review Reporting (BRR), a key milestone in mainstreaming EOA in agriculture continental frameworks.
In his closing remarks, the Agriculture Secretary urged the need for more support towards organic research and catalyzing the increased consumption of organic products. He noted that triggering consumption of organic products through streamlining organic certification and traceability of products would accelerate the development of the organic sector.
Compiled by Ms. Venancia Wambua, EOA-I Project Manager