1.Africa: Meeting the Food Security Challenge Through Organic Agriculture
2.FAO Convenes International Conference

NOTE: New UN paper on organic ag and food security ftp://ftp.fao.org/paia/organicag/ofs/OFS-2007-5.pdf

All papers from the conference:

http://www.fao.org/organicag/ofs/docs_en.htm

For complete information about the conference: http://www.fao.org/organicag/ofs/index

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1.Africa: Meeting the Food Security Challenge Through Organic Agriculture
FAO press release, May 3 2007 http://allafrica.com/stories/200705030342.html

Rome: "Organic agriculture is no longer a phenomenon in developed countries only, as it is commercially practiced in 120 countries, representing 31 million hectares and a market of US$40 billion in 2006," FAO underlines in a paper, Organic Agriculture and Food Security, presented here at an International Conference on Organic Agriculture and Food Security (3-5 May 2007).

The paper identifies the strengths and weaknesses of organic agriculture with regards to its contribution to food security, analyzes attributes of organic supply chains against the Right to Food framework and proposes policy and research actions for improving the performance of organic agriculture at the national, international and institutional levels.

"The strongest feature of organic agriculture is its reliance on fossil-fuel independent and locally-available production assets; working with natural processes increases cost-effectiveness and resilience of agro-ecosystems to climatic stress," the paper says.

"By managing biodiversity in time (rotations) and space (mixed cropping), organic farmers use their labour and environmental services to intensify production in a sustainable way. Organic agriculture also breaks the vicious circle of indebtedness for agricultural inputs which causes an alarming rate of farmers' suicides."

The paper recognizes that "most certified organic food production in developing countries goes to export" and adds that "when certified cash crops are linked with agro-ecological improvements and accrued income for poor farmers, this leads to improved food self-reliance and revitalization of small holder agriculture."

Knowledge and labour intensive

The paper underlines that some requirements should be met when converting to organic agriculture, mainly agro-ecological knowledge and labour availability. "Organic management is a knowledge-based approach requiring understanding of agro-ecological processes and it remains a constraint where labour is scarce, such as in populations decimated by HIV/AIDS."

However, labour requirements on organic farms, and the better return on labour, provide employment opportunities where this resource is most abundant, thus safeguarding rural livelihoods, according to FAO expert Nadia Scialabba.

The paper also quotes recent models of a global food supply grown organically which indicate that organic agriculture could produce enough food on a global per capita basis for the current world population.

"These models suggest that organic agriculture has the potential to secure a global food supply, just as conventional agriculture is today, but with reduced environmental impact," according to FAO.

The paper calls on governments to "allocate resources for organic agriculture and to integrate its objectives and actions within their national agricultural development and poverty reduction strategies, with particular emphasis on the needs of vulnerable groups."

It also insists on investment in human resource development and skill training in organic agriculture as part of sustainable development strategies.

Definition of organic agriculture

According to the Codex Alimentarius Commission and all existing national regulations, "organic agriculture is a holistic production management system that avoids use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and genetically modified organisms, minimizes pollution of air, soil and water, and optimizes the health and productivity of interdependent communities of plants, animals and people."

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2.FAO Convenes International Conference to Demonstrate the Huge Potential of Organic Agriculture for Food Security
IFOAM press release, May 3 2007 http://www.commondreams.org/news2007/0503-01.htm

From May 3rd until Saturday May 5th, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is holding an international conference Organic Agriculture and Food Security at its headquarters in Rome, Italy. The conference is organized in partnership with the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM). The results of the conference will be presented to the Committee on World Food Security.

The overall objective of the Conference is to shed light on the contribution of Organic Agriculture to food security through the analysis of existing information in different agro-ecological areas of the world. The conference will identify Organic Agriculture's potential to address the food security challenges, including conditions required for its success.

According to the paper Organic Agriculture and Food Security that the FAO has published in connection with this conference, "The strongest feature of Organic Agriculture is its reliance on fossil-fuel independent and locally-available production assets; working with natural processes increases cost-effectiveness and resilience of agro-ecosystems to climatic stress." The paper calls on governments to "allocate resources for organic agriculture and to integrate its objectives and actions within their national agricultural development and poverty reduction strategies, with particular emphasis on the needs of vulnerable groups."

The outcome of the Conference will be a thorough assessment of the state of knowledge on Organic Agriculture and food security, including recommendations on areas for further research and policy development. The Report of the Conference will be submitted to the 33rd Session of the Committee on World Food Security, both to inform government delegations from around the world and to provide a basis for tangible actions to be taken by the FAO.

"Given the global conditions of war, climate change, disasters and inequity, food security is not just a matter of production figures," stated IFOAM Executive Director Angela B. Caudle, noting that the positive contribution of Organic Agriculture to food availability, food access, food stability and food utilization - all aspects of food security - will be carefully analyzed and discussed during the conference. "IFOAM member organizations from all over the world will present their positive examples and share how the conversion to organic made a significant difference in the livelihoods of people," such as with the organic farmers' organization AOPEB in Bolivia and with Masipag in the Philippines.

Representatives of all sectors of the IFOAM network will share a wealth of experiences and the challenges they face with participants - government delegates and country representatives to the FAO - and answer questions regarding Organic Agriculture that they might have.

From May 7th to 10th, IFOAM will advocate that the outcomes of the conference are taken into consideration by the 33rd Committee on World Food Security, which should result in policy changes within the FAO that favor Organic Agriculture.