Agriculture

Harmonisation Of W/Africa Organic Agriculture Standards Will Enhance Regional Trade – Experts

Published

4 years ago

November 26, 2021

Joel Ajayi
Organic Agriculture practice experts say harmonisation of its standards among the 15 ECOWAS members will enhance quality trade in certified produce and products in the region.

They gave the assurance at the closing day of the 6th West African Conference on Organic Agriculture with the Theme, ‘Feeding the World Without Poisoning’ at Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

The hybrid 4-day event monitored had participants from across the world rubbing minds over how to ensure healthy, sustainable agriculture practices.

They assured participants that the harmonisation of the standards is for the good of the health of the people of the member states and their environment.

Mr Ernest Aubee, Head of Agriculture, ECOWAS Commission, Abuja, and Chairman of Ecological Organic Agriculture (EOA) Regional Steering Committee, said that the standards documents would be submitted to ECOWAS for ratification and approval.

“In West Africa, we have different standards in different countries, while some countries do not have any at all, so this harmonisation will protect the interests of both those who have and those who do not have”.

Aubee said that organic Agriculture is developing fast at the global level, however, the pace is still slow in West Africa compared to Eastern Africa, Europe and Australia.

“This harmonisation will accelerate organic agriculture development, regional growth of food, and security integration.
“We want to achieve food security and safety, so that our people do not only have enough to eat, but eat quality and nutritious food.

“Therefore, I encourage stakeholders to appreciate and key into these harmonised standards when approved, in the interest of the region”.

Mr Rene Emmenegger, Project Manager, of International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement (IFOAM) stressed the importance of organic agriculture standards.

He said that the standardisation will not only improve development of organic agriculture in West Africa but also encourage export business.

He said that IFOAM offers a platform for organic standards setters to discuss standards and create synergies for standard development and harmonisation to also ease trade.

“Agriculture and certified organic farming without viable trade is not sustainable.
“It will bring diversity of produce, simplicity of the process, empowerment of farmers, and easy access to standardised produce and products in the region.

“It will also promote and increase supply of organic produce and products and stimulate the growth of the organic sector of the region”.

Dr Olugbenga AdeOluwa, Secretary, West Africa Ecological Organic Agriculture (EOA) cluster noted that political and financial support is needed for proper formulation and implementation of the standards.
AdeOluwa suggested an enactment of stand-alone EOA policies, strategies and frameworks that support the regional standard.

“These policies should give clear guidelines and full support to the production of organic inputs and products.
“The policies should have proper institutionalisation and inclusivity of all stakeholders and public-private partnerships.

“It must include a bottom-up approach in the policy implementation which offers farmers good opportunities to contribute to the process and ensure its success”.

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Agriculture

IWMI: Promoting affordable irrigation technologies for smallholder farmers

Published

2 weeks ago

October 21, 2025

The Gleamer

Mariam Sanni

Smallholder farmers are challenged with erratic rainfall leading to drought spells, crop water stress and eventually reduced growth and yield penalties

Water insecurity is the major risk to smallholder farmers and a major driver for low investments in agricultural innovations

Even when water resources are sustainably available, smallholder farmers are unable to invest in irrigation equipment due to high upfront costs.

Smallholder farmers have limited access to loans and credit facilities even though irrigation usually is a profitable investment.

Promoting affordable irrigation for smallholders involves increasing access to low-cost technologies like drip and sprinkler kits and solar pumps, and supporting them with financial tools like subsidies and credit.

Also the Farmer-Led Irrigation Development (FLID) has helped farmers to independently invest in, manage and maintain irrigation equipment, adapting technologies to local needs without relying on large-scale projects, reduces farmers’ reliance on erratic rainfall and leads to increased farm investments (good seed, fertilizers, etc.)

Farmers move from 1 rain-fed crop, to multiple harvests per year, boosting yields, income, and food security

Nigeria and other countries have high potential for solar-based irrigation, irrespective of the type of water resources.

As part of efforts to boost local capacity to produce and maintain simple, low-cost irrigation, International Water Management Institute, IWMI through multi- stakeholder dialogues, policy support is partnering with stakeholders created an enabling environment for inclusive and sustainable irrigation development .

The Researcher , Agricultural Water Solution, IWMI Dr Adebayo Oke during his presentation at the International Conference on Climate Change and Just Energy Transition 2025, highlighted that the institute has foster SMEs’ inclusive scaling of bundled irrigation solutions through inclusive business model development and strategic partnerships

The Conference which was theme: Sustainable Clinate Resilience and Just Energy Transition in Africa: A Collaborative Pathway through Policy, Capacity Building, Research and Inclusion was held in Abuja.

He added that its has deployed an impact accelerator program to develop new bundled solutions and SME collaborations that address multiple value chains

According him, IWMI has attracted sustainable finance investments in SMEs to fast-track the adoption of bundled water solutions by smallholder farmers.

Speaking on experience in Nigeria: scaling solar irrigation solutions –Solar scaling pathway studies (Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi) has stratifying the smallholder farmers using the Discrete Choice Experiment.

He mentioned bundling of irrigation technology and financial services to determine scaling pathway/different financing models.

Dr Oke added they also developed a credit facility to enable the scaling of SPI.

Furthermore, he stated IWMI-West & Central Africa Priorities for 2024-2030 as building resilient agric food system against climate change , leveraging water for resilience in fragile and conflict affected settings, enabling circular water and food economy innovations, supporting water infrastructure and allocation decisions among others .

The Country Director , Ghana and Regional Representatives for West and Central Africa, Professor Kehinde Ogunjobi in an interview with newsmen at the event highlighted the importance of evidence-based data for farmers, aquaculture, and environmental ministries.

He said that there is need to raise awareness and emphasized the importance of government support for research and developmental projects on climate change and its impact on agriculture, livelihood, and other sectors.

Professor Ogunjobi has implored government to build capacity of people working in the field of climate change and capacitate farmers to turn evidence-based data into reality.

He encouraged the government to do more to support research and address the impact of climate change, which is more evident in the West African region compared to developed countries.

He urged stakeholders to collaborate with the government and institutions like IWMI Ghana to improve the impact of climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts and improve the livelihood of people in the region.

He noted the political shift in the US, with the previous administration no longer supporting climate change initiatives, emphasizing the need for Africa to look inward.

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