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Organic drives farm to fork sustainability in Namibia
In Namibia, markets for organic and other sustainably produced products are gaining attention internationally thanks to a study undertaken by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) and the Namibian Organic Association.
There are incentives that motivate farmers to adopt more sustainable practices, one of them being markets, which could play an important role in the transition towards sustainable intensification. Policy pressures to propose ‘climate-smart’ agricultural solutions and the rise of consumers demanding “sustainable” products, have created market outlets for sustainable food, textiles and energy in developed countries. This approach clearly converges with the objectives of the Namibian National Agricultural Policy (MAWF, 1995), which among other priorities, aims to promote the sustainable utilization of the nation’s land and other natural resources.
Through the Organic Association’s participatory guarantee system (PGS) of certification for organic products, Namibia has been able to ensure that the market drives the adoption of sustainable agricultural products. The PGS brings consumers, producers and other intermediaries together on a regular basis to conduct ‘peer-reviews’ of organic farms. The system relies upon the expert knowledge of farmers to assess farming practices and the interest of consumers and intermediaries to participate and observe these assessments. The system also relies heavily upon direct marketing through members of the network, the weekly Windhoek Greenmarket and through Internet orders for the Organic Box.
There are incentives that motivate farmers to adopt more sustainable practices, one of them being markets, which could play an important role in the transition towards sustainable intensification. Policy pressures to propose ‘climate-smart’ agricultural solutions and the rise of consumers demanding “sustainable” products, have created market outlets for sustainable food, textiles and energy in developed countries. This approach clearly converges with the objectives of the Namibian National Agricultural Policy (MAWF, 1995), which among other priorities, aims to promote the sustainable utilization of the nation’s land and other natural resources.
Through the Organic Association’s participatory guarantee system (PGS) of certification for organic products, Namibia has been able to ensure that the market drives the adoption of sustainable agricultural products. The PGS brings consumers, producers and other intermediaries together on a regular basis to conduct ‘peer-reviews’ of organic farms. The system relies upon the expert knowledge of farmers to assess farming practices and the interest of consumers and intermediaries to participate and observe these assessments. The system also relies heavily upon direct marketing through members of the network, the weekly Windhoek Greenmarket and through Internet orders for the Organic Box.
Website resource：http://organic-market.info/news-in-brief-and-reports-article/organic-drives-farm-to-fork-sustainability-in-namibia.html
Tags: Namibia , organic farm
