We, the 90
participants gathered at the 2019 National Organic Agriculture Business Summit
(4 th edition) held at Solab Hotels and Suites, Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria
from October 16 – 18, 2019 representing organic agriculture stakeholders from
all the geo-political zones of Nigeria and the United States of America (one
participant ).
The attendance represents circles of investors in agricultural
input supply, crop production, processing, packaging and consumers. Also
represented at the gathering were representatives of government organisations
related to agriculture, education (research and higher educational
institutions), trade, health and environment, hotels and hospitality,
supermarket operators, media practitioners and civil rights organisations. The
summit’s deliberations centred on the theme ‘Organic export opportunities for
national development’.
RESOLVED
·
that the level of understanding of organic
agriculture principles and practices is low in Nigeria;
·
that the activities of Organic Agriculture
platforms in Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for policy
formulation and implementation are at low ebb compared to the size of the
country;
·
that the
understanding of possible business opportunities from organic agriculture is
poor among potential stakeholders;
·
that there is huge technical knowledge gap of
organic agriculture production system in the country;
·
that
extension services to facilitate organic agriculture in the country is almost
nonexistent;
·
that
sourcing of organic inputs in the country is still very challenging;
·
that
there is poor awareness of the required procedures for certification of organic
produce and products for both domestic and export trade;
·
that
there is extremely limited enabling environment for organic agriculture
business development in the country;
·
that there is the need for a holistic engagement
of youths and women in organic agriculture for meaningful economic
participation;
·
that there is the need to increase Nigerian
organic market share (in term of produce, products and services) in the global market e.g. BioFach
(which holds yearly by mid February at Nuremberg, Germany);
·
that there is the need for more science based
evidence and facts through research to promote organic agriculture;
·
to emphasise the need for funding of the annual
National Organic Agriculture Business Summit in order to extend its benefits to
more stakeholders; thereby contributing to national development;
·
to
mainstream organic agriculture into existing curricula for agricultural
training at higher educational institutions (HEIs) in Nigeria;
·
that there is need for appropriate funding to
support the efforts of organic agriculture entrepreneurs in Nigeria.
RECALLING
·
that
Nigeria subscribes to the Sustainable Development Goals; specifically Goal 2
(Zero Hunger), Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being), Goal 5 (Gender Equality)
and Goal 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) that are relevant to
organic agriculture;
·
that Nigeria is yet to achieve a remarkable
share in the current global organic market of over USD 100 billion; that available facts reveal paucity of
scientific evidences to support organic agriculture in Nigeria, especially for
exportable produce and products;
·
that organic agriculture is not reflected in the
existing curricula for agricultural training at higher educational institutions
in Nigeria;
·
that agricultural funding policies of the
Government have not given adequate attention to organic agriculture sub-sector;
WE
URGE
·
all tiers of government in Nigeria to fully
explore opportunities in the African Heads of States and Governments’ Decision
on Organic Farming [EX.CL/Dec.621 (XVII), 2010];
·
appropriate organisations with expertise in
organic agriculture to consistently enlighten stakeholders in Nigeria on
principles and practices of organic agriculture;
·
relevant national organisations and
international partners to provide entrepreneurial education on organic
agriculture for all stakeholders in the agricultural value chain;
·
organisations in charge of academic curricula of
HEIs in the country to mainstream organic agriculture into the academic
curricula of the HEIs in Nigeria for the development of technically sound
faculty and workforce in the sector;
·
Agricultural Development Programmes and other
extension service arms in the country to properly train their personnel to be
able to assist farmers in overcoming challenges associated with organic
agricultural production;
·
appropriate agencies of Government ministries
(Agriculture & Rural Development, Industry, Trade and Investments, Health,
Environment, Mineral Resources, Science & Technology, etc.) to contribute
to the development of organic agriculture in the country;
·
public and private organisations with mandate
for organic agriculture to consistently train producers on certification and
export procedures in organic agriculture;
·
that appropriate policies be put in place to
provide enabling environment for organic agriculture business development in
the country, especially the Nigerian Organic Agriculture Bill that has been
drafted since 2016. The bill could be pushed through the Federal Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development as an executive bill;
·
national organising committee of the annual
National Organic Agriculture Business Summit to be better expanded to bring on
board various stakeholders like Organic Division of the Federal Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Investments,
the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) , National Agency for Food
and Drug Administration Control (NAFDAC), National Universities Commission
(NUC), National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), the National Agricultural
Seeds Council (NASC), National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industries,
Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC),
the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), the Raw
Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Standard Organization of
Nigeria (SON), Bank of Agriculture (BoA) and Washington State University,
United States of America.
·
that the
National Organic Agriculture Business Summit should be well positioned to
attract more local and foreign business opportunities in the organic
agriculture sector;
·
establishment of Organic Agriculture platforms
in all relevant MDAs for policy formulation and implementation. An example can
be seen in Morocco where a special Department for Organic Agriculture was
established at both national and state equivalent levels.
APPRECIATING
·
the
efforts of partner organizations of the Ecological Organic Agriculture (EOA)
Initiative in Nigeria, namely;
Association of Organic Agriculture Practitioners of Nigeria (Country Lead
Organization), Federation of Agricultural Commodity Associations of Nigeria
(FACAN), Farmer Development Union (FADU), Justice Development and Peace
Commission (JDPC), Uyo, Organic research teams of University of Ibadan, Kwara
State University and Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Ikot Ekpene Women Food Cash
Crops (MPCS) and Healthy Food for Consumers Initiatives, under the chairmanship
of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for organizing the
National Organic Agriculture Business Summit and contribution to development of
organic agriculture systems in Nigeria;
·
funding from the Swiss Agency for Cooperation
and Development (SDC) of Switzerland for EOA Initiative in Nigeria;
·
Prof. Akin Abayomi, the Hon. Commissioner, Lagos
State Ministry of Health for gracing the Summit and presenting the maiden
edition of OrganiCulture (National Organic Agriculture
·
the efforts of the Federal Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development as well as the Ministry of Industry, Trade
and Investments for supporting organic agriculture in the country;
·
the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) and The Sun
Newspaper for supporting organic agriculture in the country;
·
the efforts of the National Universities
Commission (NUC) and National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) for their
positive involvement in mainstreaming organic agriculture into existing
curricula of agricultural programmes for HEIs in Nigeria;
·
H.E., Lt. Col. Abubakar Zakariya Maimalari (Rtd)
[Former Military Administrator of Jigawa State and C.E.O Excel Standards Ltd.,
Kano], Prof. V.I.O. Olowe (the President of the Association of Organic
Agriculture Practitioners of Nigeria), Dr. Cornelius Adewale (Washington State
University), representatives of Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS),
the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Bank of Agriculture
(BoA) for their presentations during this Summit, as well as the various exhibitors
during the event;
·
the
consistent support of the ECOWAS Commission, Agricultural Research Council of
Nigeria (ARCN), National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Control
(NAFDAC), the Association of Deans of Agriculture in Nigeria (ADAN), Organic
Agriculture Practitioners in Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria (OAPTIN),
National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC), the Nigerian Export Promotion
Council (NEPC), Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) and the Nigerian
Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA)
for the development of organic agriculture in the country.
CONGRATULATING THE 2019 NATIONAL ORGANIC
AGRICULTURE MERIT AWARD WINNERS
·
Barr. Olusola M. Sowemimo of Ope Farm, Ogun
State, as the Organic Farmer/ Processor of the year,
·
Mrs. Ebere Agozie of the News Agency of Nigeria,
as the Advocacy/Media Personality of the year and
·
Anambra State Government, as the State
Government of the year, in appreciation of their dedication and devotion to the
development of organic agriculture in Nigeria.
We agreed to meet in Uyo 2020 for the fifth
edition, while bidding for hosting of 2021 and 2022 NOABS will be done at Uyo,
for the sixth and seventh National Organic Agriculture Business Summit to
further pursue the drive for the development of organic agriculture businesses
in the country.
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