Organic Agriculture in Africa 2012

There were slightly more than one million hectares of certified organic agricultural land in Africa in 2011. This constitutes about three percent of the world’s organic agricultural land. There were 541’000 producers.

Uganda is the country with the largest organic area (with more than 220’000 hectares) and with the largest number of organic producers. The country with the highest share of organic agricultural land is the island state Sao Tome and Principe with 8 percent of its agricultural area being organic.

The majority of certified organic produce in Africa is destined for export markets. Key crops are coffee, olives, cocoa, oilseeds, and cotton. The European Union is Africa’s largest market for agricultural produce.

There is a growing recognition among policy makers that organic agriculture has a significant role to play in addressing the pressing problems of food insecurity, poverty, and climate change in Africa.

Significant breakthroughs were achieved in 2012: Currently, the Action Plan of the Ecological Organic Agriculture (EOA) Initiative has been implemented on a pilot basis in six countries: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Ethiopia in eastern Africa; Nigeria in western Africa; and Zambia in southern Africa. At the Second African Organic Conference held in Lusaka, Zambia, in May 2012, “The Lusaka Declaration on Mainstreaming Organic Agriculture into the African Development Agenda” was adopted. It will be used to continue lobbying a comprehensive range of stakeholders capable of unlocking the potential that organic/ecological agriculture offers for Africa.

The next African Organic Conference will be held in Nigeria in 2015.