East African organic standard to be launched in Tanzania

Various groups of players involved in promoting organic agriculture in East Africa will gather in Dar es Salaam, the Tanzanian capital, from May 28 to June 1. The East African Organic Conference seeks to bring together agricultural and economic decision makers and project implementers for the purpose of presenting to them the potential of organic agriculture for business and for development. The results of various organic studies and projects being undertaken in the region will be presented.

The conference will also launch the East African Organic Products Standard and the associated East African Organic Mark. The standard seeks to replace the individual regulations affecting organic products of the region's countries with one unified regional standard. The brand is to help create consumer awareness of organic products and engender confidence that they have been produced according to a high, defined standard.

As the majority of the region's growing certified organic production is for export, mainly to the EU, some have questioned the need for and importance of such a regional standard. Regardless of the standards obtaining in a producer country or region, export market access depends on producers and exporters meeting the regulations of the importing markets. However, it is hoped that the standard will be used "for self-assessment by producers, declarations of conformity in the marketplace, certification by certification bodies in the region, or other kinds of verification." The standard is also intended to stimulate and ease organic trade within the region.

Chido Makunike