Platform for African – European Partnership in Agricultural Research for Development

Friday, February 20, 2015

BIOFACH - World's leading Trade Fair for Organic Food

10-13 February 2015. The 2015 BIOFACH and VIVANESS Congress, which included more than 100 separate discussions, was attended by 7,000 interested listeners and participants. Taking place this year for the first time, the Politics Forum experienced particularly strong interest, drawing more than 1,000 visitors to its events. The discussion on the free trade agreement between the EU and the USA “TTIP - an opportunity or a threat to the organic industry” proved to be especially popular.

In 2014, German households spent 4.8 % more on organic food and drink than in the year before, with sales amounting to just under EUR 8bn according to the German Federation of the Organic Food Industry (BÖLW). The natural cosmetics market has also grown significantly. A general survey conducted by naturkosmetik konzepte, GfK, IRI, IMS Health and BioVista shows that over EUR 1bn were generated from natural cosmetics in 2014, 10 % more than in 2013.

Some African organic agriculture exhibitors:

Dried coconut
WAD (Weija Agricultural Development) was founded in the year 2000 and exports mainly dried and fresh pineapples, dried coconut, dried mangos and dried papaya. WAD African Foods believes in the potential of small farmers in Ghana.

The company’s target is to alleviate poverty in the country and to fight against the dependence of the famers. WAD African Foods supports small-scale farmers improving their standard of living by training them and promoting their products on the European market. The company works with middle-class farmers group in different regions of Ghana. Over 200 farmer families supply WAD with their products which are certified by IMO Switzerland.

NOGAMU/BioAfrican Pavillion
A unique feature of Uganda 's organic agriculture is the high coordination, involvement and commitment from all stakeholders in the organic sector. From public institutions including the ministries of Trade, Agriculture, Uganda Export Promotions Board, Uganda National Bureau of Standards, Uganda Coffee Development Authority, Cotton development Organization, the Presidents office, to private institutions (all under the umbrella of NOGAMU) these include farmers associations, export companies, NGOs, CBOs, private Universities (e.g. Uganda Martyr's University).

Aduna is an Africa-inspired health and beauty brand and social business. Their mission is to create demand for exceptional and underutilised natural ingredients that we source directly from small-scale producers in Africa. Their first two ‘super-ingredients’ baobab and moringa are the best-selling superfoods in leading UK health and beauty retailers including WholeFoods, Planet Organic, Liberty and Selfridges.
Agro Eco-Louis Bolk Institute is an independent organisation specialised in project management, training and advice on organic and sustainable agriculture in the tropics. From their office in Accra (Ghana) they work in various countries of East and West Africa. Central pillars of their work are their systems approach, respect for the integrity of life, and a participatory methodology. Among their international clients are CARE, Progreso and Oxfam Novib.
Set on a fertile, rural 40 hectare plantation in Vivo, deep in the province of Limpopo, South Africa, where conditions are ideal to cultivate aloe plants, Aloway Natural Health Products. (Aloway) is home to the first manufacturing facility of organic Aloe Vera on an industrial scale in South Africa. When cultivation began at Aloway in 2008, it reached out to the local community to source workers for the facility. This has had a positive spin off for the rural people of Vivo, as job creation is desperately needed in these remote areas.

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