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Organic agriculture in Africa: a critical review from a multidisciplinary perspective

dc.contributor.authorAbele, S.
dc.contributor.authorDubois, T.
dc.contributor.authorTwine, E.
dc.contributor.authorSonder, K.
dc.contributor.authorCoulibaly, O.
dc.date.accessioned2019-12-04T11:19:40Z
dc.date.available2019-12-04T11:19:40Z
dc.date.issued2007
dc.identifier.citationAbele, S., Dubois, T., Twine, E., Sonder, K. & Coulibaly, O. (2007). Organic agriculture in Africa: A critical review from a multidisciplinary perspective. Organic Agriculture in the Tropics and Subtropics, 89, 143-166.
dc.identifier.issn1612-9830
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12478/3508
dc.description.abstractOrganic agriculture seems to be a profitable enterprise for small scale farmers in developing countries, also in Africa, to enter high value markets in the Northern hemisphere and overcome the crises of declining terms of trade on global agricultural produce markets. It is also seen as a way to overcome food security problems, induced by low yields and declining productivity of African smallholder agriculture. This paper discusses the present situation on European organic markets and their potential for small scale farmers in Africa, finding that although markets in the North are still growing, they might be limited in the long run. Barriers to entry are many, including the lack of affordable certification bodies in Africa, poor infrastructure and experience in organic production and marketing, as well as regulation in European markets, and increasing risks and competition associated with the process of market saturation. Organic agriculture has not yet proven to solve the problems of food security and declining terms of trade in Africa. It is also clear that there is a lot of inequity in the organic chains, and that so far only the relatively large scale farmers in Africa, as well as middlemen and traders along the chain, profit from commercial organic agriculture, similar to findings from conventional commercial agriculture. Organic agriculture is being researched by international agricultural research organizations, and it is found to be less yielding and more risky than integrated approaches that combine organic and synthetic inputs. This research has to be still extended, and research gaps, especially in terms of costs and benefits, have to be closed to get a final picture on how to integrate and optimise the various approaches.
dc.language.isoen
dc.subjectFood Security
dc.subjectIntegrated Agriculture
dc.subjectNiche Market
dc.subjectSub-Saharan Africa
dc.subjectSustainable Agricultural Production
dc.subjectTerms Of Trade
dc.titleOrganic agriculture in Africa: a critical review from a multidisciplinary perspective
dc.typeJournal Article
dc.description.versionPeer Review
cg.contributor.affiliationInternational Institute of Tropical Agriculture
cg.coverage.regionAfrica
cg.coverage.regionEast Africa
cg.coverage.regionWest Africa
cg.coverage.countryUganda
cg.coverage.countryNigeria
cg.coverage.countryBenin
cg.authorship.typesCGIAR single centre
cg.iitasubjectFarm Management
cg.iitasubjectPlant Production
cg.iitasubjectMarkets
cg.iitasubjectFood Security
cg.iitasubjectImpact Assessment
cg.iitasubjectHandling, Transport, Storage And Protection Of Agricultural Products
cg.iitasubjectNatural Resource Management
cg.iitasubjectLivelihoods
cg.iitasubjectAgribusiness
cg.iitasubjectNutrition
cg.iitasubjectPost-Harvesting Technology
cg.iitasubjectDomestic Trade
cg.accessibilitystatusOpen Access
local.dspaceid95479


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