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Inaugural Participatory Guarantee System Training of Trainers held by KOAN.

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Unlike the “Third Party Certification” approach, which relies on external inspection bodies, the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) represents an alternative assurance system. PGS involves internal procedures that are less rigorous and less costly, making it particularly suitable for local farming setups comprising groups of farmers, buyers or consumers, and stakeholders. PGS enables consumers, farmers, and all participants in the value chain to establish an “organic guarantee” system built upon principles of transparency and trust. This system empowers smallholder farmers working in groups to cultivate and market organic agricultural produce, while consumers gain access to safe products and become actively engaged in the agricultural process.

In Kenya, the adoption of the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) has witnessed ongoing growth, with 25 groups currently registered and approved by KOAN. As the custodian of the East African Organic Products Standards, KOAN establishes the regulations governing PGS in Kenya. Furthermore, there has been a notable increase in the demand for organic products. As consumer interest in organic food production continues to surge, it becomes imperative to expand the supply of organic products. Numerous farmer groups across the country have received training in organic farming and collaborate with NGOs and CBOs. However, these groups encounter challenges in accessing organic markets due to the absence of a formal guarantee system.

On 8th June 2023, KOAN conducted its inaugural virtual training on Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) Training of Trainers (ToT). The primary objective of the training was to enhance and strengthen the skills necessary for effectively implementing and auditing PGS groups, thereby facilitating the growth of PGS in Kenya. The training aimed to establish a group of accredited PGS Trainers of Trainers (TOTs) and Assessors who would play a pivotal role in expanding the number of PGS groups across the country. By doing so, the training sought to augment the range, assortment, and seasonal availability of organic products in the market, originating from PGS groups. This training attracted a diverse group of over 30 participants who already possess experience in working with farmers’ groups and providing training on organic farming practices. The participants were carefully chosen from various regions across Kenya, where organic farming is practiced, and were selected from both KOAN members and partner organizations, including PELUM Kenya and Biovision Africa Trust.

During this initial stage of the training, participants were required to complete a pre-training form aimed at assessing their existing knowledge, skills, and pertinent working information. Subsequently, the participants attended the inaugural training webinar, which focused on the formulation of a PGS development plan. This training provided participants with the necessary tools to gather information and develop an initial draft of the development plan. Stay connected with us via social media channels for updates regarding the upcoming steps, during which the participants will present and further refine the draft development plan in a face-to-face training. This comprehensive training program will involve three days of classroom sessions and a one-day experiential learning opportunity in the field.

If you require further information about the training or wish to register your group for PGS, please get in touch with Samuel Ndungu via email ndungus@koan.co.ke

4TH ORGANIC BUSINESS PLANNING WORKSHOP 2022

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Date : Thursday 24th November 2022

Venue : Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace and Cultural Studies  (University of Nairobi)

Time : 9.00am – 1.00pm

Goal : Growing the Organic Industry through collaboration and innovation among value chain actors

Objective:

  • To identify interesting areas for organic business innovation and collaboration
  • To provide opportunity for improved networking among organic value chain actors in Kenya.
  • To create awareness about organic business support scheme.

Participants: Organic sector traders, retailers, processors, farmer groups, logistic partners and interested parties.

Summary

Whereas Organic farming is seen as an alternative to conventional farming which has negative attendant impacts on the environment, a lot of opportunities exist in Kenya’s organic sector both local and export markets. KOAN is committed to working with organic stakeholders to take advantage of the prevailing business opportunities as well as spur innovation for developing new ones.

The participatory market chain approach (PMCA) methodology has been piloted successfully in Kenya from 2020-2022. The Pilot reaffirmed the philosophy of collaboration over competition and several opportunities were identified and continue to be pursued. It is with this in mind that we invite you to the PMCA Phase 1 main event.

This event is dubbed as the 4TH ORGANIC BUSINESS PLANNING WORKSHOP 2022, will bring together actors (Retailers, Traders, Processors, Farmer Groups and others) in the sector with the goal of presenting interesting ideas that have been gathered, through market research by KOAN. It is our goal to see Functional Thematic Groups (TG) emerge which will engage and identify interesting business opportunities for joint exploration.

The Organic Business Summit -Post Event Notes

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Accessing markets and building viable consumer bases are a major challenge for all business ventures and the Organic Agriculture Industry is no exception to such realities. It has been our experience that to have any worthwhile business relationship, it is pertinent that all value chain actors from farmers, traders, processors and retailers (not forgetting supporting actors such as certifiers, government and non-governmental actors, inputs suppliers among others) work collaboratively. Collaboration fosters trust and allows players to identify, explore and actualize business opportunities.

The Business Summit was able to outline some areas of interest and to present compelling arguments of why the Organic Agriculture Sector in Kenya is ripe for the picking.

With such a rich pool of stakeholders represented we hope that the event will ignite the spark of collaboration among Organic Agriculture Sector players.

From the Summit Three Thematic areas of interest were identified for collaborative pursuit;

  1. Organic Vegetables and Fruits for Local Market
  2. Organic Fruit for Export
  3. Organic Herbs and Spices

The Business Summit was the just a 1st Step in many to, discussions in the various thematic groups have already commenced with many actors already moving forward in identifying opportunities.

In order to coordinate these collaborations WhatsApp groups have been set up based on the Thematic Groups(TG).

The groups are being coordinated as follows;

  Thematic Group Facilitator
1 Organic Vegetables and Fruits for Local Market Martin Njoroge
2 Organic Fruit for Export Clement Adongo

 

 

Lawrence Gitonga
3 Organic Herbs and Spices Emma Njoki

One has to be an interested party to participate in any of the above group and must offer some value to the discussions being held. The main purpose of the groups is to explore business opportunities that must Benefit Farmers in Murang’a County.

Contact Martin Njoroge – 0725 295 437 for more information.

If you missed the summit

HERE ARE

  1. THE MINUTES
  2. THE PRESENTATIONS

 

 

 

 

Much Ado About Organic/ Organic Certification at a SnapShot
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The Organic Agriculture industry is full of Opportunities, but information about how to access these opportunities has not always been straightforward, particularly in Kenya. Organic Certification seems to be a grey area in terms of available information.  This article is for

  1. A person looking for ways to certify their farms as organic

  2. A person looking for ways to get their produce to market and need certification.

  3. A person looking for general information on organic certification.

If  you fall in one or more of the above categories then you’re in luck. The information has been packaged with you in mind.

Third Party Certification:

In this case, the certifier who is a certification company checks the system of production, handling and processing against the organic standards and once he confirms that the system conforms with the organic standards, he issues a certificate and allows the farmer to use an organic mark. The farmer in this case can therefore sell his or her products with an organic mark in the market. Where a farmer or a group of farmers are selling their products in the international market, it is mandatory to go through this type of certification due to the statutory requirements in destination countries such as European Union, United States and Japan.

3rd party Organic Certification

Third party certification is normally expensive since it is conducted by companies which have profit motives. In some case, where a farmer wants to sell their products in overseas markets, the companies accredited to undertake certification for such markets are from those countries. This means certification by these international companies where they sometimes bring in inspectors from those countries is expensive. In Kenya, there are several international certification companies that do operate. They include ECOCERT, IMO, Soil Association, Control Union, Ceres, Ugocert and Africert.

Where third party certification is being done for domestic or regional markets, local certification companies undertake certification using the East African Organic products standard(EAOPS). These companies are much cheaper than the international companies since they work with local staff. Once they complete the certification process, the farmer is allowed to use the organic mark (Kilimohai mark). The local companies that undertake certification include Organic consumers alliance, Acert, Encert and Nesvax Control.

Participatory Guarantee Approach (PGS):

Where farmers are selling their products in the domestic market, and within a short supply chain, this approach can be used. PGS is a transparent and well elaborate system that integrates participation of all actors in the chain to guarantee integrity of organic products and compliance with organic standards. PGS systems includes a functioning internal control system integrated with the principles of shared vision, transparency, trust, horizontality, participatory and learning among participants. PGS is cheaper compared to third party certification and well is suited for smallholder groups who sell their products locally or in farmers markets. To develop a PGS, farmers need to develop internal rules and clear management systems and procedures which comply with East Africa Organic Product Standards. They also need develop a mechanism of verifying compliance of every member with the internal rules and defined consequences for non compliance with internal rules which are implemented. Every member of the group should take a pledge to follow the rules and participate in the activities of the group including trainings.

Groups willing to develop a PGS system can contact Kenya Organic Agriculture Network (KOAN) for training. KOAN is also in charge of assessing and approving PGSses which have been developed. Currently there are 3 groups which have approved PGSses and are participating in the market.

For a farmer to be certified or to be in an approved guarantee system, it is required that the farmer:

  • Has adequate physical separation of his or her organic operation from non-organic operation;
  • Has adequate records to demonstrate compliance with the standards;
  • His/her farm is inspected/peer reviewed at least once per year;
  • Undergoes a conversion period before full organic status

Certification system also requires that:

  • The farmer knows and understands the organic standards;
  • Signs a contract or takes a pledge;
  • Needs to be committed to, and capable of, implementing an organic agriculture system;
  • Establish records of his operation;
  • Accepts inspection/peer review and certification procedures.

 

Contacts for local certification bodies:

Name of Organisation:    Organic Consumers Alliance
Contact Person:  Dr. Peter Mokaya
Address:14360-00100 GPO Nairobi
Telephone: +254722435758
Email: mokayapm@gmail.com
Website: Http;//www.organicconsumers.co.ke

 

Name of Organisation: Encert Limited

Contact Person: Musa Njoka

Address:  P.O. BOX 74510-00200, NAIROBI

Telephone: 254 724 910 240

Email: info@encert.co.ke

Website: www.encert.co.ke

 

Name of Organisation: Acert services Limited

Contact Person:  Susan Njoroge

Address:  P.O. BOX 1175 Thika

Telephone: 0723857373

Email: info@acertlimited.net

Website: www.acertservicesltd.net