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5th Organic Business Workshop

Unveiling Opportunities: Join Us at the 5th Organic Business Workshop!

The Kenya Organic Agriculture Network (KOAN) is at the forefront of Kenya’s organic agriculture sector, providing essential guidance and professional advisory services to members and stakeholders. Our focus spans organic production, technical training, marketing, certification, and policy matters. In line with our mission, we’re thrilled to announce our 5th Annual Organic Business Workshop, aimed at enhancing market connections within the organic sector.

Globally, the organic industry is experiencing remarkable growth, emerging as the fastest-expanding segment within agriculture, with billions of dollars in products traded annually. This growth is mirrored in Kenya, where the demand for safe, wholesome food is rising, driven by concerns about food safety in the local supply chain. With a discerning middle class making more conscious food choices and export markets prioritizing sustainability and reduced carbon footprints, the organic sector’s importance is skyrocketing.

KOAN has been a trailblazer in fostering business partnerships within the organic industry, facilitating local and international trade through strategic advisory services and partnerships. In collaboration with the Research Institute for Organic Agriculture (FiBL), we are steadfast in advancing organic market development in Kenya, targeting both domestic and export markets.

The Organic Business Workshop is an exclusive gathering designed to highlight identified organic business prospects across four counties: Kiambu, Kirinyaga, Machakos, and Murang’a. The workshop will focus on three key Strategic Business Groups: Organic Vegetables, Organic Fruits, and Organic Roots and Tubers. This event serves as a platform to explore new partnerships within these identified pathways and to share insights from our Annual Organic Data Survey.

As a valued organic stakeholder, we are excited to invite you to the 5th Organic Business Workshop, scheduled for May 8th, 2024, at Pride Inn Azure, Westlands Nairobi, Kenya, from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Please register via this link https://bit.ly/OrganicBusinessWorkshop5th to join the meeting virtually via zoom.

We eagerly anticipate your active participation in this workshop, which marks a pivotal step in exploring collaborative organic business opportunities. For any inquiries or further information, please feel free to contact the undersigned or Martin Njoroge Kimani at martin@koan.co.ke or +254 725 295 437.

2nd International Africa Avocado Congress 2023

Our friends at the Avocado Society of Kenya will be holding the Second International Africa Avocado Congress 2023 from 31st May to 2nd June, 2023 at the Sarit Expo Centre in Nairobi, Kenya.

The Avocado Africa Congress 2023 is the largest global convergence of stakeholders in the avocado sector held in Africa. This year’s theme is “Avocado Africa; a convergence of technology and business for increased competitiveness and trade,” the event is aimed at stimulating trade, technology and knowledge transfer and sharing and will draw participants in the Avocado sector and other stakeholders across the world.

For more information on how you can be part of this congress visit www.avocadoafrica.com or register via: 0722 406 941 | 0722 457 388 | 0733 917 964 | 0722 292 360 and check the poster below.

 

International Farmers and Food Processors Expo 2023

We are pleased to extend the Skyzone Group invitation to exhibit at the International Farmers and Food Processors Expo which will be held from 8th to 10th June, 2023 at the Paradise Lost, along Kiambu Road.

This year’s theme is christened “Embracing agriculture and food production for socio-economic development,” and is expected to draw local and international participants across the agricultural food value chain including; small-scale farmers, input suppliers, food processors, and innovative technologies suppliers.

The expo will be a platform to foster trade, engage with participants and learn the latest trends and technologies in the food value chain for farmers and actors in the food processing sub-sector.

You can register as an exhibitor for three days for Kshs. 50,000 or as an individual organization or Kshs. 100,000 as an umbrella organization, by clicking this link.  For further clarification and information, see the poster below or reach out to Martha Kihara via +254 722 722 099 or Michael Allan Mugambi via +254 728 527 503.

We urge you to support our organic sector by exhibiting at the event.

REPORT LAUNCH – PESTICIDE USE IN KIRINYAGA AND MURANG’A COUNTIES: A WAKE UP CALL FOR BETTER PEST CONTROL STRATEGIES

Date: 7th October 2020  Time: 9.30 am  Location: Virtual (Zoom)
 
Meeting ID: 
Passcode: 

 

About the Event

KOAN, Route To Food Initiative (RTFI), Biodiversity Biosafety Association (BIBA) and Resource Oriented Development Initiative (RODI) have petitioned parliament to withdraw toxic pesticides that have been withdrawn in Europe due to their negative impacts on human health, environment and toxicity to pollinators.

As a follow up to a study done in 2019 by RTFI that informed the petition, this year, KOAN undertook a pesticide monitoring survey in Murang’a and Kirinyaga counties to check whether the identified pesticides are available and in use in the two Counties. We also did pesticides residue testing on tomatoes and kales. The findings reveal concerning use of pesticides including the ones that have been withdrawn in Europe and also high toxicity levels of pesticide residues in tomatoes and kale.

The study findings will be presented Wednesday, 7th October via zoom from 9.30 AM, where the report will be launched.

Please Join the Zoom Meeting using the details below

We also plan for more sensitization by distribution of the report; County and National Governments engagements; CSOs and Consumer engagements among others so that we can all work together to ensure that the toxic pesticides are withdrawn in Kenya; that safer alternatives are promoted and used by our farmers; that the relevant authorities do regular pesticide residue monitoring to assure Kenyans of safe food.

“Let thy food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food’, often ascribed to Hippocrates (400 BC)”

 

Resources

  1. WhitePaper on Pesticides Use in Kirinyaga and Murang’a Counties (9mb file)
  2. Policy Brief – Pesticides Study – Policy Brief
  3. Summary of Pesticides Petition – Summary – Kenya Pesticides Petition
  4. Access SaferInputs.com Database – www.saferinputs.com

 

Organic Shift: Why We Should All Care

Organic food and fibre production safeguard the environment, protects consumers against non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) and creates just wealth and work. It is one of the fastest growing industries in the world estimated at 816 Billion USD in 2016.  During the same year the industry contributed 3 billion KES from exports and 439 Million KES in domestic consumption. East African Regional market is growing at 20% per annum, with the up-market outlets and the tourist industry as major consumers.

The Kenya Organic Agriculture sector is growing fast, currently with 150,479 Ha certified land with the main products for exports being vegetables, salad pre-packs, herbs, spices essential oils, nuts, coffee, tea, and cold pressed oils.

Organic adoption rates are responding to meet the growing domestic and export markets, overcoming scepticism, knowledge and technological challenges. Agricultural research institutions and universities are undertaking research to address most of the challenges that smallholders face and need a platform for sharing discovered solutions or to commercialize products or technologies. In addition, most of farmer innovations are not documented. The NGO/government extension systems have proved inadequate to meet farmers’ needs, lacking in organic competencies and diversity, often causing more confusion than help. This eventually drives farmers to farmer technology transfer which is a slow process, sometimes riddled with unnecessary failure, and in most cases confined only to those areas where the innovation was developed. Consequently leading to useful knowledge being scattered and fragmented among research institution departments and farms.

The need to collate all this data, information and knowledge into a farmer/end user accessible database has never been more urgent. So that useful practices can be validated to meet the different needs of stakeholders. As well, a forum for sharing technologies and knowledge in practice, word, song and dance will foster growth and exchange of ideas, experiences, expectations and views among farmers and stakeholders. Such a forum will also register and share success stories from organic production systems, moving it from kitchen gardening to commercial high dividend enterprises for wealth and food security.