Ecological and Organic Agriculture: what contribution to food security and poverty reduction Presented by Ousséni DIALLO, President of Green Cross International/Burkina Faso

1. THEME
Ecological and Organic Agriculture: what contribution
to food security and poverty reduction
Presented by Ousséni DIALLO,
President of Green Cross
International/Burkina Faso
Green Cross International/Burkina Faso (Afrique de l’Ouest)
01 BP : 1043 Ouagadougou 01 Tél. : (+226) 50 43 31 65 / 70 20 41 61 / 78 81 78 77
E-mail :ousseni.diallo@gmail.com/ greencross.burkinafaso@gmail.com

2. FAO (World Organization for Agriculture and Food) Sets organic farming as
a "global management system of production Which exclude the use of
fertilizers and pesticides of Synthesis and modified genetically organism,
reduced pollution of air, soil and water and optimize the health and
productivity of interdependent communities of plants, animals and
humans ".
In other words, it is a method of agricultural production which is
characterized by the lack of use of chemical products basing itself on the
different agricultural practices such as composting, crop rotation, green
manure, the use of natural products.

3. In 2006, it was performed in 120 countries on a total of 31 million
hectares, and represented a market of 40 billion of dollar, noted
by FAO in an Organic Agriculture and Food Security report
presented at the International Conference on Organic
Agriculture and Food Security Held in 2007 at FAO
headquarters. Advantages of organic farming practice are huge.

4. It was underlined that organic farming participates to improve access to
food, insofar as it allows increasing the productivity and diversity of
resources as well as their conservation by encouraging the increase of
farmers’ incomes and reduction of risks they are exposed.
Organic farming helps strengthening water security in several domains:
quality of drinking water, reduced irrigation needs of biological soil and
increase of productivities in conditions of water stress due to climate
variability. It allows protecting agro biodiversity and ensuring sustainable
use. It strengthens nutritional sufficiency through diversification of organic
foods, which are rich in micro nutriments.

5. Regarding food security, organic farming can:
• Improve nutrient supply of households, and their ability to
obtain food through sustainable intensification and
commercialization of small-scale agriculture;
• Soften hunger during food emergencies through
diversification and strengthening of the stability of
ecosystems;
• Contribute to the micronutrient supply and healthier diets,
through reintroduction of variety underutilized and
diversification of production;
• Establish autonomous food systems, particularly at the
household level.

6. Regarding the fight against poverty, Organic farming can:
• Give opportunities in the field of employment, as it requires 30
percent of labor per hectare;
• Contribute to sustainable livelihoods in rural areas, because it
provides better work performance;
• Contribute to rural development as it revitalizes rural
economies;
• Contribute to the improvement of social welfare through fair
wages and non-exploitive of the worker, which improves
control over resources.

7. In addition to the field of food security, the fight against poverty, organic
farming helps rural development, by creating income and employment in
areas where populations haven’t others choice to resort to the manpower,
resources and local knowledge. It is also beneficial in the field of
environmental sustainability and food supply.
All these advantages lead to poverty reduction and help to reverse the trend of
rural exodus. The improvement of access to food implies: to strengthen the
rights of farmers in terms of access to seeds, local varieties and biodiversity;
expand equitable trade systems in whole value chain; evaluate emergency
programs and pending purchase; strengthen the rights of indigenous farmers.
It is in this perspective that the African Union remains convinced that it is an
effective means to insure food security, poverty eradication and adaptation to
climate change.

8. In Burkina Faso, as well as in other African countries, organic
agriculture still exists but its production remains lower. The practice of
composting which is one of organic farming advantages is by producers
in order to fight for the preservation of the environment from the use of
organic manure in agriculture.
Thereby, various projects of bio agricultural practices were initiated to
increase productivity, the development of organic agriculture in Burkina
Faso and poverty reduction. Green Cross Burkina Faso (GCBF) in
collaboration with Soils Fertilization Project-Compost plus Operation
(PFS-OCP) and Organizations of Civil Society for Sustainable Food
Security Network (ROSSAD) which fight effectively for the preservation
of the environment, food security and against poverty made the
production of compost its battle horse.

9. Since 2000, GCBF initiated a project of information, education and
composting training in more than 2000 villages in Burkina Faso. These
training allowed forming more than 500,000 farmers retort in thousands
villages and producing more than 500,000 tons of organic fertilizer to
enable farmers to cultivate bio so to preserve soil and protect
environment while offering a healthy product.
Côte d’Ivoire and Mali benefited too of the trainings. In 2015, GCBF
envisage continue the scattering of the capacity building in technics of
composting in Benin, Togo and Niger.

10. Organic farming as potential to satisfy the world food demand
with a minor impact on the environment, governments are
therefore called to allocate resources for organic farming and
integrate its objectives and actions in their agricultural
development national strategies and poverty reduction, stressing
on the needs of vulnerable groups.
In addition, as a means of contributing to sustainable
improvements in food safety, organic farming should be
encouraged in all its scale through awareness and training.

11. At this level, it should be invested in raising awareness of
organic farming in the context of agricultural and environmental
education actions; increase knowledge on organic agriculture in
universities and research institutes; provide training on organic
farming to agricultural extension agents and the farmer field
schools. Strongly support NGOs working in the framework of
organic farming.