AOFF Program Activities
Year one AOFF program activities are:
1. AOFF PROJECT INITIATION
a. Market Research Study (MRS)
- Assess market demand for a range of organic products and work backward to the grower or production point.
- Analyze market chains for key opportunities, such as organic fresh fruits and vegetables and other high-demand products, and market characteristics -- product quality and certification requirements, pricing structures, and distribution channels.
- Survey potential South African, Middle Eastern, U.S. and EU trading partners/customers, wholesalers, distributors, processors, supermarkets, food-service, trade-shows, relevant organizations and associations. In themselves, these surveys will begin to mobilize sourcing partnership for MAED growers and agri-businesses.
- Identify production, processing and marketing requirements and constraints -– from growing, harvesting, post-harvest processing, certification, packaging, and transportation to final market destination –- that could impede effective agro-enterprise development. Investigate options for forming "Shared Equity Model" (SEM) links between producers and firms marketing products that could contain ingredients produced by Southern African small farmers.
- Conduct stakeholder interviews to test the soundness of the MAED project design and appropriateness of intervention activities.
- Identify accredited organic certification bodies or specialized importers with organic certification systems in place.
MRS deliverables include: reliable forecasts of buying data for crops of opportunity, identification of specialty crops, likelihood for out-grower contracts and final project economic inputs (costs, target pricing, profit margins, and other critical information).
b. Formalize partnerships with Agricultural Research Council (ARC) and Transfrontier Park (South Africa, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe) and Peace Parks.
c. Develop organic farming training curriculum; set up demonstration farms.
d. Seek certifiers and NGOs/PVOs already working in Southern Africa who can partner with AOFF to conduct project activities.
2. AOFF KNOWLEDGE PROGRAM
Building farmer capacity.
a. Research
Activities:
ARC on-farm research for crop improvement, conservation of biological
diversity, pest/disease management, soil quality and production systems.
Focused research on specialty crops with high subsistence and nutritional
value as well as commercial potential.
b. Training & Capacity Building
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Activities:
(1) Identify NGO partners that can work with and empower growers’
associations by facilitating capacity building in these groups, helping
them connect with human and financial resources and enhancing agribusiness
skills and financial literacy.
(2) In partnership with ARC, train community leaders in organic and agro-ecological approaches (OAA), quality control and marketing through lectures and workshops and use of ARC demonstration farms.
(3) Provide in-field guidance and support to trainers who return to communities and conduct workshops for local farmers that encompass small-scale organic production.
c. Organic Group Certification
Activities:
Partner with NGOs/PVOs already working in Southern Africa that will train and guide producers and processors through efforts to qualify for organic certification. Certification is essential to access EU, U.S., and Japanese markets. Generally, producers must meet IFOAM Criteria for Organic Certification. Certification requires an annual independent inspection, a written farm and/or processing/handling plan, and good record-keeping. AOFF will strive to work with IFOAM and its certification-body members to identify and implement the protocol established by them for group evaluation and certication -- a cost-effective and feasible means of qualifying products to carry the organic label.
3. TRANS-FRONTIER PEACE PARKS PILOT PROJECT
Activities:
a. Facilitate training workshops conducted
by ARC trainers for farmers that can grow and supply fruits and vegetables
for the SAN Parks Camps/Lodges in Kruger Park and all the privately-owned
Lodges in the area (e.g. Conservation Corporation (CC) Africa and Wilderness
Africa groups).
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b. Prior to implementing the communal growing program, undertake a location audit to evaluate conditions for those crop-clusters likely to be grown including water, soil, slope, drainage, temperature ranges, weeds, insects (both beneficial and pest species), other pests (wildlife, birds, etc), diseases, machinery and labor.
c. Before planting, prepare an organic farm plan and arrange for an independent organic inspection to qualify for certification.
4. MARKETING AND AGRO-ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT (MAED) PROJECT
MAED is a market-led, trade capacity building initiative that targets
the growing world organic market. Global sales of organic food and drink
are estimated to be USD 23 billion in 2002. In South Africa, Middle Eastern,
U.S. and European markets, there is increasing demand for high-value organic
fruits and vegetables plus added-value processed and branded foods. MAED
identifies market-driven options to spur private, indigenous economic
growth, create employment, increase trade-related capacity, and establish
long-term economic self-sufficiency. Local, regional and international
trade linkages are targeted, including new U.S. market opportunities made
possible by the (African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
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a. Market Research
Activities: Collecting data on raw and processed products of opportunity.
(1) South Africa markets and foreign markets
Activities: Continue to collect and analyze data on raw and processed products of opportunity, and secure trading partnerships and out-grower contracts.
b. Development and Agro-Processing
(1) Analyze post-harvest systems and address other opportunities like added-value marketing and small-scale raw product processing like specialized packaging, drying and preservation, canning, bottling, juicing, dehydrating and freezing.
(2) Pursue these opportunities through secured markets, short/medium-term
development of Black Emergent Entrepreneurs (BEEs) or marketing cooperatives
in partnership with private-sector partners.
(3) Use initiation-phase market research to guide developments.
c. Market Linkages/Trading Partnerships/Share Equity Model
(1) South Africa and foreign market outreach
Activities:
Through MAED, facilitate trading relationships and supply contracts with South African, European and United States partners like importers, wholesalers, retailers and manufacturers.
Most importantly, seek to implement Shared Equity Partnerships (SEM developed by Weatherly Consulting), that re-invents the Fair Trade concept. Fair Trade arrangements really only offers growers/producers a marginal farm-gate premium while SEM delivers the farm-gate premium plus equity participation in the trading and marketing companies that sell their produce or processed products or brands containing their products.
6. COMMUNICATIONS & PUBLIC OUTREACH
a. Website
Activities:
AOFF will introduce a website that will become an organic
farming knowledge resource and will function as an information resource
for all stakeholders including African Government Agricultural Ministries,
Non-Governmental Development Agencies, teachers, farmers, processors,
exporters, traders, policy makers, agricultural input suppliers, financial
institutions, donors etc). It will also link to other international organic
research organizations particularly those concerned with sub-tropical
agricultural education. It will provide reliable, actionable organic commercial
market and trade information to stakeholders to trigger African nations’
participation in the growing, premium-priced, global organic foods market.
b. Communications and Publications (local and international)
Activities:
(1) Publish the AOFF Quarterly Newsletter, an important feature of the program because of the non-availability of computers/internet within the region. It will:
(a) Include AOFF project news - updated information flowing
from the growing trials and pertinent, practical organic farming information
drawn from the website content. In this way it will serve as a how-to
manual for farmers and gardeners in the region.
(b) Be circulated to Southern African Government Ministers and other stakeholders
like agricultural education entities, press and other interested parties
and will keep AOFF Funders informed about programs.
(c) Distributed electronically in PDF.
(2) Achieve the attention of media (national newspapers and farmers magazines) on organic activities, research and organizations.
c. Annual AOFF/MAED Regional Organic Farming and Marketing Conference
Activities:
Plan the Annual Regional Organic Farming and Marketing Conference, a farming and marketing educational forum emphasizing organic production as a stimulus for economic development. It will bring together international and local experts. Attendees will include agricultural administrators, policy-makers, educators, farmers, producers, processors, exporters, and European wholesaler and retailer buyers.
PARTNERS
(1)
Agricultural Research Council/Institute for Tropical and Sub-Tropical
Crops (ARC) – ARC is a statutory parastatal body of
the South African Ministry of Agriculture and the largest agricultural
research organization in South Africa to provide a “Teaching the
Teachers” Program to enable wider 
adoption
of organic farming by resource poor rural communities.
ARC offers demonstration and training sites: The ARC will make land available, lecture facilities and accommodation on their research farms, based in the Cape and Mpumalanga Provinces, and offers a 3 month on-farm placement organic training course for up to 50 trainers per session.
In Mpumalanga (the North Eastern region of South Africa), the ARC will be making land available for demonstration plots at their Nelspruit Farm and also at the Burgers Hall Farm near Hazyview in Mpumalanga Province. Accommodation for up to 20 students is available at ARC’s Friedenheim Farm and at the Guest House on the Nelspruit Farm. Trainers/lecturers from the Mtimba Agricultural College near Hazyview will be some of the first attendees and they will return to teach the principals of organic farming to indigenous agricultural students.
(2)
Great Limpopo Trans-Frontier Parks, The
South African National Parks and National Parks of Mozambique
– These include the consolidated wildlife parks in South Africa
like Kruger, Mozambique and Zimbabwe and covers 13,500 square miles. Training
will be principally provided to trainers drawn from disadvantaged communities
bordering the Kruger National Park (South Africa) and Massingir Park (Mozambique).
MONITORING & EVALUATION
Clearly defined M&E tools like progress indicators, success indicators and impact indicators to measure the effectiveness of interventions and outcomes will be set out in a M&E Matrix and will address indicators like
a. Improved food security based on increased market linkage
and trade from rural agro-enterprises
b. Improved socio-economics
c. Improved public-private sector partnerships
d. Increased competitiveness of rural agro-enterprises
e. Improved market support services
f. Improved rural enterprise capacity
g. Improved market linkage
Program Update
Teaching & Demonstration (“Train
the Trainer”) Program will give special focus to those
rural communities located on the agricultural periphery adjacent to wildlife
reserves in Southern African countries. Working with these rural communities
– some of whom tend to view wild animals as food 
source
or revenue opportunity (bushmeat trade) – enables self-provisioning
to reduce wildlife poaching, promotes ecological stewardship, and introduces
more balance to the Man-Agriculture-Wildlife relationship.
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To this end AOFF is also partnering with Great
Limpopo Trans-Frontier Parks, The South African National Parks and National
Parks of Mozambique (includes the consolidated wildlife parks
in South Africa like Kruger, Mozambique and Zimbabwe and covers 13,500
square miles). Training will be principally provided to trainers drawn
from disadvantaged communities bordering the Kruger National Park (South
Africa) and Massingir Park (Mozambique).
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This represents the pilot stage for AOFF’s
MAED Program which links rural growers to markets. AOFF, in partnership
with the ARC, will recruit and train community leaders in organic and
agro-ecological approaches (OAA), quality control and marketing. Upon
completion of the course trainers will return to communities and additional
practical training will encompass small-scale organic growing programs
with in-field guidance and support by AOFF/ARC instructors. The goal is
for MAED is to enable these communities to grow and supply fruits and
vegetables for the SAN Parks Camps/Lodges in Kruger Park and all the Privately-owned
Lodges in the area (eg. CC Africa and Wilderness Africa groups).
The MAED Program expands linkages to additional local and export markets
and in addition to agricultural production it includes raw product processing,
trade, and the necessary support services.
MAED
is sustainable because it is market-oriented, based on business interest
and strengthens the ability of Sourthern African countries and businesses
to develop their export trade. It is demand-driven and jointly developed
by all stakeholders, i.e. rural farmers, AOFF, Government agricultural
institutions, NGOs and the private sector (investors, exporters and importers).
MAED includes a particular focus on womens’ roles in rural agriculture
and actively involves women in project identification, implementation
and monitoring. It has a multiplier effect because it is entirely scalable
and replicable. By building local capacity to plan, manage, produce, and
sell high value organic products, the MAED strengthens the rural business
sector and assists rural women and men farmers to achieve and maintain
economic self-sufficiency.
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African Organic Farming Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization