​160 farmers, researchers, policy makers, representatives from regional institutions and international organizations, came together in Saly, Senegal 5–8 November 2018 to advance the development of Ecological Organic Agriculture on the continent.

 

In the framework of the conference, UNCTAD organized a session to showcase experiences from the 5 National Green Export Review projects it has supported in Africa since 2015 (see unctad.org/nger).

 

Representatives from Angola, Madagascar, and Morocco participated in this session and presented successes and challenges from their respective country projects.

 

The session highlighted how NGERs can contribute to the identification and creation of employment and income opportunities in the field of organic agriculture. It also pointed out the major role of national organic agriculture associations in supporting the elaboration and adoption of national organic agriculture regulatory frameworks and in mainstreaming organic agriculture into national sustainable development plans and export strategies.

 

Session discussions, and other conference discussions, highlighted the need for improving support to smallholder famers, market access, financing and data collection.