Enhancing the Coordination of Organic products access to Markets in East Africa (ECOMEA)

Transcription

1 Project Document Enhancing the Coordination of Organic products access to Markets in East Africa (ECOMEA) ECOMEA-project Organic Denmark, November 2013

2 Executive summary Country and sector Project title Objectives Target groups Risk and preconditions Partner organizations Nairobi, Kenya and the EAC. Enhancing the Coordination of Organic products access to Markets in East Africa (ECOMEA) Development objective: A regional market in the East African Community for organic products that will contribute to; poverty alleviation and income generation for small holder farmers in the region; improved nutritional status for consumers; mitigation of climate changes; is developed. Immediate objectives: 1)Consumer awareness in Nairobi of organic products increased 2)The intraregional trade of organic products increased 3)Transparency of the regional EAOPS certification system improved Primary target groups: Retail sector staff in Nairobi, organic companies and traders in the EAC and consumers in Nairobi. Secondary target group: Staff of the organic partner organizations in the EAC Risk Precondition One or more of the NOAMs cease to The NOAMS have attracted a broad operate member base and donor support that will secure their sustainability Retail sector in Nairobi is reluctant to The market trend towards consumption cooperate with NOAMs of organic product is sustained Consumers show less than expected The consumers show growing interest interest in organic product for natural, safe and traditional food Organic Denmark and the organic partner organizations KOAN, NOGAMU, TOAM, BOAM and ROAM in the EAC 2

3 Abbreviations and acronyms abitrust AfDB BOAM CBTF CEO Danida EAC EAOM EAOPS EPOPA EU FiBL ICROFS IFOAM GDP KOAN TOAM NCD NOAM NOGAMU OD OSEA ROAM SIDA TOR WHO WTO UNEP UNCTAD Agribusiness Initiative Trust Uganda African Development Bank Burundi Agriculture Organic Movement Capacity Building Task Force on Trade, Environment and Development chief executive officer Danish International Development Agency East African Community East African Organic Mark also called the Kilimohai Mark East African Organic Products Standards Export Promotion of Organic Products from Africa European Union Research Institute for Organic Agriculture International Centre for Research in Organic Food systems International Foundation for Organic Agriculture Gross domestic product Kenya Organic Agriculture Network Tanzania Organic Agriculture Movement Non Communicable Diseases National Organic Agriculture Movements National Organic Agriculture Movement of Uganda Organic Denmark Regional Cooperation for Organic Standards and Certification Capacity in East Africa Rwanda Organic Agriculture Movement Swedish International Development cooperation Agency Terms of Reference World Health Organization World Trade Organization United Nations Environment Programme the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development 3

4 List of content Executive summary... 2 Abbreviations and acronyms... 3 Introduction... 5 A) Regional context and problem analysis... 7 Regional context... 7 Agriculture sector in the East African Community... 7 Economic trends in East Africa... 7 The organic agricultural subsector in the EAC... 8 b. Problem analysis Consumer awareness of the advantages of organic products Reliable and affordable organic certification B)Description of the project Objectives and indicators Target groups Strategy Outputs and activities Assumptions, risks and preconditions C) Project organization and management Project organization, management and coordination Monitoring, evaluation and reporting Financial management and reporting Annexes

5 Introduction The process towards this project document was initiated in November 2011 when the CEO s of NOGAMU, TOAM and KOAN and the international consultant from Organic Denmark met in Nairobi to discuss how to enhance the capacity of the organic movements to develop the markets for organic products from East Africa both regionally and internationally. The conclusions of the meeting were articulated in a concept note called Enhancing the Capacity of the Organic Movements in East Africa (ECOMEA). In the concept note it was also agreed that the ECOMEA project should include all member states of the East African Community (EAC) also Rwanda and Burundi. The ECOMEA concept note took the point of departure in the fact that the East African organic sector has grown substantially in the recent years. This is partly because of the increased export of organic commodities overseas that is based on improved production standards and partly because of the improved organizational frame work in the NOAMs. One important explanation of the growth in the sector is that entry barriers in EU compared to conventional fruits and vegetable exports are relatively low. In Uganda the volume of export has being growing at an average of 55% in the past two years and in July 2010 the value of export was 30 mill Euros. In Kenya and Tanzania the growth rates are also high but started at a lower level. The regional consumption of organic products is still low but with Kenya as the leading market for organic products produced in the region. With a growing East African city based middleclass there is a window of opportunity for a potential substantial increase in the regional consumption of organic products. In the ECOMEA concept not a number of critical issues for further development of the organic sector in East Africa were identified. Among those were Increased market access for organic products nationally and regionally Implementation of East African Organic Product Standard (EAOPS)as a certification standard of high quality and credibility nationally and regionally and covered by national legislation Strengthening of the institutional capacity of the National Organic Agriculture Movements (NOAMs) in the three countries to lead and coordinate all actors along the entire value chain from farmer to consumers Lack of coordination of advocacy activities at a national and regional level for organic agriculture policy The concept note was presented to the Green Growth Office in Danida in December 2011 and the concept note was afterwards sent by Danida to the Danish Embassies in Nairobi, Kampala and Dar es Salaam for comments. According to Danida the concept note was well received by Embassies. From September to November 2012 Organic Denmark met with the spoke persons for development cooperation from the Social Democrats, the Conservative Party, SF and Enhedslisten. They all expressed support towards the idea of development of the organic sector in East Africa. In November OD met with Christian Friis Bach, former Minister for Development Cooperation and the Ib Petersen, Director of Danida for a discussion about the ECOMEA-initiative. Their reception was positive. In December 2012 an appropriation to the development of organic agriculture in East Africa was included in the Danida Budget for

6 From January to April 2013 a number of meetings were held by OD with Danida representatives from first the Africa Office and later the Green Growth office to discuss how to fulfill the appropriation. To OD it was a confusing process since it was very unclear who in Danida was in charge and which guidelines that should guide the process towards a project proposal. Initially OD in line with the ECOMEA concept advocated the point of view that the project should focus on overcoming barriers in the entire value chain from producer to consumer, but during the meetings two messages from Danida came out clearly. First was that the focus of the project should be the upper part of the organic value chain especially distribution, marketing and consumers awareness. The second message was that an external consultant should be employed to write both the project document and project proposal in order for them to fulfill the requirements of Danida. First it was agreed that the external consultant should be employed by Danida. Later OD was tasked by Danida to contract the external consultant. During this process close communication between the NOAMs and OD was maintained and the NOAMs questioned Danida s decision to focus on the upper part of the value chain. In March 2013 Danida announced that 10 million DKK was set aside to support organic agriculture in East Africa 1. In April a contract between OD and Danida was signed to conduct a project identification mission funded by Danida in May 2013 and an external consultant was contracted. In May 2013 a three weeks project identification mission was undertaken to Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi by OD and the external consultant to assess the potential regional and international market for organic products and identification of barriers and constraints in distribution, marketing and consumer awareness for further market development with special attention to the importance of the East African Organic Products Standard (EAOPS) for market development. To develop a project description for the ECOMEA project - including refinement of the objectives and envisaged results the mission was concluded with a project development workshop where the CEO s and staff members of the five NOAMs participated, a representative from the Danish Embassy in Dar es Salaam and a representative from the EAC secretariat in Arusha participated. In annex f) the final ECOMEA report summarizing the findings and recommendations of the external consultant can be found. In July 2013 the external consultant forwarded the first draft report. It was rejected by Danida on the grounds that the content did not fulfill their documentation and analytical requirements. Danida also did not find that there was a basis for a project of the suggested size, as they assessed that there is only a very limited if any market for organic products in East Africa. A second draft forwarded in October 2013 was also rejected by Danida. Following that development Danida suggested that OD developed an application for a limited project for a first phase of the ECOMEA project which focuses on consumer and producer awareness of organic products and certification targeting the most promising market in Nairobi, Kenya. If the objectives of the first phase of the ECOMEA project are met during project implementation the NOAMs and OD aims at applying for a second phase of the project with a focus on institutionalizing the frame work and certification system for verification and coordination of EAOPS and organic market development in other capitals and major cities in the EAC. Advocacy for national and EAC organic agriculture policies and support for the sector will constitute another part of a second phase. 1 Danida (2013) Retningslinjer for Støtteordning til fremme af virksomheders samfundsansvar og fair trade 6

7 A) Regional context and problem analysis Regional context This project has a regional focus but the intervention must be seen in the global context of a growing market for organic products. A stronger regional trade with organic products will further prepare the organic sector in East Africa for the global market. According to The World of Organic Agriculture - Statistics and Emerging Trends 2013 by the Research Institute for Organic Agriculture (FiBL) the global market for organic products in 2011 reached 62 billion $ up from 17 billion $ in year The global market is growing with at least 3 % a year. 2 Agriculture sector in the East African Community The context of this project is the agriculture sector in the East African community (EAC) that has five member states Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. Agriculture is the main sector in all of the five countries, but with different importance. About 80 percent of the population of the EAC is living in rural areas and depending on agriculture for their livelihood. The sector accounts for about 44% of the GDP in Burundi and Tanzania, 30% in Uganda, 24% in Kenya and 38% in Rwanda. Since agriculture employs over 75 percent of the rural population - the majority of whom are poor - development of the agriculture sector presents a great opportunity for poverty reduction in a sustainable manner. 3 Agriculture also contributes to foreign exchange earnings, employment and provides raw materials for agro-based industries. The agricultural sector is dominated by smallholder mixed farming of livestock, food crops, cash crops, fishing and aquaculture. The major food crops are maize, rice, potatoes, bananas, cassava, beans, vegetables, sugar, wheat, sorghum, millet and pulses. Some of these are also sold and could be regarded as cash crops. Cash crops include: tea, cotton, coffee, pyrethrum, sugar cane, sisal, horticultural crops, oil-crops, cloves, tobacco, coconut and cashew nuts. 4 Economic trends in East Africa EAC countries differ in terms of level of development, economic structure, and social indicators. Kenya has the largest economy with a nominal GDP of US$32 billion in 2010, i.e. over 40% of the region's total; while Burundi's nominal GDP represented only 1.7%, with a nominal GDP of US$1.4 billion. Kenya is the only EAC country not listed as a least developed country (LDC). Nonetheless, human development indicators remain similar within the EAC, and are among the lowest in the world. The share of the population living below the poverty line in 2006 was 35.7% (the lowest) in Tanzania and 68% (the highest) in Burundi. 5 According to WTO, growth rates in the EAC were high in 2006 and 2007 (7.5% and 7.2% respectively), mainly due to buoyant agriculture and services sectors, but external and internal shocks undermined 2 Willer, Helga and Lucas Kilcher (eds) (2012): The world of Organic Agriculture. Statistics and Emerging Trends. FiBL- IFOAM Report. Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Frick, and International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), Bonn. 3 Salami, Adeleke; Kamara, Abdul B.; Brixiova, Zuzana (2010), Smallholder Agriculture in East Africa: Trends, Constraints and Opportunities, Working Papers Series N 105 African Development Bank, Tunis, Tunisia 4 EAC webpage 5 WTO (2012) Trade Policy Review East African Community 7

8 performance in 2008 and 2009, before a noticeable improvement in 2010). The 7% annual growth rate target was reached sporadically over the six years to 2011 by all EAC members 6. In the EAC, total intra-regional exports increased from around US$500 million in 2000 to more than US$2.36 billion in 2010, an increase of almost 400%. As a result, the share of intra-eac exports in the region s total exports actually increased from 18.7% in 2000 to 20.8% in The organic agricultural subsector in the EAC The first organic initiatives in East Africa dates back to the 1970s and 1980s where commercial companies and civil society organization started to grow and export organic products to especially the EU. Since the year 2000 the organic agriculture subsector has reached a substantial level. Se the table below 8 Table 1: Number of hectares certified for organic agriculture in the EAC Area Ha Organic Certified (IFOAM 2012) Africa 860, , ,030, ,080,000.0 Burundi Kenya 4,636 5,159 4,227 4,842 Rwanda 512 3,508 3,697 3,600 Tanzania 62,180 72,188 72,188 72,665 Uganda 296, , , ,419 EAC Total 363, , , ,526 In Uganda the decline in the area of certified organic acreage is explained by a collapse in the export of organic cotton that happened when the government of Uganda by decree imposed forced spraying of the all cotton produced in Uganda, leading to the situation where the organic cotton growers lost their organic certification. Table 2: Number of certified organic producers in EAC in WTO (2012) Trade Policy Review East African Community 7 Wusheng Yu (2012) Trends of Trade Flows of Countries in the EAC and SADC Regions and Perspectives for the Tripartite Free Trade Area.. FOI Commissioned Work 2012 / 19. University of Copenhagen 8 Willer, Helga and Lucas Kilcher (eds) (2012): The world of Organic Agriculture. Statistics and Emerging Trends. FiBL- IFOAM Report. Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Frick, and International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), Bonn. 8

9 The numbers of certified organic farmers/producers in the EAC reached in 2012 according to almost with Uganda as the leading country and Tanzania as the second. It is remarkable that the number of certified organic producers in Kenya is only a fragment of the level in the latter countries. This difference can be explained by the fact that the organic sectors in Uganda and Tanzania are oriented towards export to the EU while the sector in Kenya mainly produces for the domestic market where organic certification is not compulsory for marketing of the organic products, like it is for export to the EU. Figure 1: Organic product export from Uganda 10 From the graph in the figure above, it is clearly seen that the organic export from Uganda especially to the EU, has grown from less than 5 million $US in 2002/2003 to move than 40 million $US in 2011/2012. This substantial growth in value was partly facilitated by the SIDA supported Export Promotion of Organic Products from Africa (EPOPA) programme. The programme was implemented from 1997 to 2008 and had projects in Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia. 11 Another factor influencing the development of the organic sector in the EAC was the formation of the National Organic Movements (NOAM) in the East Africa countries. Since year 2000 NOAMs have been established in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. The establishment of these umbrella organizations who organizes the stakeholders in the organic sector including farmers, producer associations, processing industry, wholesalers and export companies has strengthened the value chains for organic products. In Uganda NOGAMU has within this short time span reached a total of 315 member organizations, directly representing over 1 million smallholder organic farmers, out of whom Willer, Helga and Lucas Kilcher (eds) (2012): The world of Organic Agriculture. Statistics and Emerging Trends. FiBL- IFOAM Report. Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Frick, and International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), Bonn. 10 Musa Muwanga (2013) Lessons learnt from the East African Organic Agriculture development. Presentation from East Africa Organic Conference July 2 to , Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. 11 Agro Eco BV and Grolink AB (2008) Organic Exports A Way to a Better Life? Export Promotion of Organic Products from Africa. Uppsala, Sweden 9

10 (2010) smallholder organic farmers have attained international organic certification and are participating in international trade, while TOAM in Tanzania now has (2012) members. The NOAMs have very good access to farmers and traders in the organic sector which makes them effective providing training services and mobilizing the project beneficiaries. The organizations have professional staff for effective project and financial management and marketing. The NOAMs need more capacity for facilitating the value chain development with a from the market to the producers perspective. So far the tendency of the NOAMs has been to be more involved with the supply side with supporting the producers to increase production. EAOPS was adopted in 2007 by the EAC as the single, official standard for organic agriculture production in the region. The development of the EAOPS was supported by the joint United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Capacity Building Task Force on Trade, Environment and Development (UNEP-UNCTAD CBTF) initiative. The standard was the result of a multi-stakeholder process involving intensive consultations and participation by national governments, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, and international institutions and was approved by the EAC. 12 To the EAOPS is attached the East African Organic Mark (EAOM) also called the Kilimohai Mark that can be used to mark certified organic products. b. Problem analysis The focus of the ECOMEA initiative is to increase the access of certified organic products to the high value East Africa regional markets and especially to Nairobi. A core problem is the lack of market for certified organic products. Three root causes to the lack of market access for certified organic products in the region have been identified; consumer awareness of the advantages of organic products, regular supply of quality organic products and reliable and affordable organic certification. Consumer awareness of the advantages of organic products According to both government officials 13, abitrust staff 14, researchers 15 and representatives for super markets 16 and wholesalers 17 interviewed during the three weeks project identification mission a trend towards both more natural and traditional food is gaining strength among the urbanized middle class in the EAC. The increasing number of persons that get diabetes, cancer or cardiac and vascular diseases also called Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) is of growing concern to both the general public and to the individual consumer in East Africa. To quote the WHO: NCDs already disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries. Current projections indicate that by 2020 the largest increases in NCD mortality 12 United Nations Environment Programme(?)Aid for Trade Case Story: The East African Organic Products Standard 13 Personal Communication Mr. Okasia, Director, Crop production and Marketing, Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industries and Fisheries, Uganda 14 Personal Communication, James A. Byekwaso, Chief Manager Value Chains ABitrust, Uganda 15 Personal Communication, Dr. Rafael Wahome, Professor, University of Nairobi, Kenya. 16 Personal Communication, Mathews Kaubo, Procurement Manager, Shoprite, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania 17 Personal Communication Lillian Maremma, Director, Organic Foods, Nairobi, Kenya. 10

11 will occur in Africa and other low and middle-income countries. 18 This development has not gone unnoticed in East Africa, leading to the trend that the demand for natural products and traditional food is growing. In this context natural products is a vague term that indicates that the food is safe to eat with no pesticides in it. Traditional food is also not clearly defined but the term covers the kind of stable food such millet, maize meal, bananas and a wide variety of root crops that was consumed before the Europeans colonized Africa. Organic products are included in the category of natural and safe food products. The perception of organic agriculture as a part of what is understood as natural products is supported by the recent Consumer Survey of Attitudes and Preferences Towards Organic Products in East Africa 19 that was carried out as a part of the SIDA funded OSEA ll Project 20 which was implemented from 2010 to Presented with the fact that Organic products or products are those produced through a system that encourages biological natural processes on the farm, allows farm animals to exhibit natural behavior and excludes the use of synthetic pesticides, chemical fertilizers, antibiotics and genetically modified organisms 93% of the interviewed stated that organic products were preferred. The survey showed that 55% of consumers interviewed are willing to buy organic products even if they were significantly more expensive than non-organic products. This result must be weighed against the fact that the survey also found that the motivating factors for consumption of organic products are in order of priority: price/affordability; health/nutrition; package quality; availability; taste, packaging size and brand name. Price is not surprisingly an important barrier for increasing consumption of organic products, but the interest among consumers for food products that are perceived as clean, safe and natural are on the rise. The survey also concludes that key informants (super markets, hotels and restaurants) are of the opinion that consumers need to be educated and exposed to the benefits of consuming organic products. 21 In line with the observations of the key informants, the NOAMs when asked to identify the important barriers in the organic value chains in East Africa responded that lack of consumer awareness of the actual meaning and benefits of organic food product is a major barrier. See the table below that summarizes the barriers in the Organic Value Chains in East Africa identified by the NOAMS. Other issues related to consumer awareness are market promotion, standardization and branding. 18 WHO (2010) Global status report on non communicable diseases, Ndundu, Samuel K. (2013) Consumer Survey of Attitudes and Preferences Towards Organic Products in East Africa. IFOAM and OSEA ll Project Ndundu, Samuel K. (2013) Consumer Survey of Attitudes and Preferences Towards Organic Products in East Africa. IFOAM and OSEA ll Project. 11

12 Table 3. Barriers in the Organic Value Chains in East Africa. Barriers in the Organic Value Chains in East Africa NOGAMU KOAN TOAM Production Processing Distribution Marketing Consumer Farmer Product development Market promotion Consumer mobilization into awareness groups to bulk Bulking of products Branding commodities Certification Agricultural training Inspectors training Collective marketing Quality management Product development Product specification and quality Machinery Comply to quality standards Product development Organizing logistics: bulking and transportation Linking to market/trade/b uyers Standardization Quality management Standardization Quality management Consumer awareness Consumer awareness Bulking of products Market promotion ROAM Organic production Sanitary control Branding Marketing Soil fertility Certification Reliable and affordable organic certification Standardization in this context means that the products are fulfilling the organic standards and certified according to the East African Organic Products Standards (EAOPS). The lack of enforcement of the EAOPS is also an important barrier in the organic value chain. Branding of the organic products is another barrier. The Kilimohai Mark is the label that marks products as organic under the EAOPS, however according to the consumer survey, most customers were neither aware of the standards available for organic products nor whether their suppliers had certification according to EAOPS. Verification of the organic products was mainly built on the costumers trust of the supermarket, restaurant or hotel where the product was purchased. The impression from the many visits to traders during the project identification mission was the same. The Kilimohai Mark is neither widely applied by the suppliers nor widely known by the consumers. The lack of recognizable branding of organic products by one uniform mark such as the Kilimohai Mark is an important barrier to the development of the market for organic products in the EAC. IN 2010 a working paper from the UN Economic Commission for Africa came to similar conclusions 22. The paper recommended 22 Ndugire, Naftali (2010) Scaling up Organic Agriculture and Enhancing its Foreign Market Access: Lessons Learned from Eastern Africa. ATPC, Work in Progress, No. 80, UN Economic Commission for Africa. 12

13 Development, enhancement and promotion of the domestic markets for organic products through sensitization of consumers and publicity campaigns, especially through the media; Supporting and strengthening the NGOs, CBOs and private businesses which are currently involved in organic farming and encouraging them to build linkages between producers, traders and consumers; Supporting the establishment of local mechanisms for regulation of the organic agriculture sector through affordable and transparent inspection and certification; The focus for the ECOMEA is the regional and domestic markets for organic products. The organic consumer is in the higher income groups. In EAC there is a rich population (>20US$ per day) of more than 8 million people 23 which is considered the income segment with the market for organic products. The table below illustrates the numbers of Rich in each EAC member country, and shows that more than 62 % of the Rich in EAC live in Kenya. Table 4.Percentage of rich population in the East African countries Country Rich population % of EAC % National level (>$20/day) Burundi 113, Kenya 5,172, Rwanda 449, Tanzania 178, Uganda 2,401, Total EA 8,314, From these data is clear that Kenya represents the largest market potential for organic products. Kenya s potential share of the EAC market might be much higher than its share (62 %) of Rich in EAC. Super markets and other outlets will need a critical mass of consumer density in order to be viable. Based on this a likely estimate is that Kenya has 80-85% of the EAC market for organic products. There is very little statistics available about the regional and domestic demand of organic products. For regional trade the reason for the lack of information is that products are not coded according to be conventional or organic in the customs clearance. KOAN has collected data since These data indicates the national market for organic products to be around 2 million which is based on sales in particular in Nairobi through supermarkets, farmer markets, specialized shops and a few basket supply schemes. The number of organic certified enterprises to supply the domestic market grew in 2012 from 4173 (2011) to 6003, especially from smallholder producer groups. The figure below illustrates the development of the organic product market value in Kenya from 2008 to The volume of products was in ,000 metric tons. 23 The Middle of the Pyramid: Dynamics of the middle class in Africa, Market Brief 20th April 20111, AfDB 13

14 Figure 2. Organic products market value in Kenya. The figure shows that in Kenya, the annual average value growth was 64% over the period. The growth between 2011 and 2012 was 33%. If the future growth average will continue to be 40% per annum, the domestic market value in 2020 can be estimated to 30 million. KOAN estimates that organic farmers selling in the national markets earn price premiums between 15 to 150 % depending on the products. 14

15 B)Description of the project Objectives and indicators Development objective: A regional market in the East African Community for organic products that will contribute to; poverty alleviation and income generation for small holder farmers in the region; improved nutritional status for consumers; mitigation of climate changes; is developed. Table 5: Intermediate objectives, indicators and means of verification Objectives Indicator Means of verification 1) Consumer awareness in Nairobi of organic products increased a. The sales of certified organic products in Nairobi increased by 30% by the end of 2014 and 60% by the end of ) The intraregional trade of organic products increased b. Consumer awareness in Nairobi of the Kilimohai Mark increased by 20% by the end of 2015 c. Number of outlets in Nairobi selling certified organic product increased by 30% by the end of 2015 a. The value of regional organic product on the market in Nairobi has grown by 30% by the end of 2015 b. The number of companies and traders involved in intraregional trade increased by 25% by the end of 2014 and by 50% by the end of 2015 Baseline survey report survey on consumer awareness and present and potential market for organic products in Nairobi Annual ECOMEA project monitoring reports Final evaluation report Baseline study on regional trade Annual report on statistical data for the regional organic trade Annual ECOMEA project monitoring reports 3) Transparency of the regional EAOPS certification system improved a. The number of organic commodities in the region certified according to the EAOPS has increased by 20% by the end of 2015 Final evaluation report Baseline survey on the regional use of certification in accordance to EAOPS Final evaluation report 15

16 Target groups The primary target groups of this project are composed of three. The first primary target group is the retail sector staff members that will be trained in promotion and purchasing of organic products in order increase consumption of organic products in Nairobi. The second primary target group is the 50 staff members and traders in organic companies who are trained in organic value chains and standards and how to promote national and regional trade. This group will compose of participants from all the five EAC countries and will include both traders and companies that are currently in the Nairobi market or who have the potential to be present there either on their own or through other traders and companies. The third primary target group is the consumers that will increase their knowledge of the environment and health benefits of consuming organic products. The secondary target group is the NOAMs of EAC that will build their capacity to coordinate, facilitate, educate and expand the market development for organic products in the Nairobi market and in the EAC as such. Finally the organic producers/farmers that are supplying organic products to the organic value chains in EAC will benefit since the development of regional market will increase the demand for organic products and their income without the expensive of costly international certification. Also stable regional market for organic products will not be subject to the same price and demand fluctuations of the international market for organic products. Table 6. ECOMEA primary and secondary target groups Target groups In Nairobi In the EAC Retail sector staff (primary) Organic companies and traders (primary) Consumers (primary) NOAMs (secondary) At least 50 retail sector staff members are trained in promotion and purchasing organic products Approximately 25 % of the staff members trained are from companies and traders from Nairobi consumer will increase their knowledge and understanding of the environment and health benefits of consuming organic products The NOAMs have built their capacity to coordinate, facilitate, educate and expand the market development for organic products in the Nairobi market The experience from training the retail sector staff members will be useful in the other EAC countries and can inform a second phase of the project where the project scope will cover major cities in the EAC At least 50 staff members from companies and traders dealing in organic products in the EAC are trained in organic value chains and standards and how to promote national and regional trade The NOAMs have built their capacity to coordinate, facilitate, educate and expand the market development for organic products in the EAC 16

17 Strategy This project combines an activity strategy and a process intervention strategy with a strategy for data collection that will pave the way for informed decisions for the second phase of the project. The activity strategy addresses areas that directly aims to improve the consumer awareness and increase the regional trade e.g. through a consumer awareness campaign on the benefits of organic products reaching consumers and an awareness campaign targeting the retail sector. The process intervention strategy is building capacity among NOAM staff members in marketing development and promotion of organic products. It is also building capacity in promotion of organic products among retail sector staff, just like it is building capacity among companies and traders to get access to the retail market in Nairobi. Through the data collection strategy, six surveys will define baselines for the interventions of the project and inform the exact content of activities of the project. Data collection in issues such as the economic size and volume of the regional market for certified organic products, the number of traders dealing in organic products will be conducted in order to develop an informed strategy for an enhanced market for organic products in East Africa. The project builds on the point of departure that the NOAMs are the core coordinating and facilitating bodies for the national and regional development of the organic agriculture sector in the EAC. With this approach, the capacity of the NOAMs to act as the coordinating and facilitating bodies when it comes to development of the regional market of the NOAMs is essential. The NOAMs in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have already up to 10 years of experience in the facilitating the development of the organic sector when it comes to export market development, farmer training and advocacy. With the building of the capacity of the NOAMs, the capacity is embedded in the organic sector and will both have a direct impact presently and benefit the sector as such in the future. With the NOAMs as the change agents the project aims at capacitate a number of target groups that includes regional traders and companies and management and staff members of retail sector in Nairobi. A core regional group of NOAM staff will play a key role in the implementation of the majority of project activities. 17

18 Figure 3. Implementation of the data collection, the process intervention and the activity strategies. The data collection strategy will provide baseline information and data about the organic market in Nairobi, the level of consumer awareness of organic products and regional trade and certification in the organic sector in EAC. The information and data gathered will inform the decisions made for the process intervention and the activity strategies. The retail sector staff members and organic traders and companies will through the activities of the process intervention strategy be capacitated to promote organic products in the outlets, the companies and traders in the organic sector will be capacitated to increase the regional trade and align with the retail sector in Nairobi. To promote awareness among consumers, retail sector and traders two awareness raising campaigns targeting the consumers and retail sector in Nairobi will be conducted, one Bio-East Africa Trade Fair and two conferences on the benefits of organic products and the promising market possibilities will be held in Nairobi. In annex c) an overview of the range of project activities and the number of persons reached is found. 18

19 Outputs and activities Table 7. Immediate objective 1, Outputs and Activities Immediate objective 1) Consumer awareness of EAOPS certified organic products in Nairobi increased Expected Outputs Activities Output Identify target supermarket chain(s) and other retailers that have an Training of 50 retail interest in a green, climate friendly profile staff members in Align with management in target supermarkets and other retailers that purchasing and shows an interest in promotion of organic products promotion of organic Conduct survey among supermarket staff on training needs in purchasing products and promotion of organic products Select retail staff for capacity building on purchasing and promotion of organic products Develop curriculum for the training of supermarket staff in understanding the principles and advantages of organic products and how to promote organic products Develop training material for the capacity building of retail staff Three days training conducted Develop best practice example on promotion of organic products in a supermarket Arrange learning network meetings among staff from different supermarkets Arrange conference in Nairobi on the benefits of organic products targeting management level of the retail sector, government staff and other stakeholders Arrange competition among retail staff about increasing the sales of organic product Collect data, discuss, report and disseminate best practice and lessons learned from retail staff members experience with promotion of organic Output 1.2 Capacity building of a core regional group of NOAM staff for facilitating market development for organic products Output 1.3 products Selection of NOAM staff for capacity building in facilitating market development for organic products Conduct activities for capacity building of NOAM staff including retail market promotion, understanding organic value chain development, consumer survey, retail staff training, communication skills, development of promotion material, networking with retailers, develop network among retail staff etc Identify mentors, resource persons and facilitators from relevant training institutions, companies and NGOs to create a resource platform that can and will mentor the NOAM staff in developing the regional market Implement mentor platform for NOAM staff Develop learning network group among the trained NOAM staff to exchange experience on the market development activities Study visit to Denmark to learn from the Danish experience with alignment with supermarkets and training of supermarket staff Identify external consultant to conduct survey 19

20 One survey on present and potential market for organic products in Nairobi Output 1.4 Awareness campaign in Nairobi among consumers about the advantages and benefits of consuming organic products Output 1.5 Advocacy for organic products among stakeholders Select specific organic products to be surveyed Conduct survey on consumer awareness and present and potential market for organic products in Nairobi Disseminate results from the survey to relevant stakeholders and media through conferences and press releases Develop TOR for awareness campaign among consumers about the advantages and benefits of consuming organic products Contract company or institution to coordinate awareness campaign in cooperation with NOAMs Identify target consumer segments for awareness campaign Develop platform for awareness campaign among consumers with stakeholders such as supermarkets, government institutions and civil society organizations Develop key messages for awareness campaign among consumers about the advantages and benefits of consuming organic products Select medias e.g. TV commercials, posters, farmer markets, Facebook campaign for awareness campaign Implement awareness campaign Conference to promote the results of the market development for organic products in Nairobi Table 8. Immediate Objective 2, Outputs and Activities Immediate objective 2) The intraregional trade of organic products increased Expected Outputs Activities Output Mapping of regional traders. Both traders that are only dealing with Capacity building of 50 organic products and traders that only partly deal in organic products. The regional traders in mapping includes contact information, commodities traded, suppliers, annual organic value chains turnover, key and potential markets both national, regional and international and standards and how Develop curriculum for training course for traders in overcoming tariff and to promote national non-tariff barriers in the EAC and retailers demand on quality, quantity and and regional trade reliability of organic products Develop training material for training course for traders in overcoming tariff and non-tariff barriers in the EAC and retailers demand on quality, quantity and reliability of organic products One day training course for traders in overcoming tariff and non-tariff barriers in the EAC Two days training course for traders on how to align with retailers demand on quality, quantity and reliability of organic products Develop learning network among traders in organic products for exchange of knowledge, bulking of products and joint promotion activities targeting the retailers Organize one joint promotion campaign towards the retail sector in Nairobi with the aim of exposer the retail sector to the wide variety of organic product produced in the EAC Collect data, discuss, report and disseminate best practice and lessons learned from traders experience with retail sector 20