Ghana will host the 5th West African Organic Conference (WAOC) in Accra from 12th-15th of November 2019.

The conference aims at bringing together stakeholders operating within the organic agriculture value chains to share knowledge, experiences and ideas on how to grow the industry to benefit from its potentials.

The Conference is being organised by the Ecological Organic Agriculture Platform of Ghana (EOAP - G) and the West African Organic Network (WAfrONet) under the auspices of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) and Market Oriented Agriculture Programme (GIZ-MOAP) among other partners.

It is under the theme “Organic Agriculture – Life for All”.

The Conference is expected to be attended by more than 300 participants, made up of policymakers, organic farmers, producers, agro-input entrepreneurs, organic food processors and traders of certified organic commodities, national, regional and international organic agriculture organisations and associations and academia.

Papers will be presented on Researches undertaken in Organic Agriculture, Innovative Technologies, Livestock, Market & Business and Inputs and Policies. An Organic Trade Exhibition will also be held as part of the conference.

Dr. De Fenzy Schandorf, Chairman of the Local Organising Committee of WAOC and President of the Ecological Organic Agricultural Platform of Ghana (EOAP-G) said the objective of the conference is to showcase the potential of organic agriculture in the transformation of national and regional economies, ecologies and livelihoods through income growth, quality food production and sovereignty, climate change adaptation and trade.

“There are global concerns about the quality of agricultural produce and its impact on the health and wellbeing of consumers as well as the environment. The conference seeks to facilitate the sharing of knowledge, information, experiences and skills among stakeholders in the organic sector to impact the transformation of national and continental economies”, Dr. Schandorf added.

The Chairman is inviting local and international agriculture industry players and entrepreneurs to participate in the conference and exhibition to benefit from the valuable platform that will be created to stimulate increased organic food production as well as national, regional and international trade

Dr. Elke Stumpf, Head of the Market Oriented Agriculture Programme (MOAP) one of the programs from the German Development Cooperation (GIZ) said GIZ is happy to partner with EOAP-G to organise the conference to create increased knowledge about organic agriculture and promote its cultivation as well as drive patronage.