2011
Ho",rTo Tap Benefits Of Organic Crops, Animals B~
Olu!liyocial)yelgy"l'
ROWING i1wareness of oranic .. grlculture and organic arm prod'Jctswas stressed rec~n tl y in Ib" dan duri ng the gal hering In Ibat\an on Organic Agricu ltu re, and how Nigeria may lHoneflt from iL Organic crops and liv~stoc k, as they silid, afe possible to produce and ,ue Indeed desirable. Tile il~su r,mces, however, d id not go without emphasis on the rigorous standards thilt must be complied with bt' fo~ produru are Q" ilied as o rg~nic and before milrkets ca n begu;u<,nteed_ Ranging from arable sta ple crops to cash and tr« crops, and [rom small scale to large scali produQrs, it WilS g id thi!.1 Nigeria has a greilt capacity to prod'Jce 'Jrganic products. 11l05l' who hr:ve tried some form of organic app roach to animal production t o ~d the story of tiu~lr experience 1... lth small ruminants. David Olo pad~ 'J'" the Wesley University of Scienc" and Technolog}I' Ondo,ln stressir.g the re.levanQ 0 soil to organi( a~rlculture. remarked (h,lt "~ u i ram"b l e International market sptems and pOlicies rest squarely on the availability of \'arious t}'Pes 0 1 1ich soilth,udeter· mines orEanic produ nlon.~ The quality of Ihe soil, he leasons. ·de· termines the lluo!ntity and qualities ofagrlcuhura produce made avail· able to local and Inlernatlona l con-
pJ, ~
ad verse effects: Quality Issues in orga niCfann ing ca me ur,. Olopade's view was that s umE'rs.~ "ag ricu tural production Is gener· Accord ing tu him, "due to (thel ,llfy seasonal while consumption Is I C\~ I of ctiucalipn and training 0 regula r and conllnuous; therefore the marketerli. marketing Olor- storage is required 10 adj ustsupply ganic'}grkullur.li produru at com- to demand. However, when a prod· munity marke'S In Nigeria is- UCt Is just grown, Is rarely In a form baslc.,lIyon ha2.&llIl$ process In acceptable to consume rs, in efret[, commun ity mal KelS. II must be sorted, cleared, Heappea red to,';('t a slage for basis processed in various ways before it of expo" opport Jnlties as he noted IS presented to the consumers in tha t. "while son e consumers ex- cOI1\~nient qUilntii ies for sa Ie: prusa prefereme foriocil ilygro..... n II'! ;:lIuded to some "challenges f,lCorganiC foods. II' e demand fo r a va- Inl! marke ting 01 orga nic ,)rodriety of food fel r-round makes It uc'.s.' including "poor loca and impossi ble ror any count!)' :0 i lll ~r lalional ma rkets due to little SO li rce org.lOlc fnod emi rely within infonnation on organiC agrlcul tUfe herterrltory.~ activit ies coupled with education, On environm'!ntal implicationI training and e.~tensio n selVlces, Olopade claimed that "the use 0 low level of third party certification, ilgrochemh:als t lreatenS thedir we Iiltle or no policies to safeguard or· brt';"Ithe, the wilt"rwe drink and lhe g,mlc fanners In addition to sourc· land we and other liVing habil;"lt~ In$ of approllrl,ne Inpul, depl.'nd lin fOl fnod. He acMed that private st"Ctor involvelllentan lack org.. " lcfarm in~ "relies on ecologi· of technical assist.lllce: cal processes bIOdiversity and cy- Falrtnde and regulations cles adilPted to loca! conditions, Sa mue.l Adlmadoof Ghima Orgamc ralh'!r tlian the use of Inputs with Agricultu re Network, based In Ku-
J'OO'
masi, who spoke. on OrgiUllc and Fa lrtrade Cocoa Business, said, In Ghana, "quality is intrinsic." He. d rew attention to the European Union (EU) and their organic stan· dards '} nd regulatiOns. He mentioned labeling and detailed rules for impom of organic prod ucts from tflirt! countries as contained In the EU regulations. On Fillrtrade Standards, he outlined WhiU was referred to as products' general requirements and ru les relating to the certifi :ation process and to the scope 01 the sta ndards. and how they define what a small prod uce.r organiZcltlon Is. What was needed, according to Adimado,are: willingness and trust of prod ucers to mainta in the In· tegrity of complied stand,ud prod· uct: a\'ailabililyofService providers to design org;mic and Fall1rade businesses and the availabilityof resou rce and logistic jeriwltives (e.g. policy, funds and eOlbling environ· ment). He observeC that there <Ire advantages In Nigeria for the following reason!.: as a cocoa growing state; pos'.lbllty [Q increase pro-
dunlon; manageable level of syn- ucts sha ll not use ingredients, ad· lhetic agro< hemica l usage: avail- dltlves, or processing aids derived fro m GMOs" and "inputs, proce.ssable knowledge; and Willingness. Another participant, Mrs. f"oluke R. ing .. Ids, and ingredIents shall be Moyld fro m departme.nt ofagricul- traced back one step in the biologrural and p roduction science, roll Se- ical chain from which they are prolafin UllIverslty, Ijebu Ode, who duced to \'erify that they are not highlighted the E<!stAfrlcan experi- derived from GMOs: ence, noted lhat "the East Arrlca or· RJSA.t T. ragun ,lnd Ola}'inka i\. ganlcSlandard hilS been wrl u en for Orldupa rrulIllhe Faculty of the producllon In East Arrlca and etenn,uy Medicine, Univerhil5 been adapted to conditions In East Afrlca: The pu rpose, according sity of Ib.ldan, in a collaborative to her. "is to have one unined or-. work done wit h Wahab SalamI. ganlc st.. nd,mJ. accepted by illl president of the Sheep and Goat stakeholders that can replace other Famler Association, observed that ve.terinary care has bee n Inauenational organic standards." She explained that "the East Africa qu .. te even where ,wa il .. ble. On Organic Sta ndard can l>e used for that !>asis. they proposed what was self.assessment by producers. dec· referred to as 'Alternative !\Iedl· larations of conformity in tlte mar· cine: a tool of organic sma il fumi · ketplace, certification by the nant product iOn In south wes' ce"ifiCallon bodies active In the re- . Nlgeri .. : as a oosis for a neld stud, gion, or other kinds of veriflcat..ion: The report of their study, whld Tn Iter view, "t he East Afrlc:t Orga niC was presented ilt the workshop St.. nd:trd also formulat l's stand- showed that Ileiminihosis (worm points which can be used In negotl· In reSt.lIlon) Is -a lllaJor cause of alions on Internationo! l standards. morbidity and mortality in slllilil It GIn be a basis for eqUiva lence ruminants." They indicated that "nutrition ag reements with countries having organic regulations. II C:th also cunlTlbutes mainly to production ,1Ild yields in these animals_With serve as the basis forexpon to countries that lack orga niCregulations.~ disease and nutrition probably SpKifica lly, she noted: "lhe Easl bci nf:!: the Illost Importa nt factors Africa Organic Standard covers limiting productivit}\ they su~· plant production, animal hus- gl'Sted tl1al alternati~ medicine 111 ba ndry. bee.·kee plng. the collt"Ction organ ic farming could hel p guarof wild products and processing, antee adequate health in small nt · and/lroducLS there from, regardles.s minallts. From wh .. t Ihey conslderell as of t leir flna l use: However, "lhe East Africa Orgallic SUI oda rd covers Nlgeria's great potentiAl for organic livestock production. they requirements for production, but not inspeCtion or certlOcation re- clAimed that -it IS possible to proqui re ments.IIca n be used both for duce organic.. l1y rea re.d animals and animal products, with nutriself·assessment and cenmcation: Some issues In regulations, accord· tion cate.red for In IOt,l1ity and .11· Ing to her. entaiflhat : ~oJlerat"ors tern;"lti\'e herbil! medicine for shall avoid using chemical proollCts adequate health ca re: AcconJ illg to them. I hrre are some that may endanger human health or t he environment. If there a~ medicinal plants used trad itionally lflXlucts that afe considerwto be byloc,lI famlers in southwest Nigeess harmful, they sh.. l1 bE' used: ria. rawpaw seeds used. they sa id l 'hey extend to the factlhal ·opera· study has showlI. call be. used" ..s de· torssh:tn ta ke releva nt precaution· wo rmer; lIeem le.. ves;"ls antimicroary measures to avoid the bial and anli-inn..,mmalory; iroko contamination of organiCsites and seed as eCloparasit icides, tobacco p roducts: She noted as well that leaves against ecto~.lTaSiteS; oei· contamination o f organic prod- IllUm gratissi mum Mlican Basil) ucts that resu lts from circum- against thrush and VSt'nlery; <l1Iistances lHoyond the control of the gator pepper fmil s for lhrush ami operator may alter the organic sta- dyse ntery treatment: biuer leaf (Vernonia amyg d.. III1J) for treat · N S of tile operation. the IlrodUcl.or ment of dysentclY. In essencc, antboth: Moyid slresst"'J that "products mOlls Cil n be reared without any wilh Ilnde.slred substances. such as . reso" to orthodox lIIedicine for residues of pest icides or COncentra- prophylaxis ilnd t herai>l:'utic uses. tions of heavy metals beyond the These. however, will require tIlore rigorous studies to assure Ihe pub. ma.~imum loferable level shall not be sold as org.. nlc: "ccortJing to IIc that organiCme,lts Me 50011 to her, ·organlcally processe.d prod. be expected In Nlge.rla.
Aj
w
I
ProfHSCPt C~deon Adtoye oi ~"a-nomr dtpl"mo~'. UnMnil, of lb'ld3f1 (I,IT). 0 •. ~dmike OIufol!l. Oecul .... direclor, Nlpiln Il orli r;ufwr.r R<!1ulc!o tnIliMt.lb.dll1 iIrnI I..! ' kkdunl;an, pefnWIa1l
_.el.,.,.Ora $111.UInt1!ry ot A&riCllflunt . ,lhI! ....,klhap "" orpnlt: a,plcuttl... hdd .'IIJ..u.,ncftllly.