Financing organic agriculture in Africa: mapping the issues
An example of the opportunity comes from an East African regional programme, which saw the region's organic exports grow from $4.6 million in 2002/03 to $35 million in 2009/10, according to the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements. The programme led to a common regional organic standard and significantly increased crop yields in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and the United Republic of Tanzania. Despite such success stories, almost a quarter (23%) of organic farmers, exporters, and experts from 16 African countries said they felt that access to financing had become more restrictive in the last five years. The results were published by UNCTAD in a new technical paper on financing organic farming in Africa. In the same survey, 64% said the situation had not changed while just 13% said access to funding had improved.