Advancing Organic Agriculture Research in Africa—A Case Study of the Science Track of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th African Organic Conferences (AOCs)

Victor Olowe, Khalid Azim (), Charity Atoma, Patience Odueme and Olabisi Somefun
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Victor Olowe: Institute of Food Security, Environmental Resources and Agricultural Research (IFSERAR), Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Abeokuta 110119, Nigeria
Khalid Azim: Integrated Crop Production Research Unit, Regional Center of Agricultural Research of Agadir, National Institute of Agricultural Research, Avenue Ennasr, BP 415 Rabat Principale, Rabat 10090, Morocco
Charity Atoma: Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, Faculty of Agriculture, Delta State University of Science and Technology, Ozoro 334111, Nigeria
Patience Odueme: Institute of Food Security, Environmental Resources and Agricultural Research (IFSERAR), Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Abeokuta 110119, Nigeria
Olabisi Somefun: Department of Plant Physiology and Crop Production, College of Plant Science and Crop Production, FUNAAB, Abeokuta 110119, Nigeria

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 18, 1-13

Abstract: The development of certified organic agriculture in Africa has been partly impeded by limited sound science-based information to tackle multifarious challenges facing the subsector along the value chains. Robust and well-articulated research strategies are key to driving this desired development. Therefore, a case study was carried out to appraise the science track of the last four African Organic Conferences (AOCs) with a view to identifying the direction of research activities in the continent across the regions and suggest areas presently being overlooked. Out of the 251 research papers evaluated, the majority were dealing with agronomy (41.4%) and socioeconomic (16.3%) aspects during the four editions of AOC. Research areas largely overlooked include organic aquaculture, policy issues, standards and certification, cross-disciplinary and participatory research methods, health and safety of organic products and research methodology. Papers presented at the AOCs were spread across the regions and outside Africa as follows: West (48.6%), East (28.2%), Southern (7.1%), North (<1%), Central (<1%) and outside the continent (14.3%). The paper also discusses strategies that can be adopted in moving organic agriculture research forward in the continent.

Keywords: funding; organic agriculture; policy; region; research agenda; research area (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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