By Frank
Organised by Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations in collaboration with French Embassy in Tanzania and the Ministry of Agriculture, the conference is geared towards engaging key players to exhibit and exchange best practices of ecological organic agriculture —which is at the core of sustainable development through its multi-dimensional impact.
The conference scheduled to take place in Dodoma from November 26th -27th bringing together about 200 participants from Tanzania and beyond.
FAO Representative to Tanzania Fred Kafeero said the conference aims to engage policymakers and stakeholders, from the government at central and local levels, parliament, development partners, civil society, private sector, academia, and media, to exhibit and exchange best cases on how ecological organic agriculture is at the core of sustainable development through its multi-dimensional impact.
Kafeero explained that the conference will discuss three thematic areas—food security and safety based on achieving resilient and sustainable production of safe food throughout the seasons through ecological organic agriculture practices and technologies.
Other area is resilience to climate change and environmental conservation by making grassroots communities more resilient to climate change and extreme weather patterns, including prolonged drought periods and heavy rainfall, rising sea levels and cyclones.
“There has been a growing interest in agro ecology in recent years as an innovative and sustainable response to the challenges facing our food and agriculture system,” Kafeero explained.
He added that there is a need to bring agro ecology to scale and transform food and agricultural system to achieve zero hunger and multiple other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The conference aims to create a greater awareness of agro ecology and its advantages among key government policymakers, private sector and academia, he said.
Speaking at the event, the Ambassador of France to Tanzania, Frédéric Clavier, said: “We provide support to agro ecology in France, Europe and Tanzania because for France agro ecology is a key part of the global response to climate instability.”
“Agro ecology offers a unique approach to meeting significant increases in our food needs of the future while ensuring no one is left behind,” the Ambassador explained.
Clavier explained that the agricultural practice make it possible to reduce the negative impacts of production on the environment, reduction of green house gases, limitation of pesticides and to preserve natural resources.
He further said: “The farmer must use what nature offers him to optimize his crops, while optimizing resources.”
