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Vol.1,No.1 |
Dear friends of NECOFA,
First of all I thank you for all your letters, faxes, e-mails and x-mas cards sent to me after closure of our ecofarming course in Ethiopia. Iapologize to all of you for late or even no response. My main task in recent months and weeks was to push the needed support for NECOFA by DSE through all necessary stages within DSE and our Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Develop- ment to approve the programme and to assure its budget at least till the end of 2000. I am happy to inform you that NECOFA will receive the necessary support by DSE.
My own center, the Food and Agriculture Development Center (ZEL) of DSE allocated an adequate fund to finance all basic activities of NECOFA this year, especially the elaboration of at least 3 newsletters and the installation of NECOFA in INTERNET. Depending on the final decision of our ministry to be expected end of June, we wait for their agreement on additional funds for furtheractivities in 1999 and 2000.
NECOFA has a unique chance to develop and to become a success. In several meetings with Mr. Sahle Tesfai and other experts of DITSL we continuosly worked on managerial and technical aspects of our joint support of NECOFA. A network can not live alone from inputs of its supporters. It has only a chance to fulfill its tasks if really all members are actively contributing. 24 participants of a single event cannot take this burden. Therefore, I ask all of you to integrate in NECOFA as many other people and organizations sharing the same objectives as possible.
All African participants of former ecofarming courses will receive copy of this newsletter. I will ask them to join and to contact the national coordinators. If we do not succeed to motivate a considerable percentage of decision makers, experts and technicians in rural development - with a chance for essential changes - , NECOFA will not fulfill ist objectives and will die out.
The "NECOFA project" will be the first of this kind for DSE. Nobody in DSE or DITSL has professional experience how to handle such a thing. We all have to go through a continuos process of learning; we will commit mistakes and errors. We ask for your active contribution and cooperation but also for some comprehension and patience.
In this first newsletter you will find the declaration regarding the formation of NECOFA, as approved by all participants of the ecofarming course in Ethiopia. I fully agree to its objectives, but once NECOFA will grow, a revision of this charter might be later necessary. In order to gain full support from our competent ministry, I had to describe the objectives of NECOFA more precisely. I did this as follows
I hope that this elaboration of objectives will find your approval.
This more precise definition will allow DSE to support NECOFA within a broad spectrum of possibilities. However, it will only depend on the members to define priorities, to take offered chances or not.
DSE as supporter and DITSL as coordinator of NECOFA want to offer you more than reading quarterly newsletters and INTERNET surfing. A small fund to support events and activities of national groups will be allocated and administered by DITSL. According to your sincere motivation and interest, this fund can be even increased once we have obtained the official approval from our ministry. I ask the national coordinators to keep close contact with Mr. Sahle Tesfai regarding these chances.
I hope you are exited about NECOFA like me. Let us take a chance. I wish all of you the very best personally and in regard to your professional activities.
With cordial regards,
yours sincerely
Hartmut Gast
DSE / ZEL
Adviser and supporter of NECOFA
At last, as proposed through passed resolutions at the DSE/DITSL Workshop in Ecofarming held in Ethiopia, that is to form a strong Organisation which could coordinate our effort to implement Eco-farming in Africa, is now getting to be concretised gradually.
I am delighted to inform you that our, Network for Ecofarming in Africa, "NECOFA" is gradually getting more recognition and support from Institutions both governmental and non governmental as well individuals eco- movements here in Germany.
As reported in the Forward- page from our NECOFA adviser and DSE /ZEL officer Mr. Hartmut Gast, the German Foundation for International Development/Food and Agriculture Development Centre has given its full support to NECOFA so that our organisation is now in a position to implement the designed objectives.
Indeed, our feedback to the unburocratic gesture of the DSE/ZEL was to appreciate the immediate step taken from this Foundation in giving its full support to our newly created Organisation and respectively on our side, to speed up our activities.
In fact our first move in the NECOFA's activities was dedicated to the development of a strategy to a better "Communication" between the members of the Organisation and the public in general.
As proposed during the foundation of NECOFA in Ethiopia, today, I am very pleased to inform you of the publication of the first quarterly issue "NEWSLETTER OF NECOFA". Taking into account that during the past few years have been tremendous development in the media communication, our communication, information link will not be remain limited only on the Newsletter. We have gone a step forward and again, I am quite happy and proud to announce you that our Organisation has got an Internet- Website under the Name
Also the countries letterheaded paper are ready.
The mission of this quarterly Newsletter is to discuss general issues surrounding sustainable agriculture/Ecofarming, and to do so in a way that is informative and helpful to both the NECOFA members and the general public .The quarterly Newsletter will serve as an information exchange- channel to our members, reporting on the work and activities of NECOFA.
The Newsletter will focus on issues surrounding the application of Ecofarming / sustainable agricultural systems not only to Africa but on a world scale. In order to do this, the newsletter will analyze the general needs of Ecofarming / sustainable agriculture, especially considering issues surrounding Ecofarming -technologies.
Both the Newsletter and Internet Website of NECOFA will provide a continuous platform of experience exchange and will provide rapid diffusion of latest findings, informations and news in research, implementation strategies and extension methodology in Ecofarming.
As I am acquainted from some Network members, I am quite happy to realise that the activities at the country level are also developing well.
In fact, focusing at the activities and reports of some countries representatives, is indeed very encouraging to experience, that country Network members are doing very well in organising and mobilising wide-ranging regional activities in order to meet the NECOFA goals. Special attention goes to those country members who have already conducted Seminars/Workshops in Ecofarming at the regional level. According to the submitted reports these activities were very successful.
NECOFA, congratulates them and passes its appreciation.
We know that the move we have chosen to organise ourselves and do some efforts to implement our objectives, that is; shifting from a conventional agricultural system to an agroecological one are complex and sometimes very difficult.
Doing some efforts mean that "organisation like the newly established "NECOFA" will have to start and adopt new ways of working".
Our newly created Organisation need to be more multidisciplinary, including more structured participation with farming communities in extension and development , research activities and services, and the development of a whole new "agricultural professionalism itself.
Nowadays there is a battle waging within agriculture, a battle that is pitting large segments of agribusiness against the Ecofarming /sustainable agriculture movement. Opponents of sustainable agriculture control much of the media and therefore their opinions dominate the debate and the minds of the masses. They assert that if farmers stop using chemicals (that they just happen to produce) the world would starve.
Why such arguments? Even if these claims are "true", it needs explanation why so. Clearly, sustainable agriculture has received very little funding relative to conventional systems.
Little recent research, however, has been directed to Ecofarming as an alternative agriculture, such as the relationship among crop rotations, tillage methods, pest control, and nutrient cycling. Farmers must understand these interactions as they move toward alternative systems. As a result, the scientific knowledge, technology, and management skills necessary for widespread adoption of Ecofarming /alternative agriculture are not widely available or well defined.
In order for agriculture to become sustainable in Africa and on a world scale, it is necessary for us as well as civil society as a whole, to have a deeper understanding of the Ecofarming, be convinced of its adoption and promote a more sustainable agriculture.
Last but not least, your feedback can make the quarterly NECOFA's Newsletter a better presentation and performance.
Please don't hesitate to give your opinions and suggestions , tell us what you like about the Newsletter, and what you think we could do better. Please direct specific questions, requests and articles to be published to the editors.
The next issues of the 2nd and 3rd NECOFA-Newsletter will be published respectively early in September and December 1999. Please send your articles 3 weeks in advance!
Sahle Tesfai
Under the sponsorship of the German government, the Food and Agriculture Development Center (ZEL) of the German Foundation for International Development (DSE), in cooperation with the German Institute for Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture (DITSL), conducted an international workshop entitled "Ecofarming:
Ecologically and Socially Sustainable Land Management,"
between November the 16 th and December the 11th in Ethiopia.
The workshop took place at various locations in Addis Ababa, Debre Zeit, Sodere, Dodola, and Awassa, close to projects, research stations, and farmers' communities which were visited during the event.
The workshop gathered together 24 senior agricultural experts, coming from Ethiopia, Cameroun, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanazania and Uganda, who work in governmental and non-govrernmental organizations involved in rural development, planning, research, education, and extension. Ethiopian scientists based at Debre Zeit, Melkassa, Alemaya, and Awassa, substantially contributed to the worshop, highlighting specific Ethiopian experiences.
Unlike the so-called "modern" or conventional farming, which relies on a high level of inputs, such as chemical fertilizers and pesticides, ecofarming technologies are based on intensive research work done worldwide in the last twenty years, which is incorporated indigenous farmers' knowledge and their own way of experimenting, to achieve locally appropriate, sustainable and economically viable solutions for their specific farming systems.
Based on their own experiences back home, and joint findings elaborated at the end of the workshop, participants are convinced that ecofarming is the most modern, convenient, and sustainable way of farming in tropical and subtropical environments. As already proven in many countries and farming communities around the world, ecofarming is at least as productive, or more, than conventional farming, supporting food security at a high level, with fewer risks and costs involved.Ecofarming allows rural people to maintain their natural resources in good condition, while even improving soil fertility. Applying ecofarming technologies, even Africa's large areas of wasteland can be brought back into intensive production at surprisingly low costs. For instance, farmers the participants met just south of Awassa, who were applying an intensive ecofarming system to their garden coffee, stated that their "soils are growing."
Basic elements of ecofarming technologies include the use of green manures or multipurpose plants into site-appropriate crop rotations and mixtures, to supplement or replace chemical fertilizers, the application of any other organic fertilizers, soil retention and recuperation technologies, the use of locally adapted stress- and disease-resistant varieties, and the use of alternative ploant protection methods. Animal and plant production at farm level are closely integrated with each other. In conclusion, ecofarming works with nature, within the sustainable ecosystems, rather than against nature. It is much more beneficial for the farmers that their plants fix atmospheric nitrogen free of charge, than that they spend valuable cash on chemical fertilizers. Ecofarming is thus a highly beneficial alternative, especially for small farmers with scarce capital.
Programs of ecofarming in many parts of the world were very successfully, where researchers, extensionists, and farmers worked closely together, developing appropriate technologies to fit into the specific ecological, social, and cultural conditions of each site.
Participants of the workshop decided to move in the same direction and to promote ecofarming within their institutions and organizations, as well as at the national level. For that task, the participants will found their own associations or networks to promote ecofarming within their home countries.
To facilitate the further exchange of experiences among participants, the staff of the workshop and other people, networks, and organizations working in the same direction, the participants founded and joined their newly-founded network, called the Network for Ecofarming in Africa (NECOFA), which will act as a forum to support all national activities along this line.
We the undersigned participants at the international workshop on ecofarming, holding in Ethiopia from 13-11 to 11-12-98, have today the 11/12/98 , agreed to form a Network of Ecofarming in Africa.
The participants also agreed that the network will be run as follows: Name: NETWORK FOR ECOFARMING IN AFRICA.
Acronym: NECOFA Objectives:
Membership is opened to any natural person or institution/organizations who share the same ideas of ecofarming
The logo shall be prepared by the international/General coordinator with contributions from country coordinators. These contributions should reach the international coordinator by the end of Febuary, 1999, together with letter heads for official correspondences.
NECOFA shall have the followig structure to implement its activities.
This unit shall serve as the international secretariate and coordinate all NECOFA activities. The Network shall be headed by International/General coordintor and shall be located at DITSL(German Institute of Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture) in Germany
The international coordinator shall have two advisers and 7 country coordination units this units shall be run by elected country representatives. Each unit shall coordinate activities at national level
The international coordinator with his two advisers, and the country representatives shall form the NECOFA committee. This committee shall meet to delebrate when the interantioanl coordinators deems necessary or as need may arise on issues concerning ecofarming in Africa.
1.International/General coordinator is -Mr. Sahle Tesfai of DITSL / Germany, who will deal with the administrativ issues concerning the national representative and the international activities.
Concerning any information about the organisation please contacted our International/Genearal Coordinator Mr Tesfai by DITSL-in Germany.
Attached please find the Names of the founding members
Among the TV and Radio reporting of the international workshop in 3 to 4 different languages, there was also a coverage in the daily News papers of the Ethiopian press. The Ehiopian Herald reported as follows:
ADDIS ABABA, Dec. 12 (WIC) - An ecologically and socially sustainable land management system has been described by scientists as an effective farming method capable of achieving increased food production at minimum cost. This was disclosed at the closing of a 25 - day international training workshop at the Wabe Shebelle Hotel yesterday which was held under the theme, "Ecofarming: Ecologically and socially sustainable land management." In an interview he gave to WIC, workshop coordinator, Ato Sahle Tesfaye, said ecofarming which makes use of traditional fertilisers as well as modern technology without damaging the peoples' culture has a great potential in supporting food security system with fewer risks and costs involved. He said the ecofarming system carried out through conventional methods also has the potential to increase agricultural production.
He went on to explain that ecofarming system enables farmers to buy locally - available inputs at reasonable prices with which to undertake sustainable agricultural activities. Ato Sahle also disclosed that an organisation called Network for Ecofarming In Africa has been established in Addis Ababa to conduct training for farmers in a sustainable manner.
One of the trainers, Mr. Roland Bunch, explained that Ethiopia was selected for the training because of its considerable agricultural potentials and because of the broad experiences it has in the application of fertilizers and anti-pest chemicals. Mr. Ronaldo said coffee growers in the south of the country should be warned against extensive application of chemicals.
The participating professionals drawn from Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroun, attended the workshop in Addis Ababa, Debre Zeit, Sodere, Dodola and Awassa.
The workshop was jointly organized by the German Government, the food and Agricultural Development Centre, the German International Development Founding Association, and the German Tropical and Sub Tropical Agricultural Institution.
Asfaw Tihune
Bureau of Agr.Dev.Dep. of Envir.Protec. & Land use Plan.
P.O. Box 8770
Addis Abeba / Ethiopia
Cornel Ouma Odour
ˇgroforestry Project
P.O Box 2006
Kitale /Kenia
Immaculate Luwedde
Dept. Of Agriculture Mukono District
Local Council
P.O Box 72
Mukono / Uganda
Richard Adriano
Mwanakulya Hima-Mufindi
(Natural resources and land use management Project)
P.O. Box 1018
Mafinga / Tansania
Moki Princewill Ogen
Ministry of Agriculture Bureau,
Phytosanitary Legislation
P.O.Box 219
Bamend / Kamerun
allied_engineers@ compuserve.com
Edward Olumunyiwa Ogungbe
Ogun State Agric. Dev. Programme
P.M.B. 2122
Abeokuta, Ogun State /Nigeria
Lawrence Kofi Krampa
Ministry of Food and Agriculture
P.O.Box 86
Sunyani,B.A. / Ghana
Mr Roland Bunch
COSECHA
Apartado 3586
Tegucigalpa
Honduras
Hartmut Gast
DSE/ZEL
Wielinger Str. 52
D-82336 Feldafing
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