Abstract
Organic agriculture is a sustainable agricultural system with high environmental protection and animal welfare. In 2015, the world organic agriculture covered 50.9 million hectares with Oceania as the biggest regional producer with 22.8 million hectares and Africa as the least regional producer (1.7 million hectares). While organic agriculture may not be the only solution for African farming, it aligns with sustainable economic development and does not involve chemical inputs. Whereas there are different private standards, not all African countries have national organic standards and there are no pan-African organic standards. This paper discusses the need to address the proliferation of organic standards as a trade barrier through pan-African organic standards and inspire the development of harmonised domestic standards. It examines the prospects for pan-African organic standards, their limitations and makes recommendations for the making, the contents and implementation of such standards domestically and national measures to support African organic agriculture.
 
Highlights
While organic agriculture may not be the only solution for African farming, it aligns with sustainable economic development and may be a trade corridor for African communities for better market access for certified organic products
As in the East African Organic Product Standards19 (EAOPS), the regulation of wild harvested organic products should be included in pan-African organic standards considering that Africa has an important share of wild collection areas
The control of organic production will remain driven by the private sector unless African States provide State support in collaboration with the private sector to enable the development of domestic certification capacity
Summary
One of Africa's biggest challenges is to feed its 1.2 billion population with worsening effects of climate change, effects of globalisation and rising food prices. Feeding Africa's rapidly growing population will require sustainable agricultural systems which provide food as well as economic value. Conventional and high-intensity agricultural systems while being highly productive have a price tag with non-renewable external inputs associated with greenhouse gas emissions that adversely impact on climate change, soil fertility and ecosystems. In contrast, green agricultural practices use sustainable agricultural techniques which potentially avoid additional costs that may arise as a consequence of unsustainable practices. Adopting a sustainable agricultural system is of utmost importance for Africa which is said to have more than 500 million hectares of degraded arable land.. Whereas there is no international treaty to regulate organic agriculture, the following guidelines provide guidance for standards regarding the production and marketing of organically produced foods. The Codex Alimentarius Commission Guidelines for the Production, Processing, Labelling and Marketing of Organically Produced Foods (hereafter the "Codex Alimentarius Guidelines") were developed to facilitate the harmonisation of requirements for such products at the international level and assist in drafting national organic standards.. After a brief overview of organic agriculture in Africa, this paper discusses the need to address the proliferation of organic standards as a trade barrier through pan-African organic standards which may inspire the development of harmonised organic standards in African States It examines the prospects of developing such organic standards drawing inspiration from the EAOPS and other regional organic standards as an African Union (AU)-led initiative in collaboration with international partners. It identifies the limitations of such organic standards and makes recommendations regarding the making, the contents and implementation of pan-African organic standards as well as national measures to support organic agriculture in African States
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