THE 1st KENYA NATIONAL PGS WORKSHOP

Date : Friday 25th November 2022

Venue : Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace and Cultural Studies  (University of Nairobi)

Time : 9.00am – 4.00pm

Event type:  Hybrid (Physical and Virtual)

Zoom Link : https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85616693479?pwd=SC9YNC83T0tpM25aZVNEVDJRaVJxZz09

Goal : Improved farmers’ livelihoods driven by an increased organic market value and effective organic sector services being part of a well-coordinated sector.

Objective:

• To develop strong PGS systems for greater transparency and guarantee of Kilimohai Organic Produce.
• To provide opportunity for improved networking among PGS groups in Kenya.
• To create awareness about opportunities and best practices in PGS.

Participants: PGS group representatives from all over Kenya, NGO partners sponsoring PGS groups, organic sector traders, retailers and interested parties.

Introduction

Whereas Organic farming is seen as an alternative to conventional farming which has negative attendant impacts on the environment, 3rd party certification is often times seen as a significant hurdle in market access for organic smallholder farmers. Participatory Guarantee Systems were introduced as a way of empowering farmers to take charge of organic certification through self-guarantee while building groups to be cohesive marketing units for organic produce. PGS being a grassroots initiative is coordinated at the national level by the national organic movements who are in charge of among other things ; assessing and approving PGS groups, maintaining a national registry of PGSes by collecting and collating groups information.

With over a decade of PGS implementation, the process in Kenya has evolved to have its own unique flair, with multiple groups exhibiting diverse characteristics, norms and modalities. With such a rich pool of experiences to draw from, the Kenya Organic Agriculture Network (KOAN) the national coordinator for PGS groups in Kenya is finalizing an assessment of various PGS groups in order to catalogue best practices, challenges and opportunities and recommendations for growth.

As a way of sharing this information and enhancing interaction and experience sharing among PGS groups in Kenya, the Kenya Organic Agriculture Network is organizing the 1st ever Kenya National PGS Workshop which is envisioned to be a consultative session where PGS representatives from different parts of Kenya will meet up to share and discuss critical matters regarding how PGS in Kenya are managed. The workshop will offer opportunities to discuss the future of PGS in Kenya and how to decentralize the development and approval.

There will also be to launch awards to outstanding PGS in different categories where the judging criteria will be shared to the groups in attendance for judging in 2nd National PGS workshop 2023.