Movilización de recursos

Boosting Livelihoods in Mongolia Through Organic Agriculture

The Government of Mongolia has prioritized the agriculture sector and initiated a number of initiatives to improve productivity and enable it as a sustainable activity, ensuring food and nutrition security. Government policy has shifted towards self-reliance in staple food crops that can be locally produce and made available at an affordable cost to all, positioning the agriculture sector as one of the important instruments in reducing rural poverty. However, with has no national policies and no certification system for organic agriculture in place, there was a need to implement activities that might help to exploit the opportunities for organic farming development.

Resultados obtenidos

The project worked to increase the contribution of organic agriculture to incomes in rural areas and to promote business. It did so through (i) a comprehensive study on the status of organic and ecofriendly farming, (ii) the elaboration of a national programme for capacity development and provision of support services for organic products, (iii) strengthening stakeholder knowledge and organizations for organic farming and marketing organic products and (iv) establishing an internationally accredited and certified “Mongolian Organic Food” system.

Repercusiones

The approval and subsequent implementation of the Law on organic food will be the culmination of the efforts made by Mongolia, over a number of years, to integrate organic production into its agricultural sector. National business leaders and officials from the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry have expressed strong commitment to developing organic agriculture in the future. The knowledge and experience gained by stakeholders from the workshops and seminars organized by the project will ensure that organic production remains a significant part of the country’s agriculture sector in the coming years.

Actividades

  • Comprehensive study carried out on legal environment for organic production, including standards, rules and procedures for organic certification. Results of the study and proposals for potential organic certification and design for further development presented to a total of 163 stakeholders (including farmers, producers and cooperatives) through a series of six workshops and seminars.
  • Technical support provided for organic production in the meat, milk, sea buckthorn and bee-honey value chains. Four training workshops held and 233 people trained on Participatory Guarantee System issues and organic food certification.
  • Five training sessions and six workshops held on organic farming practices, value chain development and experience-sharing visits among farmers.
  • Study tour to Japan and the Republic of Korea to raise awareness of organic farming practices.
  • Handbook for organic agricultural practice and a manual on the principles of organic food processing developed for farmers.
  • Online database system for organic production created and 25 government inspectors were trained on organic food certification.
Código del proyecto: TCP/MON/3503
Título del proyecto: Assistance to Mongolian Organic Agriculture
Contacto: FAO Office in Mongolia / Mayling Flores Rojas (Lead Technical Officer)
Correo electrónico: [email protected] / [email protected]
Descargar PDF: http://www.fao.org/3/CA0881EN/ca0881en.pdf