Regional symposium on “Organic agriculture: Youth engagement and enterprise development”

Background

There is great potential for organic agriculture in the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) countries. But despite the growing demand in both national and international markets for the region’s organic products, the promotion of organic agriculture in the HKH faces numerous challenges, owing to inadequate awareness and marketing mechanisms for organic products, technical and financial services, quality inputs, and policy support.

It is therefore important to develop appropriate institutional mechanisms and innovative project and programme management structures, improve local capacities for responding to the needs of organic producers, and create interest among all stakeholders to ensure the sustainability of organic agriculture. To achieve these goals, strategies must be developed that increase the knowledge and understanding around organic agriculture systems, promote product marketing mechanisms in the mountain context, and foster partnerships that promote gender-responsive organic agriculture.

In this regard, ICIMOD’s Resilient Mountain Solutions initiative – in collaboration with the Agriculture Research and Development Centre, Yusipang (under the Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, Royal Government of Bhutan) – is organizing a two-day regional symposium on “Organic agriculture: Youth engagement and enterprise development” from 18 to 19 December 2019 in Paro, Bhutan. The symposium will be followed by an optional one-day business-to-business (B2B) meet and/or field visit on 20 December.

The symposium aims to share the knowledge, good practices, and lessons learned regarding organic agriculture in the HKH, provide opportunities for fostering business partnerships, and, in particular, support the implementation of Bhutan’s National Organic Flagship Programme. It will also serve as a forum to initiate dialogues among relevant stakeholders by providing a knowledge sharing and networking platform for national, regional, and international experts, investors, and businesses, and harness investment opportunities for business development on organic agriculture.

Objectives

• Explore regional collaboration and networks on organic agriculture in the HKH
• Identify evidence-based solutions and technologies for production, marketing, and governance (specifically accounting for gender and social inclusion)
• Harness opportunities for B2B connections and investments
• Develop a common understanding on regional HKH level norms and mechanisms for standardization of organic agriculture, with a focus on the LOAS/ participatory guarantee scheme

Expected outcomes

• Development of a concrete action plan for promoting organic solutions in the HKH, with a particular emphasis on Bhutan
• Establishment of B2B connections and network for investment and enterprise development at a regional scale
• Drafting of a regional HKH-level standardization mechanism for organic agriculture products
• Creation of a regional knowledge-sharing platform on organic agriculture