Hon. Guest of Honour, Distinguished guestsLadies and Gentlemen
It is a pleasure and an honour for me to attend this important launching ceremony of Tanzania Organic Certification Association (TanCert).
With the risk of sounding like an amateur preacher preaching to the already converted, I would like to say a few words about trade, about organic production and about one of my new favourite subjects – Tanzania.
The world is becoming more and more globalised. Nations are being integrated through trade in goods and services, migration, financial flows and exchange of knowledge.
As the Hon Minister may agree, it is not so much a case of choosing whether or not to participate in the globalisation but of how best to participate in it and make maximum use of the opportunities in order to create welfare and fight poverty at family, village, district, regional, national and global level.
There is a broad consensus that economic growth is essential for a sustainable reduction in poverty. There is also a broad consensus that trade can be a powerful engine for economic growth.
We all love Tanzania and there are many of us also outside in Sweden and elsewhere, who would love to buy Tanzanian products and would love to see Tanzanian exports boom. Unfortunately the “Economy of affection” is not applicable in international trade. The mark “Made in Tanzania” is unfortunately not enough to get access to lucrative markets.
As we are all aware Tanzania as well as many other developing countries encounter non–tariff trade barriers in the markets of the industrialised world where their comparative advantage would otherwise give them an edge. And they are also facing extensive trade barriers in neighbouring markets.
Organic production is one way for developing countries to access the protected markets of Europe and the United States, as well as high income countries of Asia. International trade in organic products is growing rapidly, and there is a parallel and steady increase in consumer markets for organic products. When the average consumer goes shopping in Sweden or elsewhere in Europe and is choosing between organic and ordinary food items, he or she is getting more and more conscious about the choice. The price but also concerns about health, about chemicals, about environment and even about the working and living conditions of the producer are very often considered when choosing what to buy.
I have been told and I am now convinced that Tanzania has a distinct comparative advantage in organic production by default, as many farmers have not been using chemicals in recent years. The conversion period for obtaining certification must therefore be relatively short if appropriate measures are taken to improve the quality of the products up to international standard. It is a challenge but we have seen that it is doable.
As a comparision and hopefully as an encouragement for Tanzania and you all to take on this challenge, I would like you to look at some countries in Asia. As late as 40 years ago Japan had a reputation of producing products of low quality. Through hard work and a systematic approach giving high priority to quality improvement, Japan is today one of the most successful traders on the international market. “Made in Japan” stands for quality today. Most probably inspired by Japan, we have seen and are seeing the same developments in South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, China etc countries that not so long ago could not compete on the international markets. Today they are in the front line with many high quality products. There is a lot of hard and focused work behind and I do not have the recipe for success, but what has impressed me most is the consciousness about quality all through every stage of a production process.
Sweden has been supporting export of organic products from Tanzania, through the EPOPA programme, since 1998. Today EPOPA is operating in Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia.
EPOPA aims to give smallholder farmers improved standards of living through developing the exports of organic products. The countries are given the opportunity to increase and diversify their exports, while at the same time the agricultural sector is exposed to innovative and environmentally sound organic farming techniques. Another advantage when exporting organic products is, as mentioned above, the high quality requirements which has a positive spin off effect also on the conventional production.
One of the most serious impediments to the growth of organic exports is apparently the cost of certification. So far it has only been organisations in developed countries that are accredited to certify organic production and it is quite expensive to bring in personnel from these countries for the necessary inspection. Building local capacity for certification is therefore of utmost importance for a sustainable organic production and more specifically for guaranteeing quality.
One important activity within the EPOPA programme has therefore been to support the development of TanCert. I am pleased that Sweden is associated with both the EPOPA programme and the setting up of Tan Cert.
I would like to conclude by wishing TanCert every success in its important endeavours. It is my sincere hope that Tanzania will be able to take full advantage of the growing market for organic products by exporting high quality products “Made in Tanzania”.
Asanteni sana Thank you for your attention