4*basic PGS Trainings

PGS Trainings were carried out in Sao Tome and Principe in May 2018 and in Togo and Ghana in June 2018. The training in STP took place between 22 and 24 May. The trainers were Laércio Meirelles from Brazil, who contributed his rich experience with building PGS in Brazil and supporting PGS development in different countries (in Latin America and Portuguese speaking African countries), and Flávia Moura e Castro, IFOAM - Organics International Organic Policy and Guarantee Specialist. 22 participants joined the 3-day training, which included half a day of farm visits for a practical peer-review exercise. A plan to develop PGS in STP was prepared by the participants, coached by the trainers, and an initial PGS design is available. In Togo, the training took place between 5 and 7 June in Lomé. The main trainer was Lazare Yombi from Benin, a specialist who has been building PGS in Benin, Burkina Faso and Mali. Cornelia Kirchner, IFOAM - Organics International Organic Policy and Guarantee Specialist, attended as co-trainer. The PGS training in Togo was combined with a stakeholder meeting that took place on 5 June 2018. Due to the high interest in PGS (about 60 people asked to register) it was decided to split the PGS workshop into 2 parts: an initial session was carried out on 5 June afternoon and made open to all stakeholders interested. This session introduced the concept on PGS and facilitated some discussion about the reasons and motivations for PGS. More than 60 persons participated in this open session. The following 2 days (6 and 7 June) were closed and limited to 40 people who were selected based on their motivations submitted. The training in Ghana took place between 11 and 13 June with 27 participants. The trainer was Cornelia Kirchner, IFOAM - Organics International Organic Policy and Guarantee Specialist. The training included an introduction to organic agriculture, certification and the methodology related to building up PGS. PGS theory and practice was covered extensively. On 12 June a practical farm review exercise was carried out. At the end of the training the next steps were discussed and a several stakeholders voiced their interest to be involved in the future activities.