Certification is a growing business in agriculture and forestry. Consumers and companies are concerned about the environmental footprint of crops, pesticides in agricultural products and sustainability of their food. Thus, they rely on certification systems to ensure that the products that they buy have been produced according to set standards. Smallholders, on the other hand, struggle with the growing number of certificates and their high costs. Because each certificate has its own criteria, smallholders need to first understand all the advantages and disadvantages of each certificate and then decide when to decide for a certification system and which type would work for them. It is also important that in developed countries, the consumers understand that there are limitations related to certification systems. We will be discussing these issues in our webinar Tuesday 16th November 9:00 – 11:00 Helsinki time (EET).

The webinar’s keynote speaker Kevin Teopista Akoyi is an Agribusiness Lecturer at Makerere University in Uganda and a freelance Agricultural and Rural development consultant. She has been studying certificates for many years and was one of the authors of Fingo’s publication “Potential Impacts of the EU Green Deal / Farm to Fork Strategy on Africa’s Climate Agenda and Food Sovereignty.”

After the keynote speaker’s presentation, the webinar will continue with a panel discussion and a general discussion. Please see the webinar’s programme and details of the panelists below.

Programme (in Helsinki time)

9:00 – 9:05 Introduction – Tiina Huvio, Programme Director at FFD

9:05 – 9:15 Opening remarks – Lea Rankinen Director of Sustainability & Public Affairs at Paulig

9:15 – 9:35 Keynote speaker Kevin Teopista Akoyi, Agribusiness Lecturer at Makerere University in Uganda and Rural development consultant

9:35 – 10:30 Panel discussion regarding certification and due diligence systems

10:30 – 10:55 General discussion regarding certification and due diligence systems

10:55 – 11:00 Closing remarks - Timo Taulavuori, Managing Director at Puutarhaliitto (Central Organization for Finnish Horticulture)

Panelists:

• Denis Dobrynin, a PhD Researcher majoring in Environmental Policy at University of Eastern Finland

• Markus Kröger, Associate Professor of Development Studies and Academy Research Fellow at University of Helsinki

• Tytti Nahi, Business and Human Rights Lead at Fairtrade’s HRDD Centre of Excellence

• Eric Mwesigwa, General Manager & GLOBALG.A.P. Scheme Manager for Greencert Limited

 Moderator: Tiina Huvio, Programme Director at FFD

 The webinar continues the dialogue within the framework of the Food System Dialogue, a process in which the UN gathers together a multitude of partners to debate and deliberate on how to improve the present food system to be more sustainable and equitable.

All participants interested in certification in developing countries are welcome to join the webinar.

Please register for the event via this link by 15th of November.