Further funds are assisting an umbrella organisation of smallholders in Chaipas, Mexico to set up their own certification system, allowing independence from certifiers based in the Northern hemisphere. A workshop to discuss organic agriculture standards in the Central-American Region and the Caribbean organised by Fundacion Guilombe in San Jose, also took place in April 1997. In the context of this project, the IAPB aims to increase the impact of its work on the southern hemisphere, where there is often insufficient information available on organic farming standards, inspection and certification. The development of organic markets, is a difficult project to initiate, particularly in Africa. Marketing appears to be a topic with which many agronomists, farmer groups, or farmer supporting NGOs are unfamiliar.
Many farmer groups tend to handle marketing as an afterthought.
A survey to identify organisations active in the marketing of organic products was therefore undertaken in Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia and a questionnaire has been developed seeking information on direct marketing. In Asia, a pilot marketing project has been set-up in the Philippines. The main Project 5 achievement during 1996 was a workshop, held in Bangkok, for prominent organisations and people involved in alternative marketing processes. This meeting resulted in planning for community based alternative marketing promotion in Asian countries. The Japanese community based agriculture system, Teikei, will provide the model for the project.