COLEACP’s Sustainability Self-Assessment System (SAS)

In the framework of the Fit for Market Plus (FFM+) programme, COLEACP organised two training sessions on the new version of the COLEACP Sustainability Self-Assessment System (SAS). The sessions were part of a SAS training programme that will include completion of a self-study course, peer exchanges and mentoring/coaching sessions.

The two sessions took place on the 1 December 2022 in English (AM) and in French (PM). Participants included the COLEACP technical assistance team and COLEACP experts – those with experience in previous SAS and those who wanted to reinforce their capacities and become SAS experts.

SAS is an online business management tool for fruit and vegetable producers and suppliers based in the ACP region focused on the sustainability pillars of people, profit and planet. SAS is designed to promote continuous improvement in the application and monitoring of good practice by producers and MSMEs in ACP-EU horticultural value chains.

The role of a SAS expert is to accompany an MSME partner-beneficiary of a COLEACP programme through the SAS process – from intake meeting to guidance in filling the different SAS sections, through to final reporting.

The English session was attended by 22 experts from Sierra Leone, Kenya, Ghana, Malawi, Uganda, Zambia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Suriname, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and Ethiopia. The French session was attended by 15 experts from Benin, Madagascar, Togo, Mali, Senegal, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso.

The sessions included a presentation about the SAS tool and its relevance in the context of FFM+, alongside the importance of it as a self-assessment component for MSMEs in the horticultural sector. Furthermore, the experts had the opportunity to make contact with the SAS platform (version 2) and its functions through a guided demonstration by one of COLEACP’s SAS team members. Experts that were already familiar with tool had the opportunity to share their experiences and challenges and provide feedback.

This activity is supported by the Fit For Market Plus programme, implemented by COLEACP within the Framework of Development Cooperation between the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the European Union.