Continued strengthening of the technical capacity of the contracting parties to adopt the IPPC effectively and efficiently.
The Implementation and Capacity Development Committee (IC) met from 13-17 May 2024 in Rome, Italy, to discuss strategies of enhancing the technical capacity of contracting parties to effectively and efficiently adopt the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and implement plant health standards. The IC is one of the subsidiary bodies of the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM), the IPPC’s main governing body.… +
DRC: Training supervisors to train producers on sustainable farming practices.
As part of the Fit For Market Plus (FFM+) programme, a second training session for supervisors was recently held in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. This activity illustrates COLEAD’s cascade training methodology, which is at the heart of its ISO 21 001 certified training system.
The aim of this initiative was to strengthen the teaching and technical skills of supervisors, experts from cooperatives and support structures, using the teaching… +
EU and GB approval changes (January-May 2024) EU and GB approval changes
COLEAD’s Regulation Monitoring covers both European Union (EU)and Great Britain (GB) approval changes. Note that EU approvals still apply in Northern Ireland. Great Britain is the mainland comprising England, Scotland and Wales.
The European Commission (EC) has recently published changes to 48 plant protection product (PPP) approvals within the EU, some of which are important for ACP horticulture. These include: Extension of the approval period for 11 PPPs… +
Shared Interest-COLEAD: an ongoing partnership supporting cocoa & coffee cooperatives in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Rwanda.
First phase of the project completed: completion of a diagnostic of the “governance and financial framework of the participating cooperatives”.
Next phase of the project: start of training on “Cooperative governance and management”.
The Shared Interest Foundation (SIF), a UK-based charity, is working with COLEAD to improve the operational effectiveness and sustainability of cooperatives in Côte d’Ivoire, Uganda and Rwanda. These cooperatives… +
IFAD, CAADP and COLEAD join forces to address agroecology at the African Fertiliser and Soil Health Summit 2024.
For decades, agricultural productivity in Africa has been hampered by widespread land and soil degradation. This is reflected in loss of organic matter, negative nutrient balances, erosion, acidification and pollution, leading to a decline in soil fertility. To address these challenges and support a growing population, the African Union (AU) convened the African Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit (AFSH) in Nairobi,… +
COLEAD attends ARSO General Assembly in Abuja, Nigeria.
From 19 to 21 June, COLEAD through the FFM+ and AGRINFO programmes, participated in the 30th ARSO (African Organisation for Standardisation) General Assembly in Abuja, Nigeria, under the theme “Educate an African fit for the 21st Century – Building a Quality Culture – One Market – One Standard”. The event provided a platform for ARSO members and stakeholders to discuss strategies for effective partnerships in ensuring quality infrastructure in Africa. COLEAD… +
Towards future collaboration – WorldVeg and COLEAD sign new MoU
The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Marco Wopereis, Director General of WorldVeg, and Jeremy Knops, COLEAD General Delegate, at COLEAD’s headquarters in Brussels on 7 June. The mission of both COLEAD and WorldVeg are highly complementary. Both organizations acknowledge that developing sustainable global food systems is crucial to meet the challenges of poverty, inequality, food insecurity and fragility in the face of climatic and economic shocks. And now they… +
Calls for experts: Vocational and Lifelong Learning Systems in African Universities.
The DeSIRA-LIFT project (June 2021–May 2025) funded by the European Commission (DG INTPA) aims to catalyse the European Union’s DeSIRA programme current and future activities supporting the Development of Smart Innovation through Research in Agriculture to enhance its impacts.
As lead of the second service area (with support from the Natural Resources Institute), COLEAD and RUFORUM are joining forces to fill in identified gaps that impede the potential of… +
Improving access to finance for agripreneurs – upcoming webinars on plaftorms listing sources of finance (18 June and 2 July)
COLEAD’s approach on access to finance aims to improve the ability of agripreneurs to effectively navigate the financial ecosystem. Through its global Fit for Market Plus (FFM+) programme, funded by the European Union (EU) and the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), COLEAD supports partner beneficiaries to build their capacity in this area by offering training, technical… +
First COLEAD mission to the Dominican Republic as part of the new IDB-funded SIA project
From 20 to 30 May, COLEAD carried out a mission in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, as part of the launch of the SIA Project (Sanidad e Innovacion Agropecuaria). This project has been officially signed with the Dominican Ministry of Agriculture and is funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
The overall objective of the project is to improve food safety and the competitiveness of the… +
eLearning Africa in Kigali: an edition rich in opportunities for collaboration to continuously improve digital learning
Launched in 2005, eLearning Africa takes place each year in a different country on the African continent. The event welcomes visitors and speakers from over 100 countries around the world, more than 75% of whom are from Africa. Topics covered include digital learning, training and skills development. For several years now, COLEAD has participated with a dual objective: to present and share its… +
Corporate governance training for new board members of the Kenya Flower Council (KFC)
COLEAD recently organised corporate governance training for the new board members of the Kenya Flower Council (KFC), a leading Business Membership Organisation (BMO) in the Kenyan horticulture sector.
The training included a comprehensive assessment of KFC’s strategic plan, aimed at extracting key takeaways and lessons to inform and provide insights to the new board as they embark on their term. The corporate governance intervention and two-day… +
LECOFRUIT in Madagascar: an example of a responsible company, winner of 2 CSR awards
Lecofruit, a Madagascan company and member of COLEAD, produces and exports vegetables, mainly to the European Union.
In 2022, the FFM SPS programme supported LECOFRUIT to adopt and develop its corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitments. Since then, LECOFRUIT has continued its commitment in this area and has received two awards for its CSR approach: CSR Award 2023: ‘Local and Responsible Purchasing’ in recognition of its… +
72nd UNECE Specialized Session on Fruit and Vegetables: new standards and nomenclatures in progress
As part of its FFM+ programme, COLEAD participated in the 72nd Specialised Session on Fruit and Vegetables of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), which took place from 6 to 8 May at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The event brought together some thirty delegations representing national inspection authorities, professional organisations (such as Union Fleurs and COLEAD) and international institutions such as… +
Black bananas, Zuchiolo, seedless lemons, sweet red onions… new AI technology…. The sector is innovating and putting on a show at EU trade fairs!
Through the FFM+ programme, the COLEAD Market Insights team keeps an eye on trends and innovations at major trade shows in Europe and beyond. We meet our stakeholders, visit stands and talk to as many people as possible to gather the latest news and trends. Want to know more about the big stories from the… +
Participating in consultations on changes to EU agri-food and fisheries legislation: feedback from the webinars held on 28 and 30 May 2024
As part of the FFM+ and AGRINFO programmes, COLEAD, through its Regulations & Standards and Technical Assistance departments, organised an informative webinar on the procedures for monitoring and participating in consultations on future changes to the European Union’s agri-food and fisheries regulations.
The webinar, which attracted a total of 273 participants (mainly from BMOs and Competent authorities… +
2023 DeSIRA Global Annual Report
The Development Smart Innovation through Research in Agriculture (DeSIRA) Initiative, supported by the European Commission (DG INTPA), supports research and innovation (R&I) projects in low and middle-income countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America through 68 projects (2019-2025). DeSIRA encourages a climate-relevant, productive and sustainable transformation of agriculture and food systems by adopting climate-smart and agroecological innovations through multi-stakeholder collaboration, and capacity development at individual and organisational levels to promote innovation. COLEAD is the… +
COLEAD research and advocacy supporting the vanilla sector in the face of changing EU regulations – 150,000 producer families potentially affected
Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/377 was published in February 2023, reducing the nicotine maximum residue levels (MRLs) for seed spices and fruit spices to the limit of determination (LOD). This change was not because of any identified risk to consumer health but was based on data submitted to the Commission indicating the nicotine levels occurring in these products under… +
EU and GB MRL changes in 2024 (January – May 2024) Changes to EU and GB pesticide maximum residue levels
COLEAD’s monitoring of pesticide regulations covers maximum residue limit (MRL) changes in both the EU and Great Britain (GB). Note that EU MRLs still apply in Northern Ireland (GB covers only England, Scotland, and Wales).
During the period January – May 2024, we have been highlighting significant changes to EU MRLs that affect 61 active substances, 38 of which are… +
Potential MRLs reduction for thiacloprid, a widely used pesticide on fruits and vegetables
Thiacloprid is a neonicotinoid insecticide used on a wide range of horticultural crops to control sucking and chewing insects.
The EU’s approval for thiacloprid has not been renewed in 2020 due to concerns about its toxicity and groundwater contamination risks. Consequently, in July 2023, the European Commission proposed setting maximum residue levels (MRLs) for thiacloprid to the limit of determination (LOD) in all products, except where import… +
FOOD SAFETY IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: LAUNCH OF THE “SIA” PROJECT WITH THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FUNDING FROM THE INTERAMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
In the Dominican Republic, a major player in the agri-food sector in the Caribbean, the Ministry of Agriculture has decided to entrust COLEAD with the new SIA project (SANIDAD E INNOVACION AGROPECUARIA), which aims to make a significant difference to food safety and the competitiveness of the agricultural sector. The SIA project is financed by the Inter-American… +
SHOULD FRESH PRODUCE IMPORTS INTO EUROPE BE BANNED? THE FAIRMILES CONSORTIUM IS BROADENING THE DIALOGUE NEEDED FOR GREATER CLIMATE JUSTICE.
The event, which took place both online and in person in Brussels on Tuesday 30 April, brought together more than 200 representatives from retail, food companies, NGOs and government to explore the following issues: The impact of airfreighted fresh horticultural products from developing countries.
Climate justice considerations for companies’ net zero strategies
To ban or not to ban: should we… +
IICA COLEAD NEXT WEBINAR : Opportunities in local and regional markets for Caribbean entrepreneurs
The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and COLEAD kindly invite you to the 13th Caribbean Agrifood Business session on Opportunities in local and regional markets for Caribbean entrepreneurs .
The session will be held online on Thursday 23 May 2024 – 10:00-12:00 AST / 14:00-16:00 UTC. Live interpretation will be available in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese.
The agenda will follow soon.
To register,… +
AGRIPRENEURS EMPOWERED WITH KEY FINANCIAL KNOWLEDGE
As part of its Fit for Market + programme, COLEAD hosted a high-impact webinar to help break down financial barriers for agripreneurs who are based in francophone sub-Saharan Africa. Held on 17 April, the event, entitled “Démystifier l’accès au financement pour vos projets agricoles et horticoles”, focused on clarifying the complexities surrounding financial opportunities for agripreneurs.
The 90-minute session attracted over 120 participants from more than 20 countries, demonstrating a strong regional interest in… +