HavaMad, a Madagascan fruit processing company producing certified organic fruit juices and purees, has recently received technical support from the Fit For Market SPS programme, in the form of input from experts from both Reunion and the Tamatave Horticultural Technical Centre, Madagascar. The company wished to revise its workflow to produce passion fruit and also diversify into banana production. HavaMad also wished to continue the support initiated in February 2020 concerning the production of the passion fruit variety Galea.
For… +
The Fit For Market SPS programme is currently organising collective training on “Crop production, pest identification and management” for a group of production managers working for seven companies in Sierra Leone. This very practical on-site training will be followed by farm visits, and also by individual coaching for the attendees to address their specific concerns. These training and coaching sessions are also an opportunity to propose a capacity building programme to local experts to develop their theoretical and practical skills.… +
In an environment surrounded by nature, ideal for disconnecting from the hustle and bustle of cities and professional obligations, training in organic agriculture was held from 20–24 June 2022 at the La Vega Cooperative Club House with 12 participants from a variety of backgrounds. These included participants from a company in San Francisco de Macoris (2), associations of banana producers (3) and other organic crops (1), representatives of the Departments of Organic Agriculture (2), Extension (1) and Plant Health (1)… +
BIOFACH has been very fruitful for ACP horticultural companies. Directors and commercial managers were provided with a 2-week-long training programme to be ready to attend the fair. They were very satisfied with the knowledge gained during the training as it greatly helped with their preparation. Participant testimonials: “The trainer helped me to identify the correct potential clients. I am also using the business contact sheet to make a good follow up with the clients I met”. “The training materials is… +
Twelve members of the Avocado Association of Uganda (AAU), with support from the Fit For Market SPS programme, travelled to Kenya for their avocado tour at end of June. This tour consisted of field visits, as well as attending the second International Africa Avocado Congress organised by the Avocado Society of Kenya, this year themed “Avocado Africa: A convergence of technology and business for increased competitiveness and trade” from 27–30 June in Nairobi.
The participants consisted of small- and large-scale… +
To facilitate the monitoring of the support activities organised in Togo through the STDF/PG/375 project, and to assess its impact and to establish a roadmap for the remaining efforts after the closure of the project, an inventory of the current SPS system in Togo is being carried out using the Rapid SPS Assessment Tool (R-SAT) developed by COLEACP.
R-SAT provides practical support for the assessment of a national SPS system to strengthen it in accordance with international standards and regulations.… +
On 24 August 2022, the Fit For Market SPS programme, in collaboration with Directorate of Regulation and Quality Control in Cameroon, organised a validation workshop of the Rapid SPS Assessment Tool (R-SAT) report on the mango sector in Yaoundé, bringing together key representatives from the public and private horticulture sectors.
Prior to this workshop, a team of COLEACP experts facilitated dialogue and engagement between key stakeholders, both public and private, in their assessment of Cameroon’s SPS system using R-SAT. R-SAT… +
2nd Biennial Conference on Africa Climate-Smart Agriculture: DeSIRA-LIFT co-organises two events
COLEACP is the lead of the second service area of the European Union’s DeSIRA programme working closely with African research organisations towards the Development of Smart Innovation through Research in Agriculture contributing to sustainable agriculture and food systems. More specifically, DeSIRA-LIFT’s Service Area 2 works to support FARA, AFAAS, ASARECA, CCARDESA and CORAF (collectively known as CAADP-XP4 organizations) playing a key role in Africa’s agricultural knowledge and innovation systems.… +
Located in the commune of Tsianisiha, Madagascar, the mission of Malakass is to contribute to the development of the cassava sector in the Atsimo-Andrefana region of Madagascar. The company plans to process cassava into flour for sale on both local and international markets. In July 2022, the company, being in the process of completing the installation of an industrial unit and preparing to launch the first trials, benefited from a visit from Togolese COLEACP experts to improve the process to… +
INNOVAGRI Ltd is a fruit and vegetable – onion, potato, carrot, pepper, tomato, pumpkin, pineapple, passion fruit – production company based in Rivière des Anguilles, Mauritius. The company operates a 55-hectare farm with 2500 m2 of greenhouses. All the fruit and vegetables produced, estimated at around 3,000 tonnes for 2019, are currently sold on the local market. With a view to continuous improvement and at the request of its main client, INNOVAGRI wished to set up a sanitary quality management… +
Company background
Spices Rwanda Ltd is a whole dried chilli business in Rwamagana District, Eastern Province, Rwanda. The company was registered by the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) in August 2017 under Tax Identification No. 107358351. Spices Rwanda Ltd works with different suppliers who produce raw chillies which they then sell to the company. The suppliers follow set instructions provided by Spices Rwanda Ltd to produce safe products that meet the specifications set by the company.
The chillies are grown, harvested,… +
A workshop on the validation of a strategic development plan and the adoption of internal regulations of the Association of Producers, Processors and Exporters of Fruits and Vegetables of Togo (APROTELF) took place on 5 August 2022 in Lomé, Togo.
This workshop, which brought together some 30 participants, resulted from support for APROTELF to draw up its 2022–2026 strategic development plan and revise its statutes and internal regulations.
The support, which lasted for 2 months, allowed APROTELF to: review, with… +
A series of capacity building workshops for plant health experts (12 French- and 12 English-speaking experts) started in August 2022. The objective of the workshops is to broaden the pool of COLEACP experts capable of carrying out technical assistance missions and accompanying ACP competent authorities and other stakeholders. The workshops focus mainly on three cross-cutting themes: (i) pest surveillance; (ii) pest risk analysis – establishment and updating of lists of regulated pests; (iii) official control systems (import and export) –… +
The young people of today and tomorrow play a central role in transforming food systems to provide access to sufficient and nutritious food, and adopt sustainable approaches to address climatic and environmental challenges. There are 1.2 billion young people between the ages of 15 and 24 worldwide (16% of the global population), of whom nearly 1 billion world resides in developing countries. Their numbers are growing far more rapidly than in higher-income countries.1 60% of Africa’s 1,2 billion population are… +
COLEACP exhibited in the Organic Africa Pavilion at this year’s BIOFACH – the world’s leading trade fair for organic food – which took place from 26 to 29 July 2022 in Nuremberg, Germany.
Madagascar had its own stand at the event, and 11 companies, members of the Syndicat Malagasy de l’Agriculture Biologique (SYMABIO), were able to promote organic products “made in Madagascar”. The stand was officially inaugurated by His Excellency Mr Harifidy Ramilison, Madagascar’s Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, who… +
From 13 to 17 June 2022, the Fit For Market SPS organised the first session of collective training on “Coconut tree cultivation” for coconut growers in Ghana. The training took place in Accra and gathered 12 production managers from coconut producing and/or exporting companies in Ghana from five different companies.
The specific objective of this training was to strengthen capacities of coconut smallholders, farmer groups and organisations, and horticultural MSMEs, to access local and international markets by complying with SPS… +
The Fit For Market SPS programme, organised training on hygiene and food safety principles including Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) methodology for horticultural companies producing both fresh and processed goods in Sierra Leone. The objective was to support six processing companies to master the HACCP approach in their production units, and in parallel, build the capacity of local consultants to conduct assessments on food safety management systems.
The training was carried out in three phases: an initial quick… +
Changes to EU and GB pesticide maximum residue levels
Following the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union (EU), COLEACP’s monitoring of pesticide regulations now covers MRL changes in both the EU and Great Britan (GB), enabling us to keep COLEACP members and partner-beneficiaries up-to-date.
Note that EU MRLs still apply in Northern Ireland (GB covers only England, Scotland and Wales).
During the period April-June 2022, notifications of MRL changes were issued for the following:
– flutianil (EU)… +
Kenya is a major exporter of horticultural produce to the European Union (EU) which constitutes 80% of total exports. The total value of horticultural exports reached 157.7 billion Kenya shillings (KSh) in 2021. Kenya’s beans and peas with pods have, over the years, enjoyed a sizeable market share in the EU. However, this is threatened by the numerous notifications that Kenya has been receiving of late. There is need for more engagement with industry players to ensure good quality, safe… +
The National Horticulture Taskforce (NHT) of Kenya is a multi-stakeholder interactive and consensus-building forum with representation from public and private sector stakeholders in the horticulture sub-sector, promoting private-public sector dialogue. The major goal being to assure Kenya’s horticultural produce complies with market requirements and sustains its reputation as a leading grower and exporter of horticultural produce. The taskforce is involved in activities such as: capacity building; accreditation of business support facilities; awareness creation; development of common strategies; risk assessment; adoption… +
The Retail Trade Association of Kenya (RETRAK) supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, working with Horticultural Crop Directorate (HCD), the Standards Projects Committee and agriculture sector industry players, has been running KS1758 – Part 2: Implementation Project, with a focus on fruits and vegetables. It is expected that adoption of Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) standard KS1758 will enhance food safety and food quality and facilitate sustainable market access for the Kenyan domestic market.
Additionally, the standard will promote good agricultural… +
Following the departure of the UK from the EU, COLEACP’s monitoring of pesticide regulations now covers both EU and GB approval changes, enabling us to keep COLEACP members and partner-beneficiaries up-to-date.
The European Commission (EC) has recently issued notification of changes to plant protection product (PPP) approvals within the EU, some of which are important for ACP horticulture. These include: Approval of Beauveria bassiana strain 203
Approval of Spodoptera exigua multicapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus (SeMNPV), isolate BV-0004 as a low-risk substance
Renewal… +
Some weeks ago, the EU sent out a notice to let third countries know that the system for notifying plant health interceptions (via email) would be replaced with a new system that uses the TRACES-NT platform. It is important to disseminate this information to all the National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO) officials that are responsible for the follow-up of shipments of plants and plant products to the EU (and any associated interceptions).
To access the new system, designated NPPO contact… +
In total, close to a 1000 participants attended six regional events and the intra-ACP official launch event for the new FFM + programme. These events were the opportunity to present the rational behind the programme, to detail foreseen activities for stakeholders from the ACP horticultural sector, and to explain how to access support. Funded by the EU and the OACPS (25 Million EUR over a period of 5 years), this new programme aims to mitigate the impacts of Covid-19 by… +