COLEACP and the African Management Institute (#AMI) collaborated in May to organise a Business Survival Bootcamp in the Pacific region. The Bootcamp saw the participation of over 20 people from companies, chambers of commerce, consultants, as well as M. Escipión OLIVEIRA GÓMEZ, Assistant Secretary-General, Department of Structural Economic Transformation and Trade, OACPS, and COLEACP’s Technical Assistance team. This very interactive session received very positive feedback from the participants.
Following the Bootcamp, the entrepreneurs and experts are invited to the #AMI… +
COLEACP supported the organisation of a meeting between the Plant Protection Directorate (DPV) of Togo and fruit & vegetable exporting companies in Lomé from 1 to 2 June 2021.
The meeting aimed to promote public-private dialogue and to improve communication dynamics and relations between the DPV and operators.
Discussions focused on the interception of leafy vegetables exported from Togo to the EU and the urgent measures taken to solve the problem; the ongoing development of a Good Practice Guide for… +
CELEBRATE WITH PAFO AND COLEACP AFRICAN MSMEs CONTRIBUTING TO SAFE AND HEALTHY FOOD FOR ALL NOW AND TOMORROW!
Micro, Small and Medium Size Enterprises (MSMEs) are responsible for producing a large share of the food consumed in Africa. They provide employment, offer opportunities for job creation and very importantly, contribute to food and nutrition security of local consumers and communities.
Therefore, ensuring safe and quality food is essential. Despite many technical and financial challenges, many MSMEs have succeeded, through perseverance… +
On 26 May The Embassy of Ghana to Belgium launched a new webinar series – “Doing Business In Ghana” – to promote business opportunities.
COLEACP is taking part in the first webinar on 16 June at 11 am (CET) – Morag Webb, the Association’s Head of Science and Policy, will discuss “EU Regulations: Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures”.
H.E Mrs. Sena Siaw-Boateng emphasised that doing business in the EU cannot be “business as usual”, and added that business decisions in current… +
As part of the mission “Analysis of pesticide management in the member countries of CPAC (Comité inter-états des pesticides de l’Afrique centrale, Inter-State Pesticides Committee of Central Africa), a virtual feedback workshop was organised on Thursday 3 June in the presence of representatives of the six member countries (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Republic of the Congo).
This mission, which began in February 2021, is part of a support programme by CPAC to assist member countries… +
On 2 June in Penja, the first COLEACP group training session for packaging managers covered “Good Packaging and Storage Practices for Penja pepper”. This training is part of the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) project “Strengthening the phytosanitary monitoring and certification system for Cameroon’s fruit and vegetable sector” (STDF/PG/593).
After this training, participants should be able to: Master the operations of sorting, grading, weighing and bagging pepper; the different ways of packaging pepper; recommended risk control measures for packaging;… +
GLOBAL
GlobalG.A.P. launches consumer label for fruit and vegetables
GlobalG.A.P. has unveiled its new consumer label for fruit and vegetables, GGN Certified Agriculture, to help foster trust between sustainable brands and consumers. GLOBALG.A.P. introduced the GGN label 5 years ago, firstly for aquaculture products, followed by floriculture products in 2017. Now fruit and vegetables are also included. All products with the GGN label come from a farm whose production process has been independently certified according to international GLOBALG.A.P. standards or… +
The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and COLEACP join forces to support a more resilient and greener agricultural and agrifood business sector in the Caribbean in the post-COVID-19 recovery process. A two-hour session focusing on entrepreneurship development will be organized every two months, in collaboration with other international and Caribbean partners. The sessions will feature successful businesses and MSMEs across the region, across various value chains and markets. They will also bring views from experts in finance, policy… +
The Innovations Series, co-organised by the Pan-African Farmers’ Organization (PAFO) and COLEACP, showcases innovations and successes of African farmer-led businesses and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
The fourth Session focused on “Sustainable food systems: the key role of SMEs and businesses” and was followed live by more than 450 participants on Thursday 20 May.
Four inspiring entrepreneurs presented how their successful businesses contribute to creating sustainable food systems: Nnaemeka Ikegwuonu is the founder and CEO of ColdHubs Limited, a social… +
The COLEACP Market Intelligence service has published a “Market profile on processed tomatoes in Senegal”. The service carries out market studies at the request of stakeholders and partners in the Fit For Market programme. This market profile outlines the processed tomato sector in Senegal in terms of its commercial opportunities on local West African and European markets.
This is an example of what COLEACP’s Market Intelligence service can produce for members and partners of COLEACP and its programmes. Other profiles… +
The LEAP4FNSSA Europe Africa Stakeholder Engagement Week will take place virtually from 31 May to 4 June.
MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ADAPTIVE RESEARCH FOR INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS During this event COLEACP will be hosting a session (3 June, 11:00–13:00 CET) on “Partnerships and Multistakeholder Approaches for Impact”. The session will share examples of multi-stakeholder adaptive research projects to demonstrate how synergies and collaboration between diverse actors can generate innovative solutions. We aim to showcase partnerships between research, policy, private sector and other stakeholders that… +
GLOBAL
Fairtrade Covid Fund: A significant impact for farmers
Fairtrade’s Covid Relief and Resilience Fund is a joint effort developed by Fairtrade International, its member organisations, and government and commercial partners, aimed at delivering direct financial help to small-scale producers hard-hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. More than 500,000 farmers and agricultural workers in nearly 60 countries across Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean benefit from the Fund. Launched in 2020. the €15 million fund runs until 2022, providing personal… +
The International Africa Avocado Congress – Avocado Africa 2021 – will be held in Nairobi on 23–25 June. The Avocado Society of Kenya (ASOK) organises the congress in collaboration with other regional and international organisations in the avocado value chain in Africa and beyond.
The event, with the theme “Avocado Africa: A convergence of technology and business for increased competitiveness and trade”, is a platform specifically aimed at stimulating trade, technology, knowledge transfer and sharing, and will draw avocado sector… +
This new training series, “Setting up an internal audit system at the level of National Plant Protection Organisations”, has just been launched in French with participation of the NPPOs of six countries: Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali and Senegal. This online training is taking place over seven weeks in May and June, and a repeat session will be offered in August. The course materials are currently being translated, and a training series for NPPOs in English-speaking countries will… +
Competent authorities of six priority countries
On 22 and 29 April, COLEACP’s new Rapid SPS Assessment Tool (R-SAT) was presented in English and French to competent authorities of the six priority countries where it will soon be applied: Suriname, Uganda and Zimbabwe; Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal.
A presentation of the tool was followed by discussions. The planning for its implementation in the six pilot countries will be discussed with each country individually, including selection of the value chain that… +
On 4 May, COLEACP held a meeting with National Plant Protection Organisations (NPPOs) and stakeholders in the fruit and vegetable sector of ACP countries on “How import controls of fresh fruit and vegetables are carried out in Europe – the example of Belgium”.
The meeting was well attended, gathering around 60 participants representing NPPOs from all ACP regions along with COLEACP experts.
Following presentations on the experiences of Senegalese and Kenyan exporters, Lazlo Avonts described the activities of the Border… +
Private sector operators and public sector officials gathered virtually on 17 May for the launch of a project to develop a Good Practice Guide for Capsicum in Uganda – a tool that will be necessary for the sector to adopt if it is to regain its competitiveness in the European marketplace.
The launch was officiated by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industries and Fisheries (MAAIF). Also in attendance was the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Trade Industry and Cooperatives,… +
SANLE SÉCHAGE EXPORT, a producer and exporter of fresh and dried mango, and a member of COLEACP, recently benefited from support in carrying out a diagnosis of the current sustainable soil management practices of its mango producer-suppliers. The company is aiming to improve the quality of its exported mangoes, which is directly impacted by soil management. Interviews were conducted with the company’s producer-suppliers, and physico-chemical analyses were carried out in the orchards of each producer visited.
These analyses enabled the… +
Guinea’s very promising agricultural production is at risk.
Guinea is rich in agricultural potential, which is why the agricultural sector has an important place in the government’s National Economic and Social Development Plan (Plan National de Développement Economique et Social, PNDES ). As in many West African countries, there is renewed interest in phytosanitary control due to the proliferation of transboundary pests and diseases.
The consequences can be severe, including: risk to crops and stored produce
interceptions of exported produce… +
As part of its responsibility to assure the quality of agricultural inputs and produce to prevent adverse impact on the economy, the environment and human health, Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) on 7 May 2021 signed a MoU with COLEACP under the NExT Kenya Programme. This partnership will help KEPHIS to roll out capacity building towards a risk-based approach to export inspections which takes into consideration the harmful organisms, the performance of the grower/exporter, and the systems approaches to… +
This monday, 3 group distance trainings of 4 weeks will start on: “Environmental Sustainability Management”. These trainings will address the Sustainable soil management,
Sustainable water management,
Sustainable waste management and valorization. The training courses are designed to encourage the adoption of more sustainable practices in order to achieve a restoration of environmental quality in horticultural companies.
These trainings aim to explain the consequences of agricultural practices on the environment so that horticultural companies can reduce their impact on the biodiversity… +
COLEACP training on traceability and hygiene is currently being prepared at KIMEX.
This activity has two objectives. The first is to strengthen the capacity of a Senegalese expert on quality management systems (QMS), particularly on hygiene and traceability, and how to support companies to implement a . In a second phase, we will provide training and support the company KIMEX in to implement its traceability system. We wish our participants and experts an excellent experience.
KIMEX is a Senegalese company… +
On 7 May, in collaboration with the Direction de la Protection des Végétaux du Togo (DPV), COLEACP organised a virtual workshop for the start of the 2021 mango campaign.
The workshop brought together 24 participants from horticultural companies and organisations (including the DPV, Direction des Filières Végétales, GIZ/ProDRA, Interprofession mango), aiming to remind exporters of the main points of the mango dossier before the start of the 2021 campaign in Togo. Discussions focused on the key points of the dossier,… +
COLEACP has been supporting the setup of organic pineapple production at the TROPICAUX company in Guinea. This activity has two objectives – to provide training and accompany TROPICAUX in the implementation of its pineapple plots according to the organic agriculture reference system; and to reinforce the capacities of a Guinean expert in pineapple production.
There are several elements involved: diagnosis of the plots envisaged by the company; providing training for managers on the technical itinerary for organic pineapple; and working… +