Market access: Rayfield Farms resumes exports from Nigeria to the United Kingdom
- 22/12/2025
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: News
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Rayfield Agricultural and Integrated Farms Ltd., a Nigerian family-owned company based in Keffi, Nasarawa State, successfully resumed exports of fresh leafy vegetables to the United Kingdom in June 2025, following targeted technical assistance provided by the COLEAD under the Fit For Market Plus (FFM+) programme. Operating a 156-hectare farm, Rayfield had lost access to its export markets as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite these challenges, the company’s management remained committed to gradually improving its production and handling practices… +Strengthening contractual relationships with producers: the Malakass example in the cassava value chain in Madagascar
- 22/12/2025
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: News
As part of the Fit For Market Plus (FFM+) programme, COLEAD supported the Malagasy company Malakass, active in cassava processing in the Atsimo-Andrefana region, with the aim of strengthening and sustainably structuring its relationships with local producers. This field mission, carried out from 30 September to 11 October 2025, sought to secure a regular, reliable and high-quality supply—an essential condition for the company’s continued development. The support was built around a participatory approach, starting with an in-depth diagnostic with the… +Agritech in Ghana: Complete Farmer strengthens its network of 12,500 smallholder farmers with targeted technical assistance
- 22/12/2025
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: News
Complete Farmer, a Ghanaian Agritech innovator, is set to strengthen its outgrower network with technical assistance from EDFI Management Company, delivered by COLEAD. This support, part of the AgriFI Country Window (CW) Ghana facility, will help Complete Farmer enhance its outgrower model and training systems, benefiting over 12,500 smallholder and 163 commercial farmers. Earlier in 2025, AgriFI invested USD 2.5 million (EUR 2.2 million) in Complete Farmer, providing long-term financing to scale operations. COLEAD, selected in 2024 by EDFI Management… +EPILIMNION in Trinidad and Tobago: expanding greenhouse production capacity to substitute imports
- 22/12/2025
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: News
In September 2025, EPILIMNION Ltd., marketing its products under the CRISP brand, benefited—through the FFM+ programme—from in-depth technical support aimed at optimising and expanding its greenhouse production capacity under tropical conditions in Trinidad and Tobago. Specialising in the production of baby greens, microgreens and herbs for local retail and food service markets, EPILIMNION has established itself in recent years as a credible local alternative to imported products, notably during the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to rapidly growing demand, the company… +Coldiron in Zimbabwe: strengthening the bankability and strategic use of a business plan
- 22/12/2025
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: News
As part of the Fit For Market Plus (FFM+) programme, COLEAD supported Coldiron, a horticultural company based in Zimbabwe, through post-training support aimed at strengthening the quality, credibility and operational relevance of its business plan. This support followed the company’s participation in the training course “Create a business plan for your agribusiness.” The main objective of this support was to assist Coldiron in reviewing and finalising its business plan, ensuring that it accurately reflects the company’s current operations and meets… +Chlorpyrifos addition to the Stockholm Convention: a decisive step toward global phase-out of a highly hazardous pesticide
- 18/12/2025
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: News
At the twelfth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention (SC COP-12), countries agreed to add the pesticide chlorpyrifos to Annex A of the Convention. This decision paves the way for the global elimination of chlorpyrifos, a pesticide recognized for its severe impacts on human health and the environment. What is the Stockholm convention? The Stockholm Convention is a global treaty designed to protect human health and the environment from highly hazardous chemicals called Persistent Organic… +Eric Medji, co-founder of Othentiks, local fruit juice producer
- 03/11/2025
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: News
After several years working in IT and CRM consulting, Eric Medji decided to embark on a new career path in 2013. Convinced of the economic and cultural potential of African raw materials, he decided to devote himself to the agri-food industry. With the support of his family – Ghislaine and Christian Medji – he founded Othentiks, a Beninese company dedicated to producing natural fruit juices from African soil. His goal is clear: to demonstrate that Africa can not only transform… +Josephine Okot: founder of Victoria Seeds, producer and distributor of high-quality seeds
- 03/11/2025
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: News
Born in northern Uganda, Josephine Okot grew up witnessing the heavy burden women carried in agriculture and the barriers they faced : limited access to education, credit, and markets. These experiences inspired her to dedicate her life to transforming the country’s agricultural sector. In 2004, she founded Victoria Seeds Limited with the ambition to provide smallholder farmers with quality seeds. After being denied loans by commercial banks, she secured financing through a USAID-backed loan guarantee. What began with five employees… +Insights from the EDFI and CSAF conferences: uniting finance and technical assistance to tackle global challenges
- 03/11/2025
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: News
In a world marked by geopolitical upheavals, persistent economic instability, and growing pressure to finance sustainable solutions, the question of access to finance for agricultural enterprises has taken on renewed importance. The discussions held on the 2 October during the EDFI (European Development Finance Institutions) Management Company Corporate Day 2025 and on the 1-2 October at the Council on Smallholder Agricultural Finance (CSAF) Convening highlighted a shared conviction: development finance can only be effective when built upon a solid foundation… +Unfair trading practices in agri-food supply chains: update and outlook for non-EU suppliers
- 03/11/2025
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: News
Over the past months, COLEAD, through its programmes FFM+ and AGRINFO, has been actively contributing to ensuring fairness in global supply chains, including those in ACP countries, by addressing Unfair Trading Practices (UTPs). This news provides an update on the legislative state of play and on COLEAD’s activities related to this important issue. What are UTPs? The stark imbalances between small and large operators in the agricultural and food supply chain can lead to UTPs in business-to-business relationships where farmers… +