ALFA: A new Africa-France link for agriculture and food
- 27/10/2021
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Africa, France
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On 6 October, a new initiative was launched at the headquarters of the Movement of the Enterprises of France (MEDEF), on the sidelines of the Africa-France summit. The Agriculture-Livestock-Fisheries-Africa (ALFA) initiative, a grouping of 105 French companies covering the entire value chain, was launched by Karim Aittalb, CEO of GEOCOTON and co-founder of ALFA1, in the presence of France’s Minister for Foreign Trade, Franck Riester. The aim of this new platform is to contribute to renewing the partnership between Africa… +UNIDO Senegal: Waste management for mango processers in Casamance
- 27/10/2021
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Mangoes, Senegal
COLEACP is contributing to a UNIDO project in Senegal that aims to create shared prosperity, by providing support to improve the competitiveness of the country’s mango sector and advice in the environmental and social fields. COLEACP’s Research & Innovation service has been working with partners in Senegal to support the improvement of waste management in mango processing. During July and August, a technical team worked to identify appropriate methods for the valorisation of mango production waste and co-products. This study… +News digest: COP26, climate change and food systems
- 26/10/2021
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Africa, Caribbean, News, Pacific
What’s happening at COP26? You can view the overall schedule and themes here. What events are relevant to food systems? As well as the international negotiations, there are many “Green Zone” events and side events. The following selection focuses on natural resources, agriculture, and the ACP regions. Green Zone You can join these events virtually by subscribing to the COP26 YouTube channel. Links to each free live stream will be found on the Green Zone webpage. Date in November Time… +News digest: Agri-food markets and production
- 26/10/2021
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Africa, Avocados, Bananas, Caribbean, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Fiji, France, Gambia, Germany, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Madagascar, Mangoes, Mozambique, New Zealand, News, Onions, Pacific, Papayas, Rwanda, Senegal, Spain, Tanzania, Uganda, United Kingdom
AFRICA Building resilient food systems in Africa – Declaration at the 11th AGRF The 8,300 participants of the Eleventh African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) came together in Nairobi, Kenya from 7 to 10 September 2021 to call for and plan action on building resilient food systems in Africa. “Here at the AGRF, we have heard a strong call for Africa and the world to change the way we produce, process, market, consume food, and reduce waste. We know that a… +Reducing pesticide use in tropical agriculture
- 26/10/2021
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Africa, Caribbean, News, Pacific
On 11–12 October COLEACP participated in a workshop on “Reducing the use of pesticides in tropical agriculture: Key challenges and strategies”, organised by the Agropolis Foundation. During these two days, scientists from the European Union, Middle East and Africa exchanged views on topics ranging from epidemiology, toxicology and environmental impact to societal impacts resulting from pesticide use across the globe. Edouard Lehmann, COLEACP’s Research & Innovation Manager, took part in a round table on how to promote multi-stakeholder collaboration in… +Capacity building in Sustainable Environmental Management
- 26/10/2021
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Africa
A crucial time for the global environment This time of year is associated with the major international summits for the protection of the environment – and this year they are even more crucial. The first part of the 15th Conference of the Parties of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) has just ended with the adoption of the Kunming Declaration outlining the ambitions of the signatory states in terms of nature protection. The aim of COP15 is to reach… +Smart innovation: Update on the DeSIRA-LIFT project
- 25/10/2021
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Africa, News
The European Union’s DeSIRA programme is working towards the Development of Smart Innovation through Research in Agriculture. Launched in June 2021 with funding from the European Commission (DG INTPA), the DeSIRA-LIFT project, “Leveraging the DeSIRA initiative for agri-food systems transformation”, aims to support the programme’s current and future activities in order to enhance its impacts. The EC funding is €6,500,000 for a duration of 3 years (June 2021–May 2024). The specific objectives of DeSIRA-LIFT are: Supporting country-based DeSIRA project actors… +Sustainability Self-Assessment System at the heart of COLEACP’s activities through FFM and FFM SPS programmes
- 25/10/2021
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Africa, Caribbean, News, Pacific
Sustainability – environmental, social and economic – is key to COLEACP’s mission. Our members are encouraged to sign up to our Sustainability Charter, and to regularly complete our Sustainability Self-Assessment System, which was initially supported by the Fit For Market programme (FFM). The system enables producers and agribusinesses to monitor their evolving impacts in all three areas and demonstrate their progress to current and potential customers, and other interested parties. By utilising the system, businesses can: Strive for continuous improvement… +Unfair Trading Practices Directive now law in most EU countries
- 25/10/2021
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Africa, Caribbean, News, Pacific
For over 10 years, COLEACP has been part of a coalition of organisations, including Oxfam, the Fair Trade Advocacy Office and the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM-EU), lobbying the EU to tackle unfair trading practices (UTPs) in agricultural supply chains. We advocated strongly for new legal provisions to extend beyond the EU to also protect third country suppliers. The groundbreaking EU Directive 2019/633 on Unfair Trading Practices in Business Relationships between Businesses in the Agricultural and Food Supply… +Pacific: Training continues in the context of Covid
- 25/10/2021
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Fiji, Pacific
Agriculture in the Pacific region has suffered during the pandemic due to its close relationship with tourism. COLEACP’s regional relay in Fiji, Mereia Volavola, describes the impact: “The Covid19 pandemic seriously affected the businesses in the Pacific, especially the tourism and agriculture sectors. As the international borders closed, the tourism industry collapsed and the demand and export supply for agricultural produce fell. Shipments via airlines and ships were drastically affected as the number of flights and ships reduced and cost… +