Capacity building in Sustainable Environmental Management
- 26/10/2021
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Africa
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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… +COLEACP and partners supporting sustainable entrepreneurship
- 25/10/2021
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Africa, Caribbean, News, Pacific
During September and October COLEACP collaborated with partners to present four online events, supported by the Fit For Market programme. With OECD: Fruit and Vegetables Industry Series: Session no. 1 On 14 September the OECD Fruit and Vegetables Scheme and COLEACP launched the Fruit and Vegetables Industry Series to highlight the significance of the sector in the context of the United Nations International Year of Fruit and Vegetables (#IYVF2021). The first joint session, with 220 participants, focused on “The fruit… +Caribbean AgTech investment opportunities
- 25/10/2021
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Caribbean, News
The first 2021 Caribbean AgTech Investment Summit explored the opportunities for agricultural technology companies in the Caribbean, welcoming over 500 registrants from 60 countries around the world. Introducing the event, Dr Irfaan Ali, President of Guyana, spoke of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) e-agricultural strategy “to improve producers’ competitiveness, incorporate greater climate smart technologies in the production process, increasing intra-regional trade and improving market infrastructure and connectivity, especially for small producers” (Caribbean Export News, 6 October). This is a key part… +Fruit Attraction 2021: Fit For Market support for COLEACP members and partners
- 25/10/2021
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Africa, Caribbean, News, Pacific
From 5–7 October COLEACP, partner-beneficiaries from programmes and members took part in the trade fair Fruit Attraction 2021. The B2B event was a hybrid – both in-person and online – for the first time in 2021, presenting opportunities for more ACP horticultural businesses to take part. Exhibitors participated in-person with a stand, online through the LIVEConnect platform, or through a combination. This year the online platform LIVEConnect will remain open to bring the fruit and vegetable community together all year… +Market report: Logistics in Suriname and the Caribbean
- 25/10/2021
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Caribbean, Suriname
Through the Fit For Market SPS programme and within the context of the Covid-19 action plan, COLEACP’s Market Intelligence service has been working with the Association of Exporters of Agricultural Products of Suriname (Vereniging van Exporteurs van Agrarische Producten in Suriname, VEAPS), a professional association representing the country’s farmers and exporters of horticultural products. This collaboration is taking place in a context where Suriname’s exports have been suffering from a lack of competitiveness and logistics, constituting a bottleneck to export… +Resource for NPPOs: Phytosanitary awareness and R-SAT
- 25/10/2021
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Africa
Dr Chagema Kedera, NExT Kenya Programme Coordinator, presented a webinar organised by CABI on “Phytosanitary Awareness: IPPC contracting parties’ obligations and phytosanitary measures for market access” to over 70 participants. The presentation covers the obligations of contracting parties to the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC); the functions of National Plant Protection Organisations (NPPOs); International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs); and the IPPC Market Access Guide. You can view the webinar here: The video also explains COLEACP’s Rapid SPS Assessment Tool… +