News Digest: Agri-food production
- 19/11/2020
- Posted by: Emmanuel Bourcelet
- Category: Bananas, Cucumber, Melons, News, Onions, Pineapples, Tomatoes, Watermelons
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AFRICA Climate change increasingly threatens vulnerable Africa A recent report from the World Meteorological Organization states that climate change is having significant impacts in Africa (Commodafrica, 28 October). These impacts are likely to worsen in the future, particularly for food supplies, economies and health. The main risks for agriculture are reduced crop productivity (heat and drought); increased pest and disease damage; and the effects of floods on food system infrastructure. Aerial imagery detects and tracks banana threats New research… +News Digest: Agri-food markets
- 19/11/2020
- Posted by: Emmanuel Bourcelet
- Category: Bananas, Citrus fruits, Mangoes, News
AFRICA UEMOA encourages consumer interest in local products On the occasion of the first “October, month of local consumption” in its eight member states, the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) aims to counter the growing disinterest of West African consumers in local products (Commodafrica, 8 October). In a UEMOA market of 120 million consumers, African companies are faced with a growth in imports of food products. Encouraging the consumption of local products must also involve supporting national agriculture… +News Digest: Agri-food policy
- 19/11/2020
- Posted by: Emmanuel Bourcelet
- Category: News
ACP COMESA: Product diversity critical for regional trade Intra-regional trade is being weakened by a lack of product diversity, as most states within the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the whole of Africa are producing and exporting similar goods (Chronicle, 11 November). COMESA recently expressed concern over the low intra-regional trade among its 21 members, which is estimated at 7%. Details are in a research paper titled “Estimating Comesa’s trade potential in Africa: optimising export opportunities… +Technical team of Zimbabwe Farmers Union reinforcing training capacity on Crop Protection and Safe Use of Pesticides
- 18/11/2020
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: News, Zimbabwe
ZFU is the largest farmers’ organization in Zimbabwe in terms of number of members, representing over a million farming households. The technical team of ZFU, including capacity building managers and provincial managers, is following a training series to strengthen their technical and teaching skills to keep their member farmers up to date with the latest knowhow to enhance quality and productivity. This first training handled Crop Protection and Safe Use of Pesticides, which improved their background knowledge about identification of… +IPM training at Fair Trade Enterprises (Kenya)
- 17/11/2020
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: Kenya, News
Technical staff from FTE Kenya and Kenyan IPM COLEACP expert conducted field visits to avocado orchards in Meru, as part of Integrated Pest Management training delivered through the Fit For Market programme.… +The key to Kenya’s successful avocado season
- 13/11/2020
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: Kenya, News
The Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya (FPEAK) and Fresh Produce Consortium Kenya (FPC Kenya) issued a press statement on the avocado market on 11 November. According to FPEAK and FPC Kenya, up to the end of October 2020 Kenya exported 68,000 tons of avocados, valued at Ksh14 billion (about US$128 million), a record-high for the Kenyan subsector. The Avocado Society of Kenya reports that demand for avocados has risen both locally and internationally, with demand for fruits and fresh… +Brexit workshop, 30 October 2020
- 13/11/2020
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: News
In collaboration with the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), COLEACP organised a workshop on 30 October to present a set of practical recommendations (and remaining points of uncertainty) for ACP horticultural businesses trading directly or indirectly (via the EU) with the United Kingdom. Representatives from the Fresh Produce Consortium and Freshfel Europe also shared their analyses and priority areas for action. Context The UK officially left the European Union on 31 January 2020, and is now entering… +EU MRL changes
- 13/11/2020
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Africa, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Caribbean, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic Of The Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Suriname, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia, Zimbabwe
This news provides updates on recent changes to EU maximum residue limits (MRLs) for plant protection products (PPPs). Where an MRL has been lowered, it is important for growers using the PPP to make any necessary adjustments in good time to ensure continued compliance with EU regulations. This may mean adapting production practices (good agricultural practices, GAP) or using alternative control methods. This news also includes a complete list of the MRL changes introduced so far in 2020. If you… +Probest scales up its quality management system to meet GLOBALG.A.P. standard
- 13/11/2020
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: News, Zimbabwe
With support from COLEACP as part of its Fit for Market programme, the technical team of Probest followed intensive training on how to scale up their Quality Management System to meet GLOBALG.A.P. requirements for two additional production sites. Probest is a Zimbabwean company specialising in production of fresh snow peas (mange-tout and sugar snaps) as well as fine beans for the export market, and a variety of fresh vegetables for local markets. Congratulations with this successful capacity building!… +USTAKO achieves HACCP certificate
- 12/11/2020
- Posted by: Emmanuel Bourcelet
- Category: Mali, Mangoes, News
Last April, the Unité de Transformation de Fruits et Légumes Tako Sylla (USTAKO), a Malian company exporting dried mangoes, received support from COLEACP’s Fit For Market programme for a review of its food safety management system and capacity building of its technical staff on HACCP principles. This support enabled the company to prepare for the renewal of its HACCP certification, which it obtained in September following the certification audit. Congratulations to USTAKO for obtaining its new certificate.… +