“There’s bound to be a before and after Coronavirus. The digital support to systems and pedagogical models will finally be recognized and promoted in universities, the virtual always pulling upwards,” said Claude Lishou, professor at the University Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar in Senegal, and holder of the UNESCO Chair “ICT and development of higher education in West Africa”, in an interview with News Tank, 31/03/2020. He believes that “African universities have the foundations to overcome the crisis, they can… +

Vert LTD is a horticultural company based in Machakos, Kenya that specializes in growing and exporting fresh produce specifically for the European market. The company sells fine vegetables (French beans, snow peas, sugar snaps) to the EU market. In addition, they have started to process mangoes into pulp for national and regional markets since last year. Jane gives us an update on the current market situation for its fine vegetables. From a logistical perspective, there is a significant capacity shortfall… +

Logistics remains the main problem for Kenya’s vegetable exporting producers. Commercial passenger flights have not been allowed to land in Nairobi since last Wednesday. This was the most common means of transport used to send vegetables to Europe. Members of FPEAK (Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya) are convinced that they can easily fill a plane (100 tons) several times a week. All stakeholders in the Kenyan horticultural sector are mobilizing to try to maintain jobs and incomes and avoid… +

SOUTH AFRICA As the country most affected in Africa by Covid-19, an unprecedented three-week containment was decreed. The government has banned the sale of alcohol and cigarettes and all travel. The authorities have planned an aid plan to make it easier for banks to borrow and lend. BENIN Containment officially began on March 30, 2020. It is not a general confinement, only twelve cities in the south of the country, including Cotonou, Ouidah, Allada and Porto-Novo, the capital, are concerned.… +

“Since the Coronavirus started, we have seen a drop in demand from our clients. Especially, the exports to Morocco and Germany which have basically been put on hold due to the lock down. Our local processors have also reduced their intake because there is one flight leaving Ghana. Even the juicers like Pinora have had to cancel programmes due to decreased demand on Europe as they are not able to trade right now. So, we have lots of fruit on… +

An update provided by Union Fleurs – International Flower Trade Association The global flower market situation has continued to wither during weeks 13 and 14 with the UK going into shutdown and an increasing number of countries worldwide implementing measures to combat the spread of COVID-19 and closing in particular all non-essential shops. Supermarkets are at the moment the only viable channel sustaining exports and sales of flowers in most countries around the world, and even there flowers are said… +

The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) Secretariat has published its key messages addressing the COVID-19 outbreak and lessons for the global phytosanitary community, briefly summarised here. 1. Prevention is always better than cure! The COVID-19 global outbreak is showing the world how science-based preventive actions, including quarantine measures to contain invasive virus threats, are indispensable to protect the health of people, animals and plants alike. We should take particular note of this in the International Year of Plant Health 2020.… +

The coronavirus crisis is placing stress on Europe’s supply chains, with stockpiling leading to empty shelves, new border checks causing traffic jams for truckers, and fears of labour shortages (see Politico, 24 March). But according to Wouter Kolk, CEO for Europe of Ahold Delhaize, panic-buying is likely to subside within a week or two once people start trusting in the food supply again. Fresh products like dairy, fruit and vegetables are the most sensitive to any disruption in the European… +

According to Netherlands-based Amar Import & Export, which specialises in African, Asian, Indian and Caribbean products, exotic vegetable prices are rising (see Fresh Plaza, 24 March). “The cargo flights from Suriname and the Dominican Republic have now been cancelled. That means exotic vegetables have also risen. Ginger prices had already increased dramatically,” said Amar’s Sandeep Singh.… +