STDF Togo: Building capacity in Health Quality Management

“Strengthening the phytosanitary monitoring and certification system for Togo’s fruit and vegetable sector”

From 26 to 29 October, supervisors of the Institute for Technical Advice and Support in Togo participated in a training course on Health Quality Management. The training was organised through the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) project-375 to strengthen Togo’s SPS system.

STDF is a global partnership facilitating safe trade, sustainable economic growth, poverty reduction and food security. STDF works in developing countries to promote better food safety and improved animal and plant health.

In Togo, since 2018, STDF-375 supported an initiative to strengthen the phytosanitary control and certification system for fruit and vegetables in the country. This project was implemented by COLEACP under the guidance of Kadjala KPATCHA, national coordinator for the STDF in Togo.

COLEACP has been active in Togo since the early 2000s, with a particular focus on the pineapple growing sector, with activities including technical capacity building. The current project, ‘Strengthening of the phytosanitary control and certification system for the fruit and vegetable sector in Togo’, aims to enable Togo to comply with international SPS standards by building a robust SPS system. This should ensure the country’s producers can access regional and international markets, particularly for fruit and vegetables.

From the outset, COLEACP viewed the provision of training on good SPS practices, for both public and private stakeholders from the fruit and vegetable sector, as key to the success of the project.

The training session was designed to strengthen the capacities of the 15 participants around product traceability, good hygiene practices, risk analysis, the principles of self-checking, regulatory requirements, document management, and more. The participants are now better able to train the producers they supervise on how to improve their health quality management systems to meet the requirements of their target markets.

This activity was organised within the framework of the project “Strengthening of the phytosanitary control and certification system for the fruit and vegetable sector in Togo”, funded by the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) and implemented by COLEACP.