News digest: agri-food systems and sustainability
- 10/02/2022
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Africa, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Caribbean, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic Of The Congo, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Fiji, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, News, Nigeria, Pacific, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Suriname, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zimbabwe
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FOOD SYSTEMS AND POLICY Trade relations between the European Union and Africa: forging new partnerships On 10 January, in the context of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union and ahead of the European Union-African Union Summit scheduled for February 2022, Franck Riester, French Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness, held an international ministerial conference dedicated to the prospects of the European trade partnership with Africa. The overhaul of the partnership between the European Union… +News digest: Agri-food markets, production and trade
- 06/12/2021
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Africa, Avocados, Cameroon, Caribbean, Citrus fruits, Coffee, Fiji, Kenya, Mangoes, News, Nigeria, Pacific, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda
Agri-food Africa Rwanda: Rwanda plans to double its lending to agriculture Rwanda plans to double its lending to the agricultural sector from 5.2 to 10.4% by 2024. The goal is to modernise agriculture, which now accounts for one-third of Rwanda’s GDP. Small farms can rarely access financial services due to high interest rates (18-24% per year). Access to these loans will enable farmers to invest in new means of production and thus secure the food supply for a country whose… +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… +The future of food is in women’s hands
- 16/10/2021
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: Angola, Caribbean, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, News, Nigeria, Pacific, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
To celebrate World Food Day (16 October) and the International Day of Rural Women (15 October), COLEACP joins the United Nations in celebrating the unsung contribution of ACP women entrepreneurs to our food system. Women are a significant entrepreneurial force as owners of farms, input supply stores, service delivery businesses, and processing and export firms whose contributions to local, national, and global economies have significant impact on poverty reduction, employment creation and wellbeing of rural communities and society at large.… +Kenya: Digital collective training on Food Safety Quality Management System
- 01/10/2021
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: Africa, Kenya, News
COLEACP organised a remote training course on “Food Safety Quality Management System” for partner companies of the NExT Kenya programme from 26 July to 27 August 2021. The target audience for this four-week digital training included technical staff (quality managers, packhouse managers and internal auditors) in charge of compliance within horticultural production companies and producer groups. The training was directed toward staff in exporters’ associations that assist their member companies with the implementation of food safety standards. At the end… +Business coaching: SwanCape Farms pushing to the next level
- 20/09/2021
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Africa, Nigeria
“I can boldly say it’s the best support I have received towards managing my business.” Dr Agnes Fasehun During June and July 2021, SwanCape Farms, a fast-growing farm-to-door company in Nigeria, participated in business coaching with an Agri-Logic expert, organised and facilitated through the Fit For Market programme. Throughout 2020-21, business training and coaching has formed a key part of COLEACP’s Covid-19 Action Plan. The agri-business coaching focused first on issue resolution – human resources, cashflow and profitability, operations, competition… +Caribbean: Strategic review of the Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency
- 17/09/2021
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: Caribbean, News
With the support of COLEACP, the Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency (CAHFSA) is undergoing significant changes to ensure that it fulfils its mandate and maximises the value it offers to member countries. CAHFSA’s role is particularly important in the current context of a global pandemic; the increasing importance of non-tariff barriers and agricultural nationalism; threats to food security; and the need to rapidly diversify and expand exports from the Caribbean region. For CAHFSA to contribute effectively to addressing… +Togo: young people honoured at closing of “Incubator for technical managers” project
- 29/07/2021
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: News, Togo
The closing event of the “incubator for technical managers” project, implemented in Togo from June 2020 to February 2021, took place on 10 June 2021. The project was set up by COLEACP in collaboration with Togolese companies in the framework of the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) Togo Project. Other partners who were involved in the occasion included the European Union Delegation, the German development agency (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, GIZ), the Plant Protection Directorate (DPV) of Togo… +Africa’s Covid-19 resurgence and COLEACP’s response
- 16/07/2021
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Africa
On 8 July 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa reported that during the seven days to 4 July the continent saw its worst pandemic week ever (WHO Africa, 8 July 2021). Source: Africa CDC Outbreak Brief #78, 13 July 2021 Sixteen African countries are now in resurgence, with Malawi and Senegal added to the list most recently. The Delta variant has been detected in 10 of these countries. According to Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director… +Côte d’Ivoire Delegation and COLEACP meeting in Brussels
- 15/07/2021
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: Côte d'Ivoire, News
On 12 July, a working meeting between the Côte d’Ivoire Delegation and COLEACP gave the association the opportunity to present its activities and priorities related to the agriculture and agri-food sector in Côte d’Ivoire, a key partner country for COLEACP, and to discuss its support to the planned EU-West Africa (EU-WA) business forum. COLEACP was represented by Jeremy Knops, General Delegate; Nursel Gumusboga, Regional Programme Manager; and Isolina Boto, Head of Networks and Alliances. Composed of representatives of Côte d’Ivoire… +