Strengthening science–business partnerships to transform agri-food systems – lessons from the AU–EU dialogues on research and innovation
- 22/12/2025
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: News
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Two recent events held alongside the African Union–European Union Senior Officials Meeting within the framework of the High-Level Policy Dialogue on Science, Technology and Innovation (HLPD-STI) in Brussels highlighted a key challenge: the need to better connect research, innovation and economic actors in order to accelerate the sustainable transformation of agri-food systems. On 21 October 2025, an event dedicated to the role of AU–EU research and innovation strategies in shaping Africa’s food future brought together policymakers, researchers and private-sector representatives.… +EU intends to strengthen Import Controls, new task force for efficient import controls
- 22/12/2025
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: News
As part of its commitment to a fairer, more competitive, and attractive EU farming sector—aligned with the EU Vision for Agriculture and Food for 2025–2029—the European Commission intends to intensify official controls on food imports from non-EU countries. The focus will be on food safety, pesticide use, and animal welfare. Already, the 2026 EU audit work programme reveals that 51% of the 159 planned agri-food chain controls will target non-EU countries exporting to the EU, against 33% in 2025. In… +Indonesia: Dialogue on upcoming EU Rules on mineral oil hydrocarbons
- 09/09/2025
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: News
On 23 July 2025, under the AGRINFO programme, COLEAD organised a hybrid meeting in collaboration with the Indonesian Ministry of Food Affairs and the Delegation of the European Union in Jakarta, bringing together around sixty participants. The objective was to raise awareness among public and private stakeholders about the forthcoming European rules on mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOH) in foodstuffs, which will come into force in January 2027. COLEAD’s Regulations & Standards team outlined the proposed changes and explained the practical… +Participating in consultations on changes to EU agri-food and fisheries legislation: feedback from the webinars held on 28 and 30 May 2024
- 10/06/2024
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: News
Participating in consultations on changes to EU agri-food and fisheries legislation: feedback from the webinars held on 28 and 30 May 2024 As part of the FFM+ and AGRINFO programmes, COLEAD, through its Regulations & Standards and Technical Assistance departments, organised an informative webinar on the procedures for monitoring and participating in consultations on future changes to the European Union’s agri-food and fisheries regulations. The webinar, which attracted a total of 273 participants (mainly from BMOs and Competent authorities… +DISCOVER COLEAD’S NEW SELF-PACED COURSE ON BUSINESS PLANNING IN AGRICULTURE
- 25/04/2024
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: News
Discover COLEAD’s new self-paced course on business planning in agriculture COLEAD is pleased to introduce through the FFM+ programme a new educational offering: a self-paced course designed to equip agricultural professionals with the skills to produce effective and compelling business plans. This course is specifically tailored to the agricultural sector, with a focus on horticultural businesses, and aims to enhance participants’ ability to secure funding, optimise management and stimulate innovation within their organisations. Course outline The new course provides a… +SUCCESSFUL ENERGY AUDIT LEADS TO COST SAVINGS AND SUSTAINABILITY FOR GAMBIA HORTICULTURAL ENTERPRISES
- 25/04/2024
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: News
Successful energy audit leads to cost savings and sustainability for Gambia Horticultural Enterprises Gambia Horticultural Enterprises (GHE), a leading Gambian company specialising in the export of fresh and processed produce to Europe, recently collaborated with COLEAD through the FFM+ programme on a comprehensive energy audit aimed at optimizing energy efficiency and reducing operational costs. As expenses for electricity and fuel for irrigation and processing activities climbed, GHE sought alternative energy solutions and embraced sustainability initiatives. Following the results of the… +COLEACP team attend OACPS Business Days 2022 in Angola
- 20/12/2022
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Africa, Caribbean, Country, News, Pacific
A COLEACP team led by Mr Jeremy Knops, General Delegate, visited Luanda, Angola, as part of the OACPS Business Days. The event, organised by the Secretariat of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), aimed at promoting the economic transformation of OACPS states through industrialisation and private sector engagement. It was organised in the margins of the 10th Summit of OACPS Heads of State and Government. Read the OACPS Luanda Declaration: THREE CONTINENTS, THREE OCEANS, ONE COMMON DESTINY:… +Information session on the new EU Regulation on organic production and labelling of organic products (EU 2018/848)
- 15/12/2022
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: Caribbean
The Fit For Market SPS programme, in collaboration with the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), organised an information session specifically designed for the Dominican Republic on the new EU Regulation on organic production and labelling of organic products (EU 2018/848), and its implications for the certification of producer groups. This event took place online on 1 December 2022. The session was opened by Escipión Joaquin Oliveira Gomez, Assistant Secretary General, Sustainable Economic Transformation and Trade, Secretariat of the Organisation… +EU and GB approval changes – July-September 2022
- 05/10/2022
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: ACP EN, News
EU and GB approval changes Following the UK departure from the EU, COLEACP’s Regulation Monitoring now covers both EU and GB approval changes, enabling us to keep COLEACP members and partner-beneficiaries up-to-date on both regulatory frameworks. The European Commission (EC) has recently published changes to plant protection product (PPP) approvals within the European Union (EU). These include: – Non-approval as a basic substance of black soap E470a and calcium propionate Great Britain (GB) recently pubished a note concerning their decision… +New procedure for notifying non-compliances to third countries in TRACES-NT
- 19/07/2022
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: ACP EN
Some weeks ago, the EU sent out a notice to let third countries know that the system for notifying plant health interceptions (via email) would be replaced with a new system that uses the TRACES-NT platform. It is important to disseminate this information to all the National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO) officials that are responsible for the follow-up of shipments of plants and plant products to the EU (and any associated interceptions). To access the new system, designated NPPO contact… +