Kenya: Flamingo Horticulture working towards GRASP option 2 for its outgrowers
- 17/03/2021
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Kenya
No Comments(Picture taken in 2019 before the Covid 19 pandemic.) At the end of 2020, COLEACP worked with Flamingo Horticulture Kenya Ltd, a large grower with various production sites (vegetables and flowers). A training session and pre-audit followed on from COLEACP’s previous activities with Flamingo, and should pave the way for the company’s successful social audit of over 400 smallholder growers. Throughout 2019, COLEACP supported the company with an assessment of GlobalG.A.P. Risk Assessment on Social Practices (GRASP) compliance at outgrower… +Women bear the fruits of success!
- 08/03/2021
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: Kenya, News, Nigeria
For International Women’s Day 2021, COLEACP is celebrating women’s achievements in Kenyan horticulture. Women entrepreneurs – as farm owners, input suppliers, service delivery enterprises, and running processing and export businesses – contribute to local, national and global economies, with significant impact on poverty reduction, job creation and the well-being of rural communities and society as a whole. PURITY NAISHO is a founding director of Interveg Exports EPZ Limited, a family-owned business. She is also the current vice chair of the… +Vert Limited – Working towards a sustainable and inclusive business
- 26/02/2021
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Kenya, Mangoes, News
During 2020, Kenyan SME Vert Limited received support from COLEACP’s Fit For Market programme to update its policies towards social compliance. Vert Limited is a Kenya-based, indigenous company specialising in growing and exporting fresh produce, targeted specifically at the European market. The company sells fine vegetables on the export market and has ventured into mango puree and dried mango. Social compliance has become an important sustainability parameter for consumers. Proof of social welfare in the form of certification has been… +Finding alternatives to control priority pests and diseases
- 17/02/2021
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Africa, Avocados, Capsicum, Caribbean, Kenya, Mangoes, News, Pacific
Research & Innovation activities at COLEACP aim to ensure that solutions are available to farmers to tackle priority pests and diseases Challenges following EU ban on PPPs Every year, the use of many plant protection products (PPPs) is affected by regulatory changes – that is, changes in approvals and Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs). This has a direct impact on producers who often must change production methods (good agricultural practices – GAP) to comply with the new rules. Any non-compliances can… +Ethiopia : EHPEA launches horticultural training centre
- 02/02/2021
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: Ethiopia, News
The Ethiopian Horticulture Producer Exporters Association (EHPEA) has announced the opening of a technical and vocational training institute for the horticultural sector, the first of its kind in the country. The focus will be on the competitiveness of the Ethiopian horticultural industry and access to international markets. The institute aims to address the shortage of skilled labour in the sector and to play a role in technology transfer, and plans to offer 3 to 6 month training courses in conjunction… +Business support for Kenyan horticultural SMEs
- 06/01/2021
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: Kenya, News
Reviewing the business plan During the second half of 2020, COLEACP’s Fit For Market and NExT Kenya programmes supported five Kenyan SMEs to update their business plan via an in-depth review or coaching. The companies particularly appreciated the detailed support from experts in the horticultural sector. An external view to critically assess the company’s operations and underlying assumptions has been an eye-opener for many SMEs. Joint construction of the business plan and priorities ensures ownership and provides companies with clarity… +UPCOMING FIT FOR MARKET SUPPORT IN SOMALIA
- 21/12/2020
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: News, Somalia
A meeting with representatives of Somali horticultural companies, cooperatives and producers’ associations was organised in December 2020. Inês Bastos (Regional Programme Manager) and Anita Safi Diazila (Project Officer) introduced COLEACP’s ongoing programmes and activities, and learned more about the activities of the different stakeholders. Requests for Fit For Market programme support following the meeting will lead to the signature of Memoranda of Understanding, with subsequent access to group training, to the COLEACP network, and to e-services (e-learning, e-library, e-GAP). In… +Developing Good Practice Guides
- 17/12/2020
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Benin, Guinea, Kenya, Togo, Uganda, Uncategorized
During 2021 COLEACP will be providing a team of expert consultants to support national/regional initiatives to develop Good Practice Guides for horticultural value chains. A Good Practice Guide is intended to help all the different actors working in a particular horticultural sector to produce their crops and products under the best sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) conditions. The Guides will harmonise specifications with international SPS standards and the adoption of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), Good Plant Protection Practices (GPP) and Good… +UFVEPA presents its new five-year strategic plan
- 16/12/2020
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: News, Uganda
The Uganda Fruits and Vegetables Exporters and Producers Association (UFVEPA) is the largest association in Uganda’s horticultural sector, representing 50+ export companies and producer group members. For UFVEPA, this strategic planning exercise, supported by COLEACP, came just at the right time, at the end of the former strategic plan (2015-2020) and when exporters and producers are grappling with the effects of the COVID-19 virus. With the uncertainties posed by the pandemic, a clear strategic roadmap over the next five years… +Zimbabwean horticultural companies reinforcing skills on internal auditing
- 10/12/2020
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: News, Zimbabwe
COLEACP organised group training on internal auditing in Harare from 8-10 December 2020. Food safety, quality and traceability managers of Zimbabwean horticultural companies worked on their internal auditing techniques and practices. Conducting regular and professional internal audits greatly contributes to the maintenance and continuous improvement of any quality management system. After the group training, all participants will return to their respective companies to carry out a practical exercise on internal auditing, adapted to the quality management system implemented in their… +