News digest: COP26, climate change and food systems
- 26/10/2021
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Africa, Caribbean, News, Pacific
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What’s happening at COP26? You can view the overall schedule and themes here. What events are relevant to food systems? As well as the international negotiations, there are many “Green Zone” events and side events. The following selection focuses on natural resources, agriculture, and the ACP regions. Green Zone You can join these events virtually by subscribing to the COP26 YouTube channel. Links to each free live stream will be found on the Green Zone webpage. Date in November Time… +Setting up an internal audit system
- 27/05/2021
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Burkina Faso, Capsicum, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Senegal
This new training series, “Setting up an internal audit system at the level of National Plant Protection Organisations”, has just been launched in French with participation of the NPPOs of six countries: Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali and Senegal. This online training is taking place over seven weeks in May and June, and a repeat session will be offered in August. The course materials are currently being translated, and a training series for NPPOs in English-speaking countries will… +Import controls in Europe – the example of Belgium
- 27/05/2021
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Africa, Caribbean, News, Pacific
On 4 May, COLEACP held a meeting with National Plant Protection Organisations (NPPOs) and stakeholders in the fruit and vegetable sector of ACP countries on “How import controls of fresh fruit and vegetables are carried out in Europe – the example of Belgium”. The meeting was well attended, gathering around 60 participants representing NPPOs from all ACP regions along with COLEACP experts. Following presentations on the experiences of Senegalese and Kenyan exporters, Lazlo Avonts described the activities of the Border… +PAFO–COLEACP four-week Online trainings in April – crop protection and safe use of pesticides
- 18/03/2021
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Africa, News
PAFO (the Pan-African Farmers’ Organization) and COLEACP are collaborating on online trainings on ‘Crop protection and safe use of pesticides’, to be held over four weeks in April. The E-trainings are designed for farmers, technical staff, agronomists and extension workers (who must be PAFO members), who want to learn about the principles and skills relating to integrated crop protection and safe pesticide use. There will be one two-hour webinar each week during April, with French and English versions running in… +15th Commission on Phytosanitary Measures in March/April
- 17/03/2021
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Africa, Caribbean, News, Pacific
The 15th Session of the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM-15) will be held on 16 and 18 March, and on 1 April 2021, in virtual format. The agenda includes standard-setting, capacity-building, communication, ePhyto, and the CPM recommendations. These agenda items are of critical importance to the functioning of National Plant Protection Organisations (NPPOs), and COLEACP encourages the participation of ACP countries. For contracting parties to the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), registration is via the FAO Members Gateway. Those who… +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… +COLEACP information meetings for NPPOs
- 09/02/2021
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Africa, Caribbean, Pacific
Further information on TRACES NT COLEACP’s videoconference for National Plant Protection Organisations (NPPOs) on 19 January, on “Use of the European TRACES NT system in ACP countries”, was well attended. Resources The following additional support is available on using TRACES NT: From late March 2021, virtual training courses will be provided by Better Training for Safer Food (BTSF). COLEACP will provide details when more information becomes available. Distance support and training from the TRACES helpdesk is available on request: contact… +Use of TRACES NT in ACP countries
- 18/01/2021
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Africa, Caribbean, News, Pacific
(Source of the illustration) TRACES allows the centralisation in a database of administrative documents related to the import of goods. It also enables EU Member States to track goods, facilitate control, combat fraud, and protect public, animal and plant health. The new version of the tool – TRACES NT – also allows the centralisation of inspection certificates for organic products, phytosanitary certificates and Common Health Entry Documents for Plants and Plant Products (CHED-PP). COLEACP supports NPPOs to strengthen their sanitary… +Group training in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC): 2,000 producers reached
- 16/12/2020
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: Democratic Republic Of The Congo, News
Since 2018, COLEACP has organised several group training courses in the DRC on food safety management, traceability, integrated crop protection and the safe use of pesticides. In order to measure the impact of this capacity building and to identify additional needs, a survey was conducted between July and October 2020 among Congolese organisations that participated in the various training courses. 18 organisations that benefited from this training each went on to organise between 2 and 13 training sessions, reaching a… +Technical team of Zimbabwe Farmers Union reinforcing training capacity on Crop Protection and Safe Use of Pesticides
- 18/11/2020
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: News, Zimbabwe
ZFU is the largest farmers’ organization in Zimbabwe in terms of number of members, representing over a million farming households. The technical team of ZFU, including capacity building managers and provincial managers, is following a training series to strengthen their technical and teaching skills to keep their member farmers up to date with the latest knowhow to enhance quality and productivity. This first training handled Crop Protection and Safe Use of Pesticides, which improved their background knowledge about identification of… +