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Let's meet in Fruit Logistica 2018!
The COLEACP team will be present at Fruit Logistica in Berlin from 7 to 9 February. We will be located at Hall 26 / Stand D-17.For ACP and European companies that will not be attending the exhibition, we are of course at your disposal if you need any information or have particular issues to discuss. In particular, we are available to provide information about the mechanisms for accessing and implementation of FFM. Please note that applications for FFM support are online and can be easily directed to COLEACP.For our members only, a guide “Making the most of your participation at Fruit Logistica” of 26 pages is available in our e-library.
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Fit For Market: 350 requests, 140 action plans, 20 applications for access to finance
To date, over 350 individual requests for support have been sent to COLEACP from 30 countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) as part of the Fit For Market (FFM) programme (see the map below).140 of these applications have already been converted into action plans which are being implemented on the ground to help strengthen the competitiveness and further the sustainability of the fruit and vegetable industry in ACP countries.20 SMEs have specifically requested support to facilitate their access to finance. These demands relate to investment projects in the areas of fresh fruit processing equipment, the modernisation of production systems and marketing.
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Lecture by Agnès Kalibata, on Friday 23 March in Gembloux, Belgium
“Re-envisioning Investment for African agriculture…” Lecture by Agnès Kalibata, on Friday 23 March in Gembloux, Belgium.Next Friday 23 March 2018, Agnès Kalibata, President of AGRA (Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa) is set to deliver a lecture at Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech – Liège University, entitled “Re-envisioning Investment for African Agriculture: Top Priorities for Growing Food, Jobs and Economies”.In her capacity as the President of AGRA and in partnership with the public and private sector, Doctor Agnès Kalibata focuses her organisation’s endeavours piloted by the vision of a secure and prosperous African continent, thanks to fast and sustained agricultural growth.Prior to joining AGRA in September 2014, Mrs Kalibata served as Rwanda’s Minister for Agriculture and Animal Resources. Agnès Kalibata holds a PhD in entomology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.The lecture will be held at Espace Senghor at the Faculty of Gembloux, starting at 15.00 hours (Entrée 7, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech – Liège University). The event is free and open to all.The next day, Saturday 24 March, Agnès Kalibata is set to receive the title of Doctor Honoris Causa at an award ceremony at Liège University.
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COLEACP’s e-learning platform
Learn, test and certify your know-how in the following 7 key areas for a sustainable and inclusive agricultural industry:- Food safety - Plant health - Social accountability and empowerment - Agricultural production and processing - Sustainable production and trade - Business management and development - Environmental managementAll these interactive learning journeys are differentiated according to the degree of expertise and level of progress.Visit our Platform!
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CAMEROON: MORE COORDINATION FOR GREATER IMPACT
COLEACP and the European Development Fund National Authorizing Officer Support Unit (CAON-FED) signed a partnership agreement on 22 March to share their knowledge and experience with a view to heightening capacity building in the public and private horticultural sector in Cameroon.The principle objectives of this partnership are to: Promote the horticultural sector as a driver for macro-economic growth through job creation for the younger generation by ensuring that agriculture is more productive, competitive and relevant to national, regional and international markets; Attract investment to the most promising horticultural value chains to ensure that the necessary resources are available to contribute to the success of the national horticultural strategy. CAON-FED is the structure responsible for acting as an interface and facilitator between the Cameroon Government and the Delegation of the European Union.On 4 and 5 April, both organisations held a workshop on the respective roles and responsibilities of public and private sector stakeholders for sanitary and phytosanitary controls systems, using the Cameroon fruit and vegetable export sector as an example. TOGO: CAPACITY BUILDING FOR THE NATIONAL SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY CONTROL SYSTEM Several Togolese Ministers and the Togo National Sanitary and Phytosanitary Committee have signed a partnership agreement with the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) to provide capacity building on the application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures in Togo. This partnership should help to provide better market access for Togolese fruit and vegetables, and more broadly lead to sustained economic growth and poverty alleviation for the country.This project supplements the initiatives undertaken by other United Nations bodies, such as the FAO and the WHO (National communications strategy on sanitary and phytosanitary issues, Food inspection good practices guide).Food safety (Maximum Residue Limits of pesticides exceedances) and plant health (white flies, fruit flies and false codling moths) issues encountered in the horticultural industry will be targeted. It is foreseen for COLEACP to support the implementation of this project and to leverage the experiences from the horticultural industry to positively impact other Togolese agricultural value chains.The expected outcomes are an improved sanitary and phytosanitary control system and more effective traceability for Togolese fruit and vegetable exports.
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2018 European Development Days
“Women and girls at the forefront of sustainable development: protect, empower, invest” will be the key theme of these 2018 European Development Days (EDD). COLEACP will be one of the exhibitors at the EDD development village in partnership with the ACP YPN.Our new training system will be showcased, together with a concept store, linked to an online shop, that will present innovative, healthy and high-quality products (organic fruit juices, dried mangos and pineapples, coco butter, mango butter,…) and more importantly, the stories of the women (and men) behind these products who are contributing to the sustainable development of their countries.Organised by the European Commission, the EDDs bring together the development community once a year to share ideas and experiences that will inspire new partnerships and innovative solutions to the most pressing challenges the world is facing. The EDDs will take place at the Tour & Taxis complex on 5 and 6 June 2018 in Brussels, Belgium.
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HOW TO ENSURE THAT YOUR FORTHCOMING FRUIT LOGISTICA TRADE SHOW IS A SUCCESS?
How can you ensure a successful trade fair participation at the next edition of Fruit Logistica in 2019?By preparing your participation! COLEACP has drawn up a practical guide for its members that can be obtained by clicking here.From this year onwards, Africa has a dedicated exhibition hall. The success of this new exhibition centre has created a very favourable environment for mobilising new country exhibitors in 2019. Do you already have a project in mind? We can help you! Contact us at network@coleacp.org (link sends e-mail).
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Fruit Logistica 2019: our guide and location
Post date: January 28th, 2019 As you know, COLEACP will have a booth (Hall 26 Booth D-17) at the upcoming Fruit Logistica exhibition, to be held in Berlin from 6 to 8 February. You are of course welcome.More than 3,200 exhibitors and 78,000 trade visitors will participate in FRUIT LOGISTICA 2019. The Africa Hall, successfully launched in 2018, will again be host to COLEACP in 2019.FRUIT LOGISTICA 2019 offers an opportunity for SMEs from ACP countries, visitors and exhibitors to make direct contact with the international fruit and vegetable market, buyers, competitors, and the latest innovations in the sector.Make a success of your visit to FRUIT LOGISTICA 2019 (reserved for Coleacp members only)
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COLEACP at the World Banana Forum
The banana is the world’s most exported fruit (around 10 billion US dollars per year). It is an essential source of income and employment for thousands of rural families in developing countries, including African and Caribbean countries*. Since it was established in 1973, COLEACP’s members have included key players from the global banana supply chain. In joining the World Banana Forum (WBF), the association reaffirms its commitment to increasing its activities in this sector which is of high socioeconomic importance for ACP countries.The WBF brings together the multiple stakeholders from across the global banana supply chain: retailers, importers, producers, exporters, consumer associations, governments, research institutions, trade unions and civil society organisations. It provides a unique platform for them to work together to achieve consensus on best practices for sustainable banana production and trade. The WBF’s mission is twofold : To inspire collaboration between stakeholders in order to find pragmatic solutions for the betterment of the banana industry; Achieve consensus on best practices regarding workplace issues, gender equity, environmental impact, sustainable production and economic issues. In joining the WBF, COLEACP adheres to the forum’s principle that collaboration is the key to continuous improvement and will provide its expertise in capacity building sustainable agricultural value chains to the EU-ACP banana sector.This type of international partnership is in line with the association’s operational strategy and complements synergies and collaborations implemented at local and regional level in ACP countries.*Source FMB
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COLEACP’S training department is expanding its offer
With new training topics, new online and paper tools, COLEACP’S training department is expanding its offer to meet the needs of companies benefiting from the Fit For Market* (FFM) programme.One of the central pillars of the FFM programme is the COLEACP training system.Designed and implemented during the PIP programmes and later expanded to other projects coordinated by COLEACP (e.g. EDES, Fruit Fly Programme), the programme now offers new teaching resources. Around 100 new training tools (manuals, guides, brochures etc.) are currently being developed on specific topics such as business competitiveness (market access, management of resources) or the sustainable environmental management (management of inputs and outputs, environmental impact assessment, environmental restoration through good practices etc.). 70 on-site training sessions are already scheduled in different countries of Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) for year 2 of the FFM.In e-learning (11 training courses, more than 2000 users), the training aims to consolidate learners’ technical know-how in agricultural practices and the conformity of produce for export. This complements face-to-face training. The latest addition to the platform is the Experimented level of the Traceability course launched in the “Massive Open Online Courses” format (MOOC**). The 6-week pilot course was facilitated by a tutor, especially via a discussion forum. One of the objectives of this MOOC is to enable the most qualified learners to go on to become tutors in future sessions. Another way to boost the impact and sustainability of the COLEACP training system.http://training.coleacp.org*Via the Fit For Market (FFM) programme, COLEACP supports the fruit and vegetable supply chain in ACP countries, including companies producing and exporting fresh and processed fruit and vegetables, to:Develop and improve their market access Train and sustain their human resources Implement an environmental management policy Improve their competitiveness Facilitate their access to financing**Massive Open Online Course or online training open to all. This is an open form of distance learning that can accommodate a large number of participants.
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Monitoring RASFF and EUROPHYT notifications
COLEACP follows sanitary and phytosanitary regulations (SPS) very closely to identify the decisions and trends which could have an impact on the fruit and vegetable value chains in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. The information obtained is used to adapt the technical recommendations for producers and inform the ACP suppliers about the measures to be taken.COLEACP tracks the following issues on a monthly basis in particular: MRL exceedances (maximum residue limits) for pesticides on fruit and vegetables arriving on the European market and recorded by the surveillance programmes of the Member States and the European Commission (RASFF notifications) Phytosanitary non conformity alerts via EUROPHYT, due to the presence of harmful organisms on fruit and vegetables imported into the European Market. Starting from October, COLEACP will send a monthly inventory of the notifications by ACP country. This will enable you to stay informed or alert your attention so you may contact COLEACP if required.Find out more about Europhyt:The EU rules governing the protection of plants are intended to protect crops, fruit, vegetables, flowers, ornamental plants and forests against parasites and harmful diseases (harmful organisms) and to prevent their introduction and propagation in the EU. The Member States of the EU are required to inspect and track the incidence of harmful organisms in imported products. The results of the surveillance programme are provided to the public via the Europhyt system at https://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/plant_health_biosecurity/europhyt/interceptions_en.Find out more about the RASFF alert system:Every Member State of the EU monitors pesticide residues, particularly on fruit and vegetables. The RASFF is informed whenever maximum pesticide residue levels have been exceeded. A RASFF notification is required when the food in question presents a risk to consumer health. The notifications are available at http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/rapidalert/rasff_portal_database_fr.htm
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New EU Plant Health Regulation: anticipating impacts for African, Caribbean and Pacific countries!
On 13 December 2016, the new EU Plant Health Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/2031) was introduced*. This is a major overhaul of the EU Plant Health legislation, which has been in place since 1977. It repeals and replaces the 7 existing Council Directives on harmful organisms, and becomes fully applicable on 13 December 2019. In the interim, a series of delegated and implementing acts will be adopted, and competent authorities and operators must adjust to the new rules.One of the main changes under the new regulation is that it addresses all pests – quarantine and non-quarantine - which will be categorised following risk assessment. This will include priority pests, which are Union Quarantine Pests with the most serious potential impact on the EU. They will be subject to enhanced measures including surveys, eradication action plans, and contingency plans. A list of priority pests will be adopted through a delegated act by the time the new regulation is fully applied in 2019.The regulation also introduces specific measures concerning imports, and the movement within the EU, of certain high risk commodities; this is a new level of precaution. Annexes III and IV of Directive 2000/29** under current rules will remain valid, and an additional list of high risk plants or plant products will be adopted.Finally, there will also be important changes concerning requirements for phytosanitary certificates, registration of professional operators, traceability of commodities, plant passports (planting material), and export, re-export and pre-export certificates.While the import of most plants and plant products from non-EU countries will in principle be allowed, under the new regulations they will be subject to more stringent conditions, and there could be some serious implications for trade. The main concerns include the introduction of the regulations itself, the requirement for phytosanitary certificates, and the listing of high risk commodities.During the lead up to the full application of the new EU Plant Health Regulation on 13 December 2019, COLEACP (via FFM) will work hand in hand with ACP representatives at the SPS Committee, competent authorities in ACP countries and industry representatives to avoid any loss or breaks in trade which would have a negative development impact.Contact COLEACP for more details at info@coleacp.orgPrevious news on this topic: “Stringent new European Union plant health regulations introduced”*http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32016R2031 ; http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-16-4310_en.htm**Annex III: Listing of harmful organisms whose introduction and spread within member states (or protected zones) is banned if they are present on certain plants or plant products; Annex IV: plants, plant products and other objects the introduction of which is prohibited in all member states ( or protected zones).