Events and meetings
- First All-Africa Horticultural Congress
PIP participated at the First All Africa Horticultural Congress, which took place from 31st August to 3rd September 2009 in Nairobi. The event was backed by the International Society of Horticultural Science (ISHS) and Global Horticultural Initiative (GHI). The full programme of presentations can be seen at: http://www.globalhort.org/media/uploads/File/AAHC/AAHC_Final_Program(2).pdf.
The Congress was convened in response to the recognised need for a specific African event on horticulture that would allow the reporting of research projects and case studies, the identification of constraints and expectations, and the coordination of future efforts and strategies. The themes focused broadly on horticulture for improving livelihoods in Africa and the stated objectives were to:
- define the role and activities of the Africa Horticulture Council
- discuss opportunities for the next Congress (host and organisation)
- consider an African horticultural journal
- consider a regional platform for horticulture to enable sharing and the free flow of information
- strengthen collaboration between horticultural agencies
The draft Congress resolutions are now available at:
http://www.globalhort.org/news-events/all-africa-horticulture-congress/communique/
- CTA media forum: a meeting point to exchange on the NICTs in ACP countries
In recent weeks, the CTA (Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU) has launched a forum on the role played by the media in agricultural development in ACP countries. The is in preparation for the international seminar to be held on this topic in Brussels from 12-15 October. Testimonials from forum users on the value of the NITCs (New Information and Communication Technologies) in agricultural development are of particular interest to the PIP.
The Programme is currently in an exploratory phase and looking for media solutions that can be used within the PIP 2 framework to communicate with a greater degree of interaction with ACP beneficiaries, while continuing to disseminate information in an economically and environmentally sustainable manner.
The positions and views expressed in the forum, the concrete examples given, and the quality of the forum moderation, have generated many ideas and new contacts. These will be followed up in the months ahead.
- 13th CTA briefing on SMEs in the agricultural sector
On 23 September 2009, the 13th CTA briefing session was held at the Borschette Centre on "Being more competitive in a globalised context: challenges and opportunities for SMEs in the ACP agricultural sector".
The Briefing provided an opportunity to remind participants of the effects of the financial and food crises on businesses in developing countries, and to present a range of opportunities likely to emerge for those local SMEs that are innovative and able to remain competitive.
Presentations were given by several support programmes working with SMEs in ACP countries. Discussions centred around support for investment, growth and development, and gaining access to regional and exports markets.
PIP contributed to this briefing by inviting Mr Hasit Shah, a Kenyan producer/exporter and PIP beneficiary, to share his experiences. He gave an overview of his company and considered the factors that have contributed to its success in the exports arena – innovation, permanent reinvestment, market access, the quality of the operating environment for Kenyan SMEs – which was much appreciated.
According to Mr Shah, General Director of Sunripe, a Kenyan horticultural export company:
"The Sunripe Field To Fork Story demonstrated how we have built up the business to one that supplies 25 countries worldwide with fresh produce daily from Kenya. We talked about the growth and the environment and factors necessary to achieve this. This includes the policy framework, the legislation, the support industries, the financial environment, infrastructure, the hard working and dedicated team at Sunripe and the drive to be the best horticulture company from Africa."
Read the full report of the Briefing at: http://bruxellesbriefings.net/
- PIP becomes a member of the CTA Trade Advisory Group
From 9-11 September CTA held the first meeting of the ‘Advisory Group and Partner Network’ of its Trade Programme in Brussels. Fifty participants from ACP and EU countries gathered together to address issues of agricultural trade. The aim was to promote exchange between those involved in cooperation programmes to develop ACP trade.
PIP took part in this forum and it provided an opportunity to work together to examine the terms and conditions governing access to national, regional and international markets for ACP producers/exporters, as well as how to cope with their constant evolution. The impact of European private standards on the establishment of national and regional standards was also considered.
The sharing of experiences and future networking between members of the group will be made possible by an Internet platform created by CTA, and by following up the many contacts that were made during the workshop.
- GlobalGap 2009 Tour Nairobi
PIP participated in the recent GLOBALGAP Tour 2009 in Nairobi. This included the regional National Technical Working Group (NTWG) and Smallholder Task Force pre-meetings on 14th September, as well as the main GLOBALGAP event.
To date Kenya is the only ACP country with a NTWG. PIP is partnering with the DFID-NRI Smallholder SPS Project in the search for routes to make private standards more locally appropriate. This includes support for the establishment of ACP National Technical Working Groups and National Interpretation Guidelines. To this end PIP financed participation at the GLOBALGAP event by representatives from Ghana, Uganda, and Ivory Coast, who are considering establishing their own NTWG.
At the Smallholder Task Force Meeting presentations were given by Kerstin Uhlig of GLOBALGAP and Stephen Mbithi of FPEAK, the new Smallholder Ambassador. They described the various communication routes put in place by GLOBALGAP in order to take smallholder issues on board. This includes the GLOBALGAP website (http://www.globalgap.org), which can be used by anyone to give feedback on aspects of the standard that create difficulties for smallholder certification. Dr Mbithi summarised feedback so far given to the Sector Committee on smallholder issues (http://www.africa-observer.info/documents/Summary_of-Smallholder-recomme...), and the final decisions of the sector Committee, which can be seen on the GLOBALGAP website (http://www.africa-observer.info/documents/Excerpt-SC-FV-Minutes-Smallholder-Ambassador.pdf).
Dr Mbithi also outlined the Africa Observer consultation structure. At the present time this relies on the Africa Horticultural Council (AHC) framework, which currently has 10 members, each of which is a producer/exporter association. This structure is argued to be better “at actually representing the voice of farmers”. However, there was much discussion on this point as to whether it will capture issues arising in West African (particularly Francophone) countries, or those without effective producer/exporter associations. For further updates on the Africa Ambassador initiative, or to provide feedback, see the website: http://www.africa-observer.info/
At the main GLOBALGAP event an update was given on the state of play with the revision process. GLOBALGAP Version 4 will be introduced in October 2010 at the London Conference, to be implemented from 2011 onwards. The Nairobi 2009 Tour was the first of a series of regional meetings in which GG will consult on V4, and officially launches the second consultation period, which will continue until mid-November. Feedback can be given via the GLOBALGAP website.
