PIP : key figures

The official launch date of the PIP was in 2001
PIP works in 28 countries in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific (“ACP countries”)
From 2001 to 2009 (PIP Phase 1), the Programme had an impact on around 83% of fresh fruit & vegetables trade flows : companies supported by PIP, installed and implemented food safety risk management systems for produce sourced from over 150,000 smallholders.
Over 200 ACP service providers and ± 2000 middle managers have been trained by the PIP and , today, locally trained specialists have largely ( >85%) replaced EU experts in the delivery of PIP technical assistance to producers and exporters.
PIP developed 30 crop protocols and good practice guides for the main ACP horticultural crops (90% of exports) to facilitate compliance with EU food safety regulations and pesticide maximum residue limits (MRLs).

PIP : key dates

11 July 2001: The PIP’s official launch date. The programme’s aim was to give a helping hand to players within the ACP horticultural industry, forced to adjust to new European pesticide standards. Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) were being imposed on ACP agricultural production, threatening exports to the EU. The PIP initiative was the brainchild of the Council of ACP/EU Ministers, which stressed during its meeting in Cotonou on 23 June 2000, the importance of setting up this kind of Programme. The PIP was initially funded by a financing agreement between the European Commission and the ACP Secretariat, then by a grant contract between the European Commission and the COLEACP, an inter-professional network set up to forge partnerships between exporters from African, Caribbean and Pacific states and European importers and to work together to promote sustainable horticultural trade between the ACP group of states and the European Union (EU). Initially designed for a 5-year period, the PIP was granted a 29,122 million euro budget by the European Development Fund (EDF).

June 2005: Mid-term evaluation, whose results proved to be globally very satisfactory. This provided an opportunity to review the logical framework and to recommend an extension of the programme, accompanied by a budgetary extension in order to give the PIP the time and resources to finalise its ongoing work. The completion date of phase 1 of the PIP was postponed until 30 June 2008 and the amount of the EDF subsidy increased to 33,805 million euros. The Programme extended its scope for intervention to food safety in the fruit and vegetable industry.

April 2008: Final evaluation of phase 1 of the Programme. The PIP was active in 28 ACP States and covered 80% of the ACP horticultural export industry. During the PIP’s 7-year existence, the ACP maintained its market share in the European Union. The PIP could therefore claim to have globally achieved its objectives, and was cited as an example of good cooperation practices by the WTO and the OECD

July 2008: The Programme entered into a one year transition phase and was granted a budgetary extension of 5 million euros.

At close of PIP Phase 1, ACP suppliers faced additional challenges, with new EU food safety regulations that could influence the future availability of plant protection products. More importantly, the market itself had begun to make new and different demands on suppliers.

October 2009 : a second phase of the PIP programme was launched to enable producers and exporters of fresh fruit & vegetables from ACP countries to meet and adapt to the new market requirements and maintain their foothold in the EU marketplace. Besides food safety, the remit of PIP’s activities has been enlarged to also include issues such as the respect of the environment and ethical production/trade. The considerable progress made in improving production for export also benefits and should be a factor in the modernization of local agriculture.