Two new technical guides for capsicum exporters – Caribbean and Uganda
COLEACP has published two new technical guideline documents for national authorities and exporters of capsicum in response to the new EU plant health regulations.
Published in August, “Guidelines on the export of fresh capsicum from the Caribbean: New plant health rules from the European Union” is intended for national authorities and capsicum export sectors to help orient the development of national action plans and dossiers to meet the new EU rules. The document provides a framework to guide the process, and outlines the various elements that can be incorporated into a national approach to managing the regulated pests on capsicum – pepper weevil (Anthonomus eugenii), tomato fruit borer (Neoleucinodes elegantalis), fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) and the tomato psyllid (Bactericera cockerelli). It identifies the information to be provided, and actions to be taken, at all stages from production to export, by both public and private sectors.
Specifically for Uganda, “False codling moth, Thaumatotibia leucotreta, for coaching sessions for pepper growers in Uganda”, published in September, responds to the new rules stipulating conditions that exporting countries must meet before exports of capsicum are allowed. Meeting these new rules requires immediate and concerted action from producers, exporters and national plant protection organisations –if there are any interceptions of these pests in exported capsicum, the EU is expected to react and impose more stringent measures. The US authorities also consider that introduction of false codling moth could cause serious economic losses. This leaflet aims to help growers address the problem so that they can maintain access to European, US and other export markets.
COLEACP market study of fruit and vegetables from sub-Saharan Africa
The new market study of fruit and vegetables from SSA is now available to COLEACP members, partners and collaborators in hard copy and online. The report finds that the historical export market for fruit and vegetables from SSA, the European Union, has not been the primary or most dynamic market in terms of volume growth for several years now. East Asia and SSA itself, with average annual growth rates of around 10% over the past 15 years, have become the leading and most promising markets. However, the EU remains an attractive export market because of the high value of fruit and vegetables from SSA.
COLEACP country websites go live
Five new COLEACP country websites are now online:
- Caribbean region
- Pacific region
- Burundi
- Sierra Leone
- Tanzania
While the home pages are open access, the deeper content is limited to COLEACP members and partners. The websites include news items; live information and data on the horticultural sector in the region or country; as well as information on COLEACP’s specific local objectives and activities. These five new websites have been added to the existing set of country websites, bringing the total number to 25. More are in the pipeline.
Growing Young People
For International Youth Day on 12 August, COLEACP asked young people in ACP horticulture to share their vision for sustainable agriculture, published via our increasingly active COLEACP YouTube channel. We invited young people from different backgrounds in ACP countries to share their commitment to sustainable agriculture. COLEACP aims to build the capacities of young people to enable them to become more involved across all sectors, especially in the agricultural and agri-food sector. See our young contributors from the Bahamas, Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria and Togo here.
Growing People, Growing Business
Also on YouTube, COLEACP’s weekly “Growing People, Growing Business” series began in July and has just published it tenth short video. The most recent contributions were: