africapractice gives African Horticultural Exports a Fresh Push
Author: Jo Crawshaw
Date: 31/10/2008
Last week africapractice hosted a successful meeting to discuss the potential threats posed to African fresh produce exports in light of developments such as aviation being brought under the European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). africapractice now plans to establish a task force dedicated to the matter.
Convened in association with Kenya’s High Commission, the meeting was an opportunity for attendees to share concerns with regards to the injustice of African fresh produce exports incessantly finding themselves at the losing end of policy shifts and heightened (but in many cases ill-informed) environmental consciousness in Europe. It included representatives from those engaged with the topic from both the public and private sectors
The overarching theme that seemed to resonate among those present was fairness: fairness of policy, fairness of taxation and fair presentation of the facts. Three main areas were identified as requiring specific focus with regard to framing the argument against certain threats. These included: 1) Environmental concerns, both of ‘green’ African farming practices and the low carbon footprint of fruit, vegetables and flowers compared with meat, 2) the nutritional benefits of a diet incorporating a wide variety of fruit and vegetables, and 3) the developmental advantages in terms of the jobs and livelihoods sustained by the horticulture sector in Africa, including their contribution to poverty reduction.
africapractice will now turn its efforts, in partnership with the Kenya High Commission, to establishing a task force to protect and promote African Fresh Produce Exports, combining the collective skills, knowledge and contacts of the various parties involved. This task force will engage in marketing, science/research and public affairs activities to defend and promote the sector.
For more information please contact Jo Crawshaw on jcrawshaw@africapractice.com