Duration:

Two years

Location:

Nature of Project:

Market Access and Market Development

Estimated total Cost:

STDF/WTO Grant:

US$ 593,460

Co-financing:

US$ 3,343,700

Counterpart Financing:

US$ 2,326,949

Project Executing Agency (PEA):

Fonds Interprofessionnel pour la Recherche et le Conseil Agricole (FIRCA), Côte d'Ivoire

Project Supervisory Body:

International Cocoa Organization (ICCO)

Project Starting Date:

January 2011

Completion Date:

December 2012

Brief Description

The main activities of the project will include creating awareness among cocoa farmers and other stakeholders along the cocoa supply chain about SPS standards in cocoa;  enhancing the capacity of relevant stakeholders to apply the rational pesticides use component of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and Good Warehousing Practices (GWP); enhancing the institutional capacity in-country to monitor and enforce adherence to SPS standards in cocoa; and strengthen regional collaboration to support institutional capacity in individual countries to apply SPS standards in cocoa.

Project Objectives

The overall objective of this project is to maintain market access for cocoa beans from Africa through capacity building in Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards (SPS), in order to produce good quality cocoa that complies with the relevant international regulations and legislations on pesticides residues and other harmful substances.

Implementation Status

The project was formally launched at a regional workshop held in Yaoundé, Cameroon, from 7-10 June 2011.  The workshop was attended by 90 participants from Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Nigeria, Togo and Senegal, as well as experts from Germany, Australia, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Trinidad and Tobago, including representatives from STDF, EDES/COLEACP, CropLife Africa, UNIDO and the ICCO Secretariat.  A website has been set up (www.icco.org/sps) to present information on project activities and SPS regulations.