CHANGING HORTICULTURAL CHAINS TO IMPROVE PEOPLE'S LIVELIHOODS AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IN AFRICA

Incomes of a significant number of women and men farmers in Africa depend on agricultural exports. In ACP (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific) countries, 45 million people depend on horticultural exports mainly bought by supermarkets. The export of fresh fruit and vegetables destined for the European market is currently influenced by consumers’ concern about the quality of the product and the use of pesticides. The new European regulation on Maximal Residue Limits (MRL) and other pressure tools will marginalize African small-scale farmers much more. Food safety is also an important point for African farmers. Thus, sustainable methods applied on crops destined for exports will influence the production for local consumption.

Pesticide Action Network (PAN) United Kingdom in collaboration with PAN Africa, PAN Germany and Stichting Natuur Milieu (Netherlands) have started a 3-year project backed by the European Union. The project will consist in showing changes likely to be made towards eliminating poverty in African rural area through the increase of corporate accountability levels, information collection among farmers and the increase of European consumers’ capabilities to inform about ethical decisions concerning the acquisition of horticultural products.

The project aims to inform and motivate the key groups in Europe to support safer, fairer and more sustainable agricultural production methods that can improve livelihoods of small-scale African farmers and provide quality food as demanded by consumers. It is more specifically about:

• Using European consumers’ concern about food quality to raise awareness of pesticide hazards on health, the environment and farmers and agricultural workers’ livelihoods;
• Changing production and marketing systems that threaten to limit small-scale farmers to European markets through public and consumer awareness raising campaigns;
• Encouraging supermarkets, food industries and importers to support small-scale farmers that use sustainable pest management methods;
• Facilitating dialogue between stakeholders of the agricultural and food sector, consumers, development NGOs and donors in Europe and agricultural and governmental sectors in Africa in order to provide small-scale farmers with sustainable and appropriate pest management options

Three main results are mainly expected:

• Initiatives from people in charge of food industry showing opportunities and feasibility of support to African farmers exporting horticultural products on the basis of safer, ethical, health and environment-friendly practices.

• Acknowledgement of shared responsibilities in the dissemination of information promoting safer production methods to minimize exposure to hazardous pesticides and residues through the horticultural supply chain;
• Enhanced awareness of, and commitment to, pesticide-ethical related purchasing practices on the part of certain consumers in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands

Julienne Kuiseu
jkuiseu@pan-afrique.org