Agrifood Standards Workshop 2008

Private agrifood standards and a sustainable future for African agriculture 

27-28 March 2008, London

IIED and NRI jointly organised a technical workshop on ‘Private agrifood standards and a sustainable future for African agriculture' held on the 27th and 28th of March 2008 in central London. This workshop presented the recent research findings on private standards in horticulture and sought ways to go forward.

Studies conducted by IIED and NRI as part of the DFID-funded project ‘Private agrifood standards and small-scale growers in Africa' show that there are no easy answers and deeper analysis alerts us to the complexity of both rural horticultural systems and their potential solutions. Private standards are costly on one hand, but for those who can remain in these trading relationships, there are net benefits that exceed these financial costs.

This technical workshop brought together researchers, practitioners and implementers to investigate ways forward that allow compliant produce to supply European retail food markets and in doing so enable trade to contribute to development worldwide. The workshop aimed to identify ways in which governments, standards-setters, the private sector and the donor community could work together to achieve these symbiotic aims.

Follow-up from the workshop coming soon.

Full agenda

DAY 1 - CHAIR : DAGMAR MITHOEFER

09:00 - 9:30 OPENING SESSION

• Welcome speech - Dagmar Mithoefer

• Objectives and expected outcomes - James MacGregor

Session I: How important are standards in influencing the flows of fresh produce from Africa to retail and wholesale markets? 9:30 - 11:15

• Trends in private voluntary standards (GlobalGAP, national GAPs, company-specific standards) - Andrew Graffham

• Overview - changing patterns of governance in fresh produce supply chains - John Humpfrey

• Mapping the flows of African smallholder produce from Africa to UK wholesale and retail - Andrew Sergeant

• Focus on national schemes of good agricultural practices and their influence on fresh fruit and vegetables exports from Africa - empirical experiences from case studies - Ulrich Hoffmann

• Drivers:

How standards are driven by and affect consumers- Marian Garcia

Agrifood standards and the changing role of small-scale growers in supermarket supply - Steve Homer

11:15 - 11:30 Coffee break

11:30 - 13:00 • Open discussion

13:00 - 14:00 Lunch break

Session II: What does compliance with private standards for fresh produce mean for sustainable livelihoods in rural Africa, and what are the recent experiences of producers and exporters? 14:00 - 15:15

• Measuring the benefits and costs of compliance with private standards - Solomon Asfaw

• Costs and benefits of small-scale producer compliance with EurepGAP - survey findings from Kenya and Zambia - James MacGregor

• Experiences

What is the experience of African small-scale producers of private standards? - Morag Webb

Lessons learnt from the Kenyan horticultural development program - Timothy Mwangi

Impacts of organic certification on Ghanaian pineapple exporters and their family - James Cole

Kenyan farmers' decision-making and reasons for participation in, and subsequent withdrawal from GlobalGAP - Jeremy Cooper

15:15 - 15:30 Coffee break

15:30- 17:00 • Open discussion

17:00 - 17:15 • Wrap up summary- Chairman

DAY 2 - CHAIR : STEVE HOMER

Session III: What practical recommendations can we make to private sector and standards-setters to ensure pro-poor benefits are not diminished? 9:30 - 10:45

• Taking out costs of compliance while maintaining integrity of standards - Andrew Graffham

• Providing a voice for African farmers at GlobalGAP - Johannes Kern

• Assessing opportunities and challenges of EuregpGAP Option 2 to ensure sustainable development support to smallholders - lessons from development projects in Kenya and Ghana - Stefan Ouma

• Practical experience gained in certifying smallholders in Senegal and Kenya under EurepGAP (now GlobalGAP) - Tom Kuipers

10:45 - 11:00 Coffee break

11:00 - 12:30 • Open discussion

12:30 - 13:30 Lunch break

Session IV: What supply chain innovations are required to enable developing country producer to comply with PVS and sustainably access European markets? While this innovation faces standards-setters and the private sector, who drives this?13:30 - 14:45

• Retailers as partners in development? The Procurement and Development Forum, and buyer training - Steve Homer

• Challenging threats (e.g. food miles) - Bill Vorley

• Donor incentives for pro-poor procurement - Tim Leyland

• Can the WTO deal with private food safety standards? - Spencer Henson

• Experiences

The strategic and tactical options available to African fresh produce exporters to enable compliance with private agrifood standards - Steve Jaffee

African private sector view of supply chain innovations for compliance - Ruth Nyagah

14:45 - 15:00 Coffee break

15:00 - 16:30 • Open discussion

16:30 - 16:45 • Wrap up summary- Chairman

16:45 - 17:00 CLOSING REMARKS - Bill Vorley

Publications are available here

Agenda for the workshop available here