HortiFresh – Commercial Fruit & Vegetable Sector Development in West Africa
Healthy and Quality Fruits & Vegetables through New Ways of Doing BusinessH ortiFresh is a programme supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands which has prioritized commercial agriculture in its strategic plan of moving from aid to trade. The programme’s mission is to establish “a sustainable and internationally competitive fruit and vegetable sector that contributes to inclusive economic growth, food and nutrition security” in Ghana and Ivory Coast.
The programme succeeds the GhanaVeg programme that was implemented from 2013 to 2017 with the aim of developing a competitive and sustainable vegetable sector in Ghana. GhanaVeg supported 30 innovative projects that were implemented by lead companies. The programme worked on a number of issues in the enabling environment, ranging from phytosanitary issues to food safety, addressing environmental concerns, and increasing public awareness on health and nutrition. GhanaVeg organized 20 well-attended Business Platform meetings in Accra, Kumasi and Tamale; which further reinforced sector partnerships and business to business trade deals. HortiFresh will further build on these achievements and will continue these activities.
Programme Composition and Reach
The HortiFresh programme consists of two components: fruits and vegetables. In Ghana, attention will be given to the fruit and vegetable sectors while focusing on other regional fruit supply chain dimensions in the surrounding countries like Ivory Coast.
Programme Objectives
The objectives include improving productivity in the vegetable sector; facilitating more efficient markets, including linking vegetable producers and other value chain operators with the Dutch private sector; improving the business climate and further professionalizing the value chain for vegetable production and consumption in Africa. The programme aims to reach 15,000 farmers and increase their productivity by 20% by 2021.
What the programme seeks to achieve
A competitive and innovative high-value fruit and vegetable sector
HortiFresh West Africa supports the sector through activities and funds that contribute to: increasing the value of exports, both to the EU and to regional markets; improving quality and value-added in the domestic market, aiming at reducing imports. This will be achieved through business partnerships and cluster development activities focusing on innovation and scaling. Importantly, it will stimulate the banking sector to develop tailored financial products for the horticulture sector.
Inclusive and sustainable growth of the fruit and vegetable sector
HortiFresh will create opportunities for women and youth to engage in the horticulture sector. In addition, it will contribute to food and nutrition security. The aspect of sustainability will focus mostly on increasing the long-term economic viability and the environmental impact of the activities and enhancing the resilience of the sector to various kind of shocks be it financial or climate related.
A conducive business climate
HortiFresh aims at improving the business climate for SMEs and international companies active in the F&V sector of West Africa. The programme particularly focuses on the existing platforms of the Export Taskforce in Ghana and the activities of Ghana Green Label. The programme will address other regulatory issues in the area of: imports, registration of crop protection products and food safety.