Please be informed that the ComMark programme came to an end on 31 December 2009. Should you have any queries or need further assistance , please contact the relevant sector staff member(s):
- Agribusiness Sector Specialist - Lucille Gavera (+27 83 290 1260) or Mike De Klerk (+27 82 452 7749)
- Textiles & Apparel Sector Specialist - Andy Salm (+353 8623 88523)
- Tourism Sector Specialist - Wouter Schalken (+264 8120 89650) or click here for information on ongoing tourism projects in Southern Africa
Mozambique Horticultural Sector: quick guide
What we do
Through this intervention, the RSP provides support to the Mozambique horticultural sector to improve its ability to understand and comply with commercial supermarket export standards such as EUREPGAP and organic regulations.
Public and private authorities in Mozambique have very little knowledge of EurepGap and Organic standards requirements. The widespread belief is that these are very complicated and costly standards to meet. This project aims to equip local officials and technicians (both public and private) with the knowledge and skills necessary to assist producers seeking compliance with international standards. Similarly, the project intends to increase the country's certification capability by training auditors.
The ultimate aim of the project is to bring about a real increase in the value of horticultural exports, from US$46-million in 2005 to US$52-million by 2009.
Beneficiaries of this intervention include 100,000 producers, small-scale farmers and workers.
Why this intervention
The key constraints to Mozambique's compliance with SPS standards are the lack of technical knowledge about them and the absence of national certification capability. International SPS standards and especially those required by the European legislation are quite complex and often it is unclear how to implement certain requirements. To facilitate compliance with these requirements, large buyers have developed their own protocols which they now impose to their suppliers. These standards are, in fact, an interpretation of the SPS requirements of international legislation, including CODEX. They embody the requirements of good agriculture and manufacturing practice (GAP and GMP) and also of HACCP principles.
Given that trade in agricultural goods is dominated by these large buyers, producers wishing to access foreign markets should comply with the standards defined or accepted by them. For these reasons, the project is designed to improve compliance with the private commercial standard EurepGap and with the Organic standard.
What we achieve
The development of four pilot projects provides those being trained with practical cases and also serves to demonstrate to international buyers and to other interested producers Mozambique's capacity to produce agricultural products certified to internationally recognised standards.
