Quito, July 10. With the aim of maintaining the support provided by the European Union (EU) to Ecuador's agro-export sector, AL-INVEST Verde met in the Andean country with representatives of the EU and the public and private sectors to learn about the actions carried out jointly, the progress made and future opportunities for collaboration.
The meetings were attended by the ministries of Production, Foreign Trade, Investment and Fisheries; Agriculture and Livestock; Environment, Water and Ecological Transition; and Labour. Agrocalidad, the agency in charge of control and regulation for the protection and improvement of animal health, plant health and food safety, was also present.
During the meetings, the importance of adapting the agro-export sector to EU regulationssuch as the European Green Pact, the Farm to Fork Strategy or the regulation on deforestation and forest degradation free supply chains.
In this regard, the progress achieved in the areas of competence of the different ministries was highlighted, and the need to make progress on issues such as the traceabilitythe cooperativismthe legal access to landthe development of protocols for the FOOD SAFETYthe geolocation or the certification of compliance with the labour rights in family farming.
In recent years, the EU has supported the development of regulations for the implementation of traceability systems, the implementation of various pilot projects that favour adaptation to the aforementioned regulations, as well as the strengthening of spaces for governance and the coordination of actors.
After the meetings, it was decided that there is interest in maintaining this collaboration between Ecuador and the EU, through AL-INVEST Verde, to continue supporting actions to promote associativism and cooperativism in the sectors affected by the EU deforestation regulation, training in traceability systems and due diligence, and support for traceability processes in the cocoa value chain.
About AL-INVEST Verde
AL-INVEST Verde is a European Union (EU) programme whose main objective is to promote sustainable growth and job creation in Latin America by supporting the transition towards a low-carbon, resource-efficient and more circular economy. Through Component 2, led by FIIAPP in consortium with IILA, the programme provides assistance for strengthening public policy and multi-stakeholder dialogues on sustainable agricultural and value chains, environmental and labour standards, as well as sustainable trade and economic policy and regulatory frameworks.
