Togo: EU-backed project, PROCAT, produces significant results in the pineapple sector

Agriculture

Thursday, 08 December 2022 15:44

Togo: EU-backed project, PROCAT, produces significant results in the pineapple sector

(Togo First) - Thanks to the PROCAT, Togo’s pineapple sector recorded major improvements in the last four years.

Indeed, according to the national team coordinating the sector, due to the project which aimed to make the pineapple industry more competitive, output, processed volumes, jobs, and exports (of dry, fresh, and processed pineapples) grew significantly over the period.

In detail, the output soared from 27,133 t in 2017 to 44,391 t in 2022, up 76%. Meanwhile, the volume processed by certified plants increased from 2,133 t in 2018 to 4,279 t in 2022. The country exported 6,460 t of fresh, dry, and pineapple juice in 2022, against 3,386 t in 2018.

Regarding jobs created in the sector, “We moved from about 900 jobs when the project (ed. note: PROCAT) began in 2018 and now that the project ends, four years later, we have exceeded 5,000 jobs, with precisely 1,502 jobs created for women in Togo’s whole pineapple chain,” said Kossi Apedo, Coordinator of the PROCAT.

Though the PROCAT came to an end, measures have been taken to ensure "sufficient availability of pineapple rejects so that growers who want to increase their production area can do so," the coordinator said.

The PROCAT was financed by the European Union (EU) and the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) to the tune of €5.95 million. Its main goal was to make the local private sector more competitive and help create decent jobs in the pineapple sector while improving the living conditions of beneficiaries.

Esaïe Edoh

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