Benin: launch of the DeSIRA/SAFEVEG research project

 5 February 2021. Funded by the European Union and the Kingdom of the Netherlands for a total amount of 11.8 millioneuros; the SAFEVEG project, lasting 5 years, will be implemented in Benin, Mali and Burkina Faso.

It aims to stimulate the local production of safer vegetables, safe for the health of consumers, safe for producers and safe for the environment, by using bio-pesticides, integrated pest control methods, and by controlling the problems of microbial contamination throughout the value chain.

The objectives are to increase the consumption of vegetables in urban and peri-urban areas; increase the use of sustainable and climate-smart agricultural and postharvest practices; strengthen market gardening enterprises; strengthen the evidence base for effective policies and interventions that increase vegetable production and consumption; and capacity building of national agricultural research systems in vegetable research and development.

For Sylvia Hartleif, the Ambassador of the European Union in Benin, this program complements other support from the European Union already being implemented. It offers an approach that aims to find a local and national solution, but also build lasting partnerships between agricultural research institutions in Europe, Benin, Burkina-Faso and Mali.

References:

• Technical fiche of the SAFEVEG research project
• 06/02 Gouv. Benin Augmentation de la consommation de légumes au Bénin : Le projet SAFEVEG West Africa lancé
• 09/02 Matin Libre: Lancement Du Projet “Safeveg West Africa”: Pour Une Production Locale Des Légumes Sains
• 10/02 Délégation de l'Union européenne au Bénin Lancement du projet SAFEVEG West Africa pour une amélioration de la consommation de légumes au Bénin
• 12/02 l’Intégration Lancement du projet SAFEVEG West Africa : Pour une grande consommation de fruits et légumes