Identification mission on implementing Good Agricultural Practices in horticultural value chains for domestic and export markets (2017)

Bureau Leeters conducted an identification mission to consult on the measures to be taken and actors to be involved in promoting a GAP framework in the Georgian agribusiness. This assignment was part of the Zrda project, funded by USAID and implemented by Chemonics. The project aims to enhance competitiveness of agricultural value chains. Many farmers and producers in the agricultural sector in Georgia cannot meet international market access requirements, such as Global GAP, which is the leading international standard for pre-harvest. Global GAP is the dot on the horizon for Georgian producers with the goal to access high-end markets. However, other pathways, such as localg.a.p. or any other (private) GAP standard, are more feasible for the short term. Jos Leeters advised on the way forward, how to come to a certification framework and which actors to involve. Furthermore, he gave specific attention to the potential of cultivation and exports of chili peppers to the Western European market.

Developing strategies for the CAREC member countries to facilitate horticulture value chains for trade in the region and beyond (2017)

Jos Leeters was one of the key resource persons during the Horticulture Value Chain Workshop in Tashkent, Uzbekistan in May 2017. The workshop was organized by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), The ADB Institute (ADBI) and the CAREC Institute (CI) to foster a better understanding and informed policy actions to improve productivity along global horticulture value chains. The Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation countries are strategically located at the crossroads of Asia and Europe, having the potential to increase trade across central Asia substantially. In the last three decades, trade in high value products, such as fruit and vegetables, has had the highest increase as compared to other food products. However, the highly perishable character, the food safety risks and the border crossing challenges, raise serious hurdles and inefficiencies. The workshop was meant to pave the road for increasing exports of primary and processed food products to Asian and European markets. Bureau Leeters contributed with workshop sessions and delivering a policy brief on the themes 'trade in fresh fruit and vegetables trade', 'sector development', 'marketing strategies' and 'cooperative models in fruit and vegetables value chains'.

Value chain study to identify potential export market windows for Lebanese fruit and vegetables (2016)

Training and coaching SME's in fresh fruits in the southwest of Vietnam to improve their export performance (since 2015)