With the occasion of the 5th steering committee of the ACP Fish II programme, held on 5th of February in Brussels, CTA Brussels met with Georges Mba-Asseko, Expert in maritime, coastal and fisheries ecosystems at the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), to discuss the situation of fisheries in Central Africa, and the opportunity of the collaboration with the EU, especially in the context of the programme.

The next Brussels Development Briefing will tackle the topic of ‘Food, geography, traditions: Protecting agricultural traditional products’, by looking at the challenges and opportunities for protecting traditional knowledge and registered agricultural products in a sustainable way.

The Obama administration is proposing a major overhaul of food aid that would for the first time put America’s overseas policy in line with European practices of providing cash and other alternatives to bulk shipments.

A trademark system which is used to protect Europe’s finest wines, cheeses and hams - the trade protection system called Geographic Indications (GIs) - could be soon used to protect a South African red tea, locally known as rooibos (Afrikaans for red bush), as a French firm is trying to secure the exclusive rights to market it in France.

There is growing optimism that the countries of Southern Africa are within months of concluding negotiations with the European Union on the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) deal, after years of hesitant progress, the EU ambassador in Pretoria (South Africa), Roeland van de Geer, told IPS. “This could be the breakthrough year,” van de Geer added.