European Parliament

08 September: Committeeon Agriculture & Rural Development

Council of the EU

07 September: Agriculture & Fisheries Council

Other

10 September: "The EU, Africa and new donors" conference at DG DevCo INFOPOINT

12 September : United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation

ACP Secretariat

***17 September: BB42. "Women entrepreneurs – key players in ACP agribusiness development"***

The next Brussels Development Briefing on “Women entrepreneurs – key players in ACP agribusiness development” will take place on Thursday, 17 September 2015 at the ACP Secretariat (451 Avenue Georges Henri, Brussels, Belgium). Women make essential contributions to agriculture and rural economic activities in ACP countries but still face limitations in integrating the agribusiness sector and upscaling their businesses. This briefing will look at successful business cases led by women entrepreneurs and analysing the drivers of success. To attend the Briefing, please make sure you register.

The CTA Brussels News Service is providing EU-ACP policy news since 2004, on various key thematic areas. In addition to this news service, we also provide news on ACP intra-regional trade, and south-south cooperation (investments of emerging countries' in agriculture in the ACP regions). The main stories for the week are featured in our newsletter and all stories can be found in our Regional Trade and the South-South cooperation sections.

The United Kingdom’s Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Lyme Bay ship has been rerouted to assist humanitarian relief efforts in Dominica following the destruction of Tropical Storm Erika. The British ship is stocked with a range of disaster relief stores including bedding, shelter, torches, and stretchers, along with a Lynx Mk 8 helicopter and large supplies of fresh water. RFA Lyme Bay is stationed in the Caribbean and acts as a first responder in the event of natural disaster in the region.“It is clear that Dominica has borne the brunt of this storm, with a number of deaths already confirmed and hundreds of people made homeless,” said Justice Greening, Secretary of State for the UK’s Department for International Development.

A new report, which examines 74 Africa-EU food security research projects implemented between 1998 and 2014, shows that the number of hungry people in Africa increased from 175 million to 239 million between 2010 and 2012. According to CAAST-Net Plus - the EU-funded consortium that advances collaboration between Sub-Saharan Africa and the EU in research and innovation for global challenges - this situation requires effective global cooperation in science, technology and innovation. Judith Ann Francis, senior programme coordinator, science and technology policy at the Technical Centre for Rural and Agricultural Cooperation (CTA) is the lead author of the report which identifies  the gaps in the capacities and funding for Africa-Europe food security research collaborations.