Strengthening capacity and promoting the exchange of best practices in the area of value addition to origin-linked products among different countries in the region fosters south-south cooperation, develops a network of actors and ensures efficiency and sustainability in this field.

REGIONAL EXCHANGES

Regular exchanges with PAMPAT’s twin project in Tunisia will take place during project implementation. While Morocco has an established policy to promote typical food products – it has already mapped the main products of terroir, and is promoting several geographical indications – Tunisia is in the early stages of actively promoting typical food products.

Participants from Tunisia recently attended the Moroccan Contest for Traditional Products held in Rabat in November 2014 to familiarize themselves with the contest’s organizational procedures. Besides getting involved in the contest preparatory phases and testing, the study tour to Morocco has given the Tunisian counterparts the opportunity to discuss with their Moroccan peers the integration of the contest into the national strategy to support and promote typical food products.

Thanks to this exchange, the Tunisian counterparts have initiated an in-depth analysis and mapping of their main typical food products and have decided to organize a national contest in 2017/2018. Tools and procedures used for the Moroccan contest will be adapted for the Tunisian contest. Regular exchanges between the two countries are strategic to allow Tunisia to capitalize on the Moroccan experience and lessons learnt.

 Exchange of information and best practices also revolves around value addition and commercialization of the cactus prickly pear (since this value chain is targeted by both projects) and the use of Geographical Indications and collective branding in promoting origin-linked products.

 TRAININGS IN WESTERN AFRICAN COUNTRIES

Increasing the capacity of Western African countries to promote and commercialize typical and origin-linked products is also one of PAMPAT’s key objectives..

In this context, between 2013 and 2014, the PAMPAT co-organized, in partnership with FAO, REDD, CTA and OAPI, four training sessions targeting different Western African countries. The main themes addressed during the trainings were: the identification and inventory of origin-linked products, the creation of Origin Consortia and the use and promotion of Geographical Indications. More than 80 people (from public and private local and national institutions) have been trained.

FORUM ORIGIN, DIVERSITY AND TERRITORIES (ODT)

PAMPAT is also co-organizing the Origin, Diversity and Territories Forum. Two editions of the ODT Forum have already been organized (one in Geneva, in December 2013, and one in Turin, in October 2014). The ODT Forum is a unique opportunity for sharing experiences and creating a network among countries involved in structuring and promoting origin-linked products.

More information on the ODT Forum’s objectives, results and thematic groups are available here.

The ODT Forum held a one-day conference at Expo Milano 2015 within the Swiss Pavilion on September 10th. The programme can be downloaded here.

STAR PACK CONTEST

Star Pack is a packaging innovation contest for students launched in Lebanon by LibanPack (the Lebanese Packaging Center, founded in 2008 through the joint support of the UNIDO – MACLE project, funded by SECO). LibanPack is a nonprofit private sector association representing stakeholders from the food and packaging sectors in Lebanon (manufacturers, users, converters, suppliers, designers, testing institutions, packaging specialists, providers of training and educational programs and students). Its mission is to address key issues across the packaging value chain, from improving packaging and labeling to increasing market access of Lebanese products for export markets.

In this context, the PAMPAT project will promote the establishment of a Star Pack contest dedicated to students and universities in the two PAMPAT target countries (Morocco and Tunisia), integrating the packaging dimension to the market access services provided by the project.