Table of Contents

I. INTRODUCTION

II. THE SUB-GROUP ON TROPICAL FRUIT AS AN ICB

III. CFC ACTIVITIES THROUGH THE SGTF

A. African Fruit Fly Initiative

B. "Orphan" commodities

APPENDIX

I. INTRODUCTION

1. This document reports on the activities of the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) relating to tropical fruits and on the role of the Sub-Group on Tropical Fruits (SGTF) in promoting the development of the sector.

2. In order to benefit from access to CFC funding for development projects, selected intergovernmental commodity groupings have been designated as International Commodity Bodies (ICB) by the CFC. At its First Session held in Pattaya, Thailand in May 1998, the SGTF considered that it should seek to obtain ICB status. It developed and agreed on its statement of priorities for the overall development and improvement of the tropical fruit sector (Document CCP: BA/TF 99/15), and requested the Secretariat to apply to the CFC for ICB status on its behalf. Furthermore, it also agreed on an inter-sessional mechanism, composed of the Bureau, for the development and submission of projects to the Fund.

II. THE SUB-GROUP ON TROPICAL FRUIT AS AN ICB

3. At its Twenty-sixth Meeting (27-29 October 1998) the Executive Board of the CFC designated the Sub-Group as the ICB responsible for tropical fruits other than bananas for which an ICB already existed.

4. As an ICB, the SGTF meets the following CFC criteria:

• is established on an intergovernmental basis,
• is concerned on a continuing basis with trade, production and consumption aspects of the commodity in question,
• comprises consumer and producer countries representing an adequate share of exports and imports of the commodity concerned,
• has an effective decision making process, and
• is in a position to properly discharge its responsibilities in conjunction with projects (mainly project identification; preparation; mobilization, confirmation, and follow-up of co-financing; and submission, monitoring and supervision).

III. CFC ACTIVITIES THROUGH THE SGTF

A. AFRICAN FRUIT FLY INITIATIVE

5. At its First Session, the SGTF endorsed the project concept African Fruit Fly Initiative as meeting its overall development priorities. However, it agreed that the proposal needed further elaboration to identify those components that might be submitted for possible funding to the CFC. The redeveloped proposal was sent to the CFC which provided the following observations:

1. While the project's overall objectives fell within the Strategy of the ICB and were consistent with CFC objectives, its specific objectives were focused on a long-term programme of research. In particular, the specific objectives set for the project, its two-phased approach (the first phase for a duration of five years and the second for a further unspecified period) and the large amount of money required were clear indications of the costly and long-term nature of the project which made it unsuitable for CFC funding.
2. As indicated in the project profile, a lot of research work had been carried out and control methods already developed in other tropical regions of the world. It was considered that the methods of control found to be effective in other tropical regions should be easily adaptable to the conditions in Africa without such a long-term and expensive research programme. Also, some of the control methods applied appeared to be available in the African region itself, including in Côte d'Ivoire and South Africa.
3. The volume and value of mango exports from Africa was claimed to be second in the world. Most of the major exporting countries such as Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Madagascar, Mali and South Africa were not mentioned in the project document as having problems. Of the major exporters, it was only Kenya which was a target country. Other target countries were insignificant producers. It was also considered that the non-participation of the relevant countries deprived the project of valuable information and essential experience for appropriate technology development for the region.
4. Given the very high co-financing expected from IFAD and various other sources as well as the project executing and supervision role which the CFC assumed would be carried out by IFAD, the visibility of the Fund would undoubtedly be disproportionately small. As the proposal reported that major project activities were already ongoing, the co-financing indicated might have already been committed and put to use, rather than constitute a net increment to development resources.
5. In view of the foregoing, it was recommended that the CFC should not commit itself to providing funds for the research component, but once the research achieved results, CFC support should be directed to the evaluation and dissemination of the technology.

6. Given the CFC's views concerning the project proposal, particularly in regard to the supervisory function (mentioned in d), it is not clear whether the SGTF should continue to seek funding through the CFC. Basically there would appear to be three options open to the Sub-Group in relation to this proposal:

• re-write various components and re-submit them to the Fund for consideration; this would mean a re-drafting of the proposal to place more emphasis on the testing, adaptation and validation of the available technologies and to separate them more visibly from the research part. The marketing component should then be developed in greater detail (project summary along these lines is appended).
• wait until the research component is completed (5 years) and then apply to the CFC for funding of the dissemination phase. This involves only the dissemination of the new technology(ies), and has minimal funding requirements which may in fact not be an obstacle.
• withdraw the request for CFC funding and pursue alternative routes for the implementation of the project while maximising the potential benefits for the tropical fruits sector by submitting alternative proposals to the CFC more in line with that organization's priorities.

7. Aside from substantive issues, the relevance of the first 2 options to the Sub-Group depends very much on whether the Sub-Group is given a role by the CFC in the project (the supervisory function) and is a recognized partner along with the CFC and the project executing agency. If the SGTF is not given such a role then option 3 would appear the most relevant for the Sub-Group.

B. "ORPHAN" COMMODITIES

8. At its 62nd Session in January 1999, the Committee on Commodity Problems (CCP), requested its IGGs having ICB status to examine the request of the CFC that selected "orphan" commodities be adopted to allow commodity development measures to be pursued in line with CFC procedures. Among the commodities listed as "orphans" by the CFC were a number which in fact already fall within the competence of the SGTF (pineapples, avocados, mangoes, passion fruit, papayas, guavas, litchis, mangosteen, durian and star fruit). However, some others were not covered by an IGG or other intergovernmental organization. These included spices, cut flowers, cashewnuts, essential oils and medicinal herbs.¹ In considering the possible extension of their commodity coverage for development work only, the IGGs were requested to take account various criteria including the relationship of a particular orphan commodity with other commodities in the SGTF, trade value (Table 1) and/or the contribution to food security particularly for least developed countries. The Sub-Group is requested to consider this request and provide suggestions/recommendations, which will be reported to the CCP at its 63rd Session, along with any other relevant information concerning the programme implications of the Sub-Group's recommendations.

Table 1. Estimated trade value of selected orphan commodities² - 1997

APPENDIX

Objective: To introduce environmentally friendly and affordable technologies for the management of the African fruit fly, which is a major pest of fruits in Africa. These technologies would contribute to enhancing the long-term competitiveness and prospects of mangoes from Africa, which in turn would promote sustained livelihood, food security, poverty alleviation and human resources development.

Activities sought to be supported by CFC (applied aspects and technology transfer):

1. assessment of economic impact of the African fruit fly on mango production in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Côte d'Ivoire (other countries may be included);
2. adaptation of bait-based techniques for management of fruit fly attacking mango and other tropical fruits in Africa (the techniques are already under use in South Africa and other countries in Asia and Latin America, but need to be adapted to the target African fruit flies and farming conditions in the target countries);
3. trials and evaluation of fruit fly management packages in smallholder fields in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda;
4. introduction of post-harvest fruit fly control methods (already under use in South Africa and other countries in Asia and Latin America) to enhance product quality and accessibility to export markets;
5. technology dissemination through training and regional workshops;
6. facilitating the establishment of quarantine services in Africa by providing tools for the identification of the fruit fly, training quarantine officers and providing comprehensive and relevant information to the regional policy making bodies;
7. contribution to the project management, monitoring and progress reporting.

Activities already supported by other donors (co-financing by: IFAD, USAID, USDA, BADEA) (research on pest biology, technology development):

1. surveys to describe distribution and host range of the target fruit fly
2. research on biology (ecology, behaviour and chemical communication) of the target fruit fly
3. exploration for and development of new attractants for the African fruit fly
4. exploration for and development of biological control agents (natural enemies and pathogens)
5. development of taxonomic tools for identification of the African fruit fly
6. adjustment of the parameters for post-harvest treatment of mango according to biology (heat tolerance) of the target African fruit fly and mango varieties grown the target countries
7. advanced training (M.Sc. & Ph.D. level) and regional workshops;
8. project management, monitoring and progress reporting.

Contribution to the target commodity development:

The project will contribute to the target commodity development through:

• development and transfer of technology and know-how, by:
• adaptation of existing technologies to new applications (technologies developed to control other fruit fly groups will be adapted for control of the African fruit fly);
• transferring existing technologies into new geographic areas (relevant technologies developed and used in Latin America, South Africa, USA and Indian Ocean Islands will be transferred to East Africa)
• technology development in cases where no technology exists (fruit fly pest status and distribution will have to be described and effective attractants for monitoring and control of some of the African fruit fly will have to be developed);
• improvements of productivity and quality, by:
• reduction of losses in the quality and quantity of commodities during production and harvest (fruit fly management methods will be adapted, validated and implemented in the pilot project areas in East Africa, and made broadly available to other African countries)
• strengthening the competitive position of mangoes from Africa through higher productivity and reduction of post-harvest losses. (By the adaptation and transfer of technology, fruit growers from the pilot project areas will be able to manage fruit fly with limited or no pesticide use and, have little difficulty therefore, in complying with stringent quality and quarantine requirements of import markets)
• improving the marketing capacity (through physical market development and enhancement of market infrastructure and support service which should facilitate private sector initiatives and hence increase the marketing capacity of the fruit producers from the pilot project areas.)

Sponsoring institution : FAO-Intergovernmental Sub-Group on Tropical Fruits

Project Executing Agency: International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE)

Supervisory Body: FAO-Intergovernmental Sub-Group on Tropical Fruits

Location of the project: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, other African countries will share the results of the project through dissemination activities

Estimated cost: US$5 209 500 - the whole project (five years)

US$2 428 700 - the first phase (2 years)

US$2 780 800 - the second phase (3 years)

Financing sought from the Fund (for the first 2-year phase):

US$1 000 000

Co-financing committed/ received from other Donors (for the first 2-year phase):

US$1 000 000 (IFAD)

US$280 000 (USDA, USAID, BADEA)

Financial gap to be filled by other donors (negotiations underway):

US$148 700

Counterpart contribution (from the Project Executing Agency and other technical agencies involved and from the participating countries):

US$2 500 000

1 The list of relevant orphan commodities will be submitted to the various IGGs having ICB status for consideration.

2 Trade value for medicinal herbs not available.

3 EC, Japan, United States markets only.

4 EC and United States markets only.