From September 29 to October 1, 2021, Partners for Development took part in the first edition of Benin Pineapple Day. Benin Pineapple Day is an initiative by the Agricultural Development Agency (ATDA 7), a decentralized government body of the Ministry of Agriculture in partnership with Enabel, the Belgium Development Organization through its DEFIA program. The first edition of Benin Pineapple Day took place in Abomey Calavi, at the ATDA 7 premises.

Partners for Development attended the event through the participation of its PINEX project beneficiaries – Othentiks, ETRAPA Sarl, Benin Discount and Verger D’Afrique. The PINEX beneficiaries displayed adobe dc torrent pure pineapple juice, pineapple-ginger blend, pineapple-pawpaw blend, pineapple-passion fruit blend and dried pineapple.

The objective of Benin Pineapple Day, according to the Director of the ATDA 7, is to promote Benin pineapple and offer a platform to all the pineapple industry actors to gather to address the issues they encounter. Furthermore, Benin Pineapple Day is an opportunity for pineapple producers, processors, traders and marketers to come together to make the Benin pineapple more competitive at the regional and international level, while also making itself known to the Benin population.

The PfD stand was visited by the Director of the Agricultural Development Agency and the representative of the Minister of Agriculture, who hope PINEX beneficiaries will continue their processing activities long after the filmora cracked PINEX project closes. PINEX beneficiary, Othentiks’ production manager highlighted the role Partners for Development played in the certification of its products and its supports to the promotion and distribution of their products.

Left to right: PfD staff, Agric development Agency Director and the Representative of the MoA visit the PfD stand during the the first Edition of the Benin Pineapple Day

During The fair, the following topics were discussed – Development challenges and investment opportunities in the pineapple sector; funding opportunities for the pineapple sector value chain; managerial and organizational practices for the conquest and retention of the fresh pineapple market and its derivatives; research innovations to address the challenges of the pineapple industry.

The PINEX Beneficiary participants at the fair were all happy for the opportunity presented to them by Benin Pineapple Day to make pineapple produce known to the local market and consumers.