The weekly session of the Council of Ministers was held on Wednesday 02 March 2022 in Cotonou. On occasion, several decisions were made. Concerned about product quality, Benin government will set up an agri-food technical centre.
Concerned about the competitiveness of Benin local production, particularly in the agri-food sector, the government, at the Council of Ministers on 2 March 2022, decided to take new measures to strengthen this sector and increase access for products to the international market. One of these measures is the establishment of an agri-food technical centre. In fact, “the diagnosis carried out to determine the cause revealed the lack of professionalism from the staff, non-compliance with good hygiene and production practices, as well as the absence of efficient modern equipment”, informed the final communiqué of the Council of Ministers. Strengthening these axes will therefore make it possible to strengthen the action capacities of these units and thereby facilitate their access to the foreign market. Moreover, even at the local level, these units are not trusted by the Beninese and, therefore, this Centre will have a great role to play in their formalization.
Indeed, in agri-food production, Benin has huge potential; however, in order to really enjoy it, companies must comply with international standards in terms of production, which allows them to better position themselves on the market and make good sales. Several other decisions have been taken by the Council of Ministers, the full final communiqué of which has been published in the French version of this article.