The Terreau Fertile Association will offer free medical care to about 1,000 people in Togo. The initiative targets patients with various diseases, mainly eye and dental problems. Terreau Fertile launched its 5th "Solidarité Fertile" campaign on Wednesday, 13 August 2025, in Lomé.

The association will deliver these free services to vulnerable groups across five regions: Tandjouaré (Savanes), Kabou and Kouméa (Kara), Mo and Tchamba (Centrale), Tohoun (Plateaux), and Tabligbo (Maritime). To fund the campaign, Terreau Fertile plans to raise 46 million CFA francs.

The program includes consultations, screenings, and operations for cataracts, dental care, and extractions. It also promotes preventive oral health. Additionally, 50 children will receive pediatric surgery through the campaign.

Biléyo Donko, the association’s president, said the campaign will run from August to September 2025. He added that the initiative supports the national health policy, which aims to guarantee access to quality healthcare for all citizens.

Esaïe Edoh

Togo will receive €22.5 million (about CFA14.7 billion) from Luxembourg, supported by the European Union, to strengthen its environmental policies. The new funding supports the ongoing fight against climate change and the protection of biodiversity through the Support Programme for the Fight against Climate Change and the Protection of Biodiversity, known as PALCC+.

Minister of the Environment Katari Foli-Bazi signed the agreement in Lomé during a visit by a Luxembourg delegation. The funds will target urban waste management improvements across six major cities and enhance the conservation of priority protected areas, including Fazao-Malfakassa National Park.

The project focuses on building modern waste sorting and recycling facilities. It will also intensify efforts to combat poaching and deforestation, key threats to Togo’s natural heritage.

PALCC+ builds on the original PALCC program launched in 2017, which received €10.6 million from the EU. The initial program aimed at preserving natural resources and agro-ecology in strategic protected areas across the country.

The expanded PALCC+ program adds new components. It will structure value chains around non-timber forest products and agricultural goods. It will also develop hydro-agricultural schemes and restore degraded peripheral zones, especially along the Mono River.

Early estimates from PALCC show that nearly 17,000 households will directly benefit from the program. Altogether, about 1.15 million people across Togo could see direct or indirect improvements from these efforts.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Niger is expanding its Salkadamna coal project to include Togo, after securing partnerships with Burkina Faso and Mali. On August 13, 2025, Niger’s Energy Minister Amadou Haoua presented the project to Togo’s authorities, including President of the Council Faure Gnassingbé in Lomé.

Haoua said the goal is to make Salkadamna a strategic pillar for energy sovereignty across West Africa. “We are on a sub-regional tour to invite friendly and brotherly countries to join us in a new dynamic involving a 5,200 MW modular electricity capacity project,” he said. This partnership aims to accelerate progress toward energy independence in the sub-region.

Togo welcomed the project as it pushes to achieve universal electricity access by 2030. Minister of Mines and Energy Resources Robert Eklo described Salkadamna as “both an integrated and integrating project.” He explained it combines coal mining, power generation, and energy export networks involving the Alliance of Sahel States, Togo, and Chad. Eklo also called the project “inclusive,” uniting multiple countries with everything essential included in one plan.

Launched originally in the 1980s and revived in 2014, the Salkadamna coal complex targets the exploitation of approximately 69 million tonnes of regional coal reserves. It will build a thermal power plant with a capacity exceeding 5,200 MW, an open-pit mine, high-voltage transmission lines, and a coal briquette factory producing 100,000 tonnes annually.

Niger plans to generate massive electricity from locally mined coal, supplying domestic demand and exporting surplus power to neighbors. By joining the initiative, Togo could significantly reduce its dependence on imported oil, which currently powers much of its thermal electricity generation.

At present, Togo relies heavily on diesel and imported fuel oil for electricity. Integrating coal power from the region offers a chance to diversify the energy mix and shield the country from volatile international fuel prices.

The project also promises to bolster Togo’s energy security amid geopolitical tensions and global energy market fluctuations. Salkadamna could stabilize electricity supplies for the entire region.

Minister Haoua said the project is well advanced in Niger, with a 600 MW pilot phase underway. However, it requires participation from other countries to scale up. The initiative involves Niger’s WANDA GROUP, alongside Chinese firm HEC and Indian company Kalpa-Taru, structured as a public-private partnership.

This article was initially published in French by Esaïe Edoh

Edited in English by Ange Jason Quenum

Togo ranks as Africa’s second-leading exporter of organic products to the European Union, trailing only Egypt, according to 2020 European Commission data. The country aims to keep this momentum going by urging stakeholders—especially those working with soya, pineapple, and other key crops—to enhance their practices and meet the new certification standards set by the EU and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The National Association of Soybean Exporters (ANCES-Togo) issued a call on August 11, 2025, in Lomé at a gathering of producers, processors, and exporters. The group must now follow newly introduced European and U.S. NOP standards that increase compliance demands, enforce strict traceability, and raise quality benchmarks. These regulations intend to preserve sustainable access to international markets, particularly Europe’s, within a more competitive global environment.

ANCES-Togo Vice-President Kokou Tewou describes the updated rules as both a challenge and an opportunity, requiring enhanced control mechanisms, exacting technical standards, and improved traceability systems while facilitating entry into higher-value markets. Notably, Badr El Fartass, head of Morocco’s CCPB, points out new limits such as a 2,000-member cap on producer groups and a 5-hectare cultivated plot ceiling for small producers—restrictions that did not exist before.

Togo ranks as the foremost organic produce exporter in West Africa and the continent’s second largest to the EU, but this standing could slip unless producers adapt rapidly. “Operators who want to keep their edge must immediately follow these standards,” Mr. Tewou insisted, highlighting that the matter goes beyond regulations and concerns the long-term viability of Togolese exports.

Esaïe Edoh

With the new school year only weeks away, the Togolese government reports a reassuring outlook for school supplies. On August 12, Minister for Trade Rose Kayi Mivédor met with importers and confirmed that stocks of notebooks, geometry sets, pens, and other materials fully meet national demand.

Gagnon Kofi Diva, one of the importers attending the meeting, highlighted that prices remain stable compared to 2024. He added, “We are even considering lowering them to make them accessible to all.”

The government focuses on more than just availability. It seeks to protect purchasing power and ensure fair market competition throughout Togo—from the capital Lomé to the border town of Cinkassé.

Minister Mivédor reminded operators to closely monitor distribution prices and strictly follow the Ministry of Education’s guidelines. 

• Togo will receive part of a $5.3 million AfDB grant alongside Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, and Madagascar.
• The program aims to improve PPP regulation, local private sector participation, and project management.
• Funds come from AfDB’s Transition Support Facility.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) will provide Togo with support under a $5.3 million grant shared with Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, and Madagascar. The grant, worth nearly CFA3 billion, comes through the AfDB’s Transition Support Facility. It targets the strengthening of public-private partnerships (PPPs) to attract more private investment.

The project will focus on improving the regulatory and institutional framework for PPPs, boosting local private sector participation, and creating an efficient project management unit.

Solomon Quaynor, AfDB Vice President, said the program “aligns with the three pillars of the PPP strategic framework and will contribute to its full operationalization.”

For Togo, the project will deliver technical and institutional support. It offers a fresh opportunity to consolidate the country’s already reform-oriented legal and operational framework, especially in infrastructure, energy, and public services.

This article was initially published in French by Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Edited in English by Ange Jason Quenum