The EAC Partner States of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, are knocking into shape a draft EAC Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Legal Framework and Measures.

In a four-day regional stakeholders meeting held from 22nd to 25th August 2016 in Nairobi, Kenya, Partner States Experts from Ministries of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Bureau of Standards, Plant Health Inspectorates, and Animal Resources critically reviewed and provided comments to improve and enrich the draft EAC SPS legal framework and the measures.

The meeting was also attended by officials from the Eastern Africa Farmers Federation (EAFF), the Eastern Africa Grain Council (EAGC), USAID Regional Economic Integration Office, the USAID East Africa Trade and Investment Hub, and EAC Secretariat officials.

Addressing participants, the EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Productive and Social sectors, Hon. Jesca Eriyo pointed out that SPS is a subject of fundamental importance to the region and that SPS measures had become an increasingly important topic of debate in international trade due to increasing awareness on food safety concerns.

The Deputy Secretary General noted that many people in the Community were not yet aware of SPS measures and therefore the need for Partner States to take drastic measures to disseminate SPS information widely. She urged Partner States to “work harder in order to achieve greater levels of competitiveness through diversifying the export base, adding value and enhancing the degree of compliance to the measures and standards prescribed in the destination markets”.

Mr. Protase Echessah, the Senior Agricultural Trade Expert, USAID East Africa Trade and Investment Hub underscored the collaboration between Hub and the East African Community which seeks to increase the competitiveness of select regional agriculture value chains and facilitate investment and technology that drives trade growth intra-regionally and to global markets. It is under this context that the Hub is supporting EAC to develop a regulatory framework to operationalize the SPS Protocol.

The Nairobi meeting recommended that EAC Partner States to work with relevant institutions to broadly harness the capacity and competencies required to inform and address regulatory matters on SPS. The meeting also urged the EAC Secretariat to expedite the process of securing Observer Status at WTO, OIE and IPPC in order to enhance its participation and role in SPS issues at international level.

Partner States were also urged to share relevant legal and policy documents with the Secretariat to enrich both the draft Bill. The EAC Secretariat is to convene another meeting of experts to finalize the EAC SPS Bill for presentation to the next Sectoral Council on Agriculture and Food Security.

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