The government is in the process of automating the Seed Certification and Plant Variety Protection System in the country. The existing manual registration and licensing processes have been associated with delays, documentation errors and inefficiencies including with security, scheduling and processing time thus government potentially wanting to harness technological solutions The seed certification process is a clear way of assuring seed quality hence ensuring that the farming community receives seeds that is viable resulting in value for money. Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) Ag. MD Simeon Kibet says Kenya has been operating on manual inspections since the inception of KEPHIS in 1997 but for the last two years started developing the system which is now at piloting stage. He explained that that the process has been automated in the developed world while in Africa, two countries namely  South Africa and Zambia have automated their seed certification processes. “The Kenya Seed Company (KSC) in Kitale and Bubayi Limited are running the pilot programme with  KSC specializing  in all kinds of seed crops while Bubayi focuses on beans and the  automation is  based on lessons learned from  the two African countries.”, he said Kibet noted that the  process of seed certification is divided into three parts, variety description which results in development of the variety descriptors, Field inspections which ascertains the trueness to type of the crop variety and also Seed testing which assures the seed purity and germination which the seed must meet for it to be sold to farmers....

Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat (C) announces the operational phase of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement during the launching ceremony in Niamey, capital of Niger, on July 7, 2019. (Xinhua) The implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) could catalyze development and growth of Africa, and help the continent recover from the economic impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. by Xinhua Writers Ding Lei, Bedah Mengo NAIROBI, July 25 (Xinhua) -- The implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) could catalyze development and growth of Africa, and help the continent recover from the economic impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Economists believe AfCFTA is an opportunity to plot, organize, strategize and mobilize African economies for growth that has suffered a major blow due to the pandemic. According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Africa's growth this year will drop from an initial estimate of 3.2 percent to between -2.8 percent and about zero percent due to COVID-19, a dire situation that could throw an extra 20 million people into poverty in a continent where almost 300 million cannot afford one meal a day. AfCFTA OFFERS SILVER LINING IN CRISIS The start of trading under AfCFTA, slated to begin on July 1, was postponed due to the pandemic. While some believe the scheme has suffered a setback, there is a silver lining in the crisis for Africa. In a virtual panel held earlier this month to mark...

Summary The Trump administration has said it envisions a potential agreement with Kenya as a model that could lead to similar deals with other African countries. The reports came amid reports that top government officials had been infected with the virus. Dr Matiang’i, on his part, criticised those manufacturing information to humiliate those in public service by claiming they had the virus. Talks on a Kenya-US trade deal have been put on hold due to concerns that members of Kenya’s negotiating team were exposed to the coronavirus, a US-based news organisation said on Wednesday. The Politico, a reputable web publication, attributed its report to “three people close to the talks”. An unspecified number of Kenyan negotiators were tested on Tuesday after being exposed to the virus at an office in Nairobi where technical teams had gathered, Politico said. Test results are expected in the coming days, the news site added. It said the bilateral trade talks are primed to resume “as soon as possible.” “The potential spread among the team would be more disruptive than taking this precaution,” Politico reported a Kenyan source close to the talks as having said. Trade Agreement The Trump administration has said it envisions a potential agreement with Kenya as a model that could lead to similar deals with other African countries. Trade Cabinet Secretary Betty Maina has said striking the bilateral trade agreement is crucial in the bid to “secure trade and investment relations” ahead of the lapse of the African Growth and Opportunity...

GENEVA (Reuters) - Global trade has been hit by new and accumulated import restrictions just as economies need to rebuild in the COVID-19 crisis, the World Trade Organization (WTO) said in a mid-year report issued on Friday. But some export constraints imposed on surgical masks, medicines and medical equipment early in the pandemic are being rolled back, it said. “Although the full impact of the pandemic is not yet reflected fully in trade statistics, it is expected to be very substantial”, WTO director-general Roberto Azevedo said in presenting the report to its 164 member states. The WTO said last month that estimates for the second quarter of 2020 indicated a year-on-year drop in world trade of about 18%. Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Mark Potter Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.  

Business has slowly picked up over the past two weeks at the port of Mombasa, raising hopes of a rebound after months of depressed activity attributed to the coronavirus pandemic. The positive trend is largely attributed to the lifting of movement restrictions into Mombasa and the reopening of the National Transport and Safety Authority and Kenya Revenue Authority offices. Operations in these key agencies had either been scaled back or suspended as the virus swept through the organisations. In April, health officials embarked on a mass testing exercise targeting nearly 5,000 staff at the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) after two employees died of Covid-19. Traders said the July 6 directive that allowed the resumption of air and road transport had a positive effect on the logistics, shipping and vehicle sales sectors. Car Importers Association of Kenya chairman Peter Otieno said they had seen a jump in sales. “Over 4,000 imported vehicles have moved from Mombasa to Nairobi since the lockdown was lifted. We used to move only 300 units per week during the travel restrictions,” said Otieno. He continued: “During the lockdown, importers would bring in 6,000 to 8,000 vehicle units a month, but they now expect orders to be in the range of 9,000 to 15,000.” Data released by KPA showed that the number of containers that passed through the port last week increased by 1,000 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) compared to the previous week. Of the 13,991 TEUs handled at the port last week, 8,641 TEUs were hauled by the...

In Summary On Monday, Foreign Affairs PS Macharia Kamau said Lapsset was an integral project for the region as it will boost Africa’s economic integration through infrastructure development and trade. Macharia said when he toured the port that the government was focusing more on marketing the port to foreign markets to achieve its objectives. The government has started marketing the Lapsset project as a platform for enhancing regional and economic integration. The development follows the recent completion of the first three berths at the project site in Kililana area in Lamu west. On Monday, Foreign Affairs PS Macharia Kamau said Lapsset was an integral project for the region as it will boost Africa’s economic integration through infrastructure development and trade. Macharia said when he toured the port that the government was focusing more on marketing the port to foreign markets to achieve its objectives. The Lamu Port Corridor Development Authority-LCDA said the first three berths cost Sh48 billion. The first berth was completed in August last year while the other two were completed last month. The three berths are 1.2 kilometres in length and have a depth of 17.5 meters. “Through such infrastructure development, new enormous markets will be established which will, in turn, grow intra-African trade that is currently at a low rate,” Kamau said. LCDA director general Sylvestre Kasuku said massive private sector interests have been registered to develop and operate the additional 29 berths. Of much interest is also the new Lamu Port Industrial City which will make Lapsset an...

As the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19 persists, the movement of relief goods including Medical supplies and equipment through borders all over the world has increased dramatically. Customs officials have found themselves in the frontline in the fight against the virus. This calls for them to strike a balance between their own safety and facilitating trade to support the fight against the pandemic by timely clearance of medical supplies but also clear other goods necessary for economic recovery. Following the declaration by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11th March 2020 that the Coronavirus was a global pandemic, the World Customs Organization advised its members to not only continue facilitating the movement of essential supplies to fight the virus but also goods that can mitigate the overall impact of the COVID-19 outbreak to the economy and societies in general. Like many other industries and professions, COVID-19 has disrupted the way of doing business for Customs officials because of the risk of exposure to officials, and complicated Customs border control management. The crisis has raised the need for Customs Organizations to come up with innovations and inventions on customs processes during and post COVID-19 era to ensure the timely clearance of goods while safeguarding the safety of officers on the other hand, since the World health organization indicated that the virus is here to stay. For instance, some of the processes that require physical solutions include the following: letters by clearing agents letters by importers requesting for extension of the period for...

The Kenya-Tanzania trade row was occasioned by failure of the two countries to agree on Covid-19 protocols to be followed in the cross-border movement of people and goods. Tanzanian authorities have retaliated against Kenya's decision to restrict movement between the Kenya-Tanzania border over Coronavirus by forbidding all automobiles and persons from Kenya. This decision follows fears of cross-border transmission between Kenya and Tanzania that was first expressed by Kenya after identifying the Kenya-Tanzania and Kenya-Somalia borders as hotspots for coronavirus.[i] As a preventive measure, Kenya maintained that cross-border long distance truck drivers must be tested for Covid-19 before being granted entry into Kenya. The diplomatic tiff[ii] between Kenya and Tanzania came shortly after President Magufuli skipped the video-conference between East African Community (EAC) heads of state and governments on 12 May 2020.[iii] According to the EAC, the consultative video-conference was meant to assess the development of Covid-19 in the region in a bid to develop a regional approach. President Magufuli would later in June suggest that Tanzania is free of Covid-19 as God had "answered" their prayers.[iv] While public health is essential for both Kenya and Tanzania, bilateral consultation must be conducted between the two countries before any cross-border Coronavirus protocols are developed and implemented. Indeed, such consultation should apply to any other aspects like customs and immigration among others to enable seamless transactions at points of entry. This is the only sure way to promote free trade and enhance good neighbourliness between the two countries. Indeed the standoff has already negatively affected livelihoods of...

Summary The EAC regional Electronic Cargo and Driver Tracking system, will enable authorities to share test results of the drivers and crew. Kenya Transporters Association executive officer Dennis Ombok said they have not been trained on the usage of the system and he only learnt of the implementation last week during stakeholder virtual meeting. East African countries have moved to ease movement of goods with the roll-out of a system that will allow them to share Covid-19 test results of truck drivers electronically. The reliance of hard to verify manual certificates has been blamed for costly long delays at the different border points that sometimes last for weeks. The EAC regional Electronic Cargo and Driver Tracking system, however, will enable authorities to share test results of the drivers and crew facilitating easy information exchange along the transport corridor. This means no transit cargo will leave the port of Mombasa or any Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) facility without a driver being aligned with the truck and the cargo in the system. According to a notice by the EAC secretariat to relevant ministries of the member countries, all drivers must upload their Covid-19 certificates to the new system before cargo is armed with tracking gadgets,  a directive which has already been opposed by transporters faulting the short implementation notice. MINISTERIAL MEETING “Following a joint ministerial meeting responsible for Health, Trade and EAC held by video Conference on March 25 and in line with the directive of the Sectoral Council on Trade, Industry,...

Malawi’s exports to the east African market are expected to be enhanced during and beyond the Covid-19 pandemic period, following Britain’s offer to support the Trade Mark East Africa (TMA) project with $50 million. TMA was established as a non-profit making institution for aid for trade delivery in East Africa. In one of its recent proposals for aid, the organisation highlighted the need to help the Malawi government focus on diversifying exports and reducing vulnerability of rain-fed agriculture. It expressed abilities to support these efforts by reducing costs and time of trade and ensuring that Malawian products are competitive on international markets. The UK, through the Department for International Development (DFID), has since shown strong interest in funding the five year programme in full, as part of its planned Malawi Trade and Investment Programme (M-TIP). This came out when Acting UK High Commissioner to Malawi, Dave Beer, visited the new Minister of Trade, Sosten Gwengwe, last week. Beer indicated that TMA would help in the implementation of Covid-19 safe trade emergency plan aimed at facilitating smooth trade flows across borders and corridors by enhancing safety measures for frontline officers at the borders. “The aim is to improve Malawi’s trade infrastructure, enhance the trade environment, and boost business competitiveness,” Beer said. In an interview, Gwengwe said the project will enhance corridor connectivity and help Malawi boost its trade potential. “The project will focus on two dominant themes; first improving trade along the key trade corridors for Malawi. “Secondly, it will support...