Food safety and plant health inspectorates from 19 African countries are in Nairobi to discuss ways to streamline regulations ahead of Africa-wide free market access. The meeting sponsored by United States Aid for International Development (USAid) heard that Africa must uphold high standards in food and crop health to generate inter-country trade as well as boost confidence with processed agro-products heading to foreign markets. Council of Governors Agriculture Committee vice chairman Jackson Mandago said Africa must invest in research as well as share knowledge on technological innovations with farmers to boost food production and collaborative research. Mr Mandago, also the Uasin Gishu governor, said Kenya must heavily invest in public research that will enable free roll-out of all innovations realised during research. “Private companies conducting research have an obligation to commercialise their findings and profit from their work, but public agricultural research agencies have a national duty to benefit the public,” he said. Kenya Plant Health and Inspectorate Services (Kephis) managing director Esther Kimani said it had requested for Sh1.4 billion to enable them equip their research stations as well as prepare staff for prompt response measures in case of an outbreak. Source: Business Daily

Globally, women’s contribute to agricultural development in various capacities as producers, labourers and marketers. They have an important role to play in agricultural development and food security through entrepreneurship. In developing countries women’s role as agriculture entrepreneurs is not fully explored and well recognized. Women entrepreneurs in agriculture are facing real challenges like access to financial resources, assets and training. As per FAO estimates, women worldwide are responsible for more than half of all the food produced. This includes up to 80% of food production in African countries, 60% in Asia and between 30 and 40% in South America. This shows that main activity in which rural women’s are engaged is farming. Again rural women’s are suffering from poverty due to small land holdings and subsistence farming. Gender bias and women’s low social standing due to the patriarchal nature of societies women’s are rarely legally or socially recognized as head of the farm. They are seldom granted land tenure rights and often have less access to essential production inputs such as: land; financial services; access to markets; storage; and technical support. Agripreneurs in Rwanda Rwanda is one of countries encouraging and supporting women entrepreneurs in Africa. According to the Global Gender Gap Report, Rwanda is ranked 6th globally in terms of closing gender gaps. The Government of Rwanda has made a strong political commitment to enhance gender equity and equality and is determined to implement in government policies at all levels. Rwanda is a signatory to international and regional legal...

About 70 members of Katuna business community have petitioned the State minister of Planning, Mr David Bahati, over the planned diversion of trailers and trucks heading to Rwanda to the Ntungamo-Mirama Hills route. The traders through the Katuna Town Council allege that the change of route from Katuna to Ntungamo-Mirama Hill will affect many of their businesses and therefore want Mr Bahati to intervene. They claim that they were reliably informed that Trade Mark East Africa meeting in Kigali, on May 25 attended by Uganda and Rwanda revenue authority officials resolved that all trucks heading to Rwanda must pass through Mirama Hills border following the collapse of a section of the Katuna road. The town council mayor, Mr Nelson Nshangabasheija, on Tuesday said some officials who attended the meeting conveyed the message to the traders and local leaders. The directive According to Mr Nshangabasheija, the resolution was supposed to take effect seven days from May 25. “The diversion of all the trucks from Katuna to Mirama Hills Border Post is in bad faith. It is aimed at killing the booming business at Katuna, especially now that the border operates 24 hours,” Mr Nshangabasheija said. He added: “We shall lose revenue from local communities selling agricultural products, facilities such as lodges and hotels, forex bureaus among others because they will have no business. We appeal to government to overrule the directive for the good of the people.” According to local leaders, at least 300 vehicles use the Katuna route daily because...

When East African countries announced a ban on the import of secondhand clothes to help their own textile industries, this irked US President Donald Trump. All but Rwanda have now backtracked. What's at stake? It's one of US President Donald Trump's trade wars that makes few headlines: The one over used clothes. In 2016, member states of the East African Community (EAC) came up with a plan to ban secondhand clothes and shoes by 2019. The EAC doubled a common external tariff rate for worn clothing to $0.40 (€0.34) per kilogram. Rwanda increased its per-kilogram import tax to $2.50. Trump threatened to retaliate, saying the tax goes against the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). At the end of March, Trump announced he would suspend the application of duty‑free treatment to all AGOA-eligible goods in the clothing sector for the Republic of Rwanda within 60 days. Rwanda didn't budge and let Trump's deadline run out last week. That means the US is now likely to impose tariffs on textile products and shoes from Rwanda. "Legally speaking, the US has the right to impose a penalty because, within AGOA, Rwanda is supposed to remove all barriers to US goods," Christopher Kayumba, an analyst and senior lecturer at the University of Rwanda, told DW. "But the spirit of AGOA is to help poor countries to evolve," he added. "I was surprised that a country as big and rich as the US [would] insist on exporting its secondhand clothes to a poor country like Rwanda," he said. Hampering Rwanda's development "We...

For many Americans, coffee is less of a luxury drink and more of a daily necessity. As of 2018, 64 percent of Americans consume at least one cup of coffee daily. East Africa, one of the world’s largest coffee producers, is a historically poor region that has seen recent growth in trade due to the growing demand for coffee and support given to its farmers from U.S. foreign aid. These factors are supporting the East African coffee market. An Expanding Global Market East African coffee market expansion is the result of a few recent developments. First, the global market for coffee has been expanding as more people are escaping poverty and gaining the means to afford coffee. For example, some of the fastest-growing markets for coffee include Asian countries on the rise such as Vietnam, Indonesia and India. Due to the expanding coffee market, East African coffee producers can expand their business and look to the future with optimism.  Ugandan coffee producers are explicitly targeting these new markets. In 2017, the country reported a 36 percent growth in production and a 15 percent growth in exports. This fivefold increase in their share of the global coffee market is a direct result of new regions of the world being able to buy their product. In this way, reducing global poverty has a ripple effect that expands the global market and benefits everyone. The Benefits of U.S. Foreign Aid On top of the growing market, U.S. foreign aid has been helping to...

The 2018/19 budget is a step-down from the $110,130,184 presented to the House in the previous financial year. The EAC has presented for consideration budget estimates for the financial year 2018/19, totalling $99,770,716 (about sh379b) to the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA). The chairperson of the EAC council of ministers, and Uganda’s 2nd Deputy Prime Minister, Ali Kirunda Kivenjija, presented the budget to the assembly in Arusha Tanzania. The 2018/19 budget is a step-down from the $110,130,184 presented to the House in the previous financial year, a statement issued yesterday said. According to Kivejinja, priority Interventions for 2018/19 will focus on enhanced free movement of goods in the region and further liberalization of free movement of labour and services; improved cross-border infrastructure to ease cost of doing business in the region; and enhanced regional agricultural productivity. Other priority interventions include enhanced industrial development through investment in key priority sectors including leather and textile; skills development, technological advancement and innovation to stimulate economic development. The implementation of the roadmap for the attainment of the EAC Monetary Union; strengthened Peace, Security and Good Governance and Institutional Framework for EAC Political Confederation are also set for consideration. The 2018/2019 Budget is allocated to the Organs and Institutions of the EAC as follows; East African Community Secretariat ($46,693,056), East African Legislative Assembly ($17,885,852) and the East African Court of Justice ($3,982,446). The Inter-University Council for East Africa shall receive ($6,847,969), Lake Victoria Basin Commission ($13,357,673) while $ 2, 518,137 is earmarked for the Lake...

The Building and Construction Industry in East Africa is witnessing a continuous growth and as a result driving up numbers in employment and productivity, experts have said. According to East Africa BUILD, the growth and getting more international exposure as the Governments and Trade Associations have boosted the confidence of international investors in the region which is a significant driver of economic activity and development. "East Africa's growth in the building & construction sector drives employment and productivity, which in turn encourages government investment in quality infrastructure projects. As East Africa's population continues to grow, now more than ever, it needs quality infrastructure." A statement from the firm adds. The African Construction report by Deloitte, states that the number of construction projects in East Africa have gone up by 65.1% between 2016 and 2017 while the increase in the total value of projects has been much lower, but still considerable at 20.7%. A brand new industry-owned trade show for the building & construction industry has been announced by a team of individuals with over 15 years of experience and it will be held for the first time in September 2018 in Tanzania. The event, which will be held from 20 - 23 September this year, at the Mlimani City Conference Centre, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania is expected to have over 200 foreign and local exhibitors from over 19 countries which include Turkey, China, India, U.A.E, Germany to name a few. East Africa BUILD will be the ideal platform for local...

Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda are the key destinations for high-skilled Kenyan migrants, attracted by opportunities in financial, IT, engineering and hospitality sectors, a new UN report showed. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said labour shortages in information technology, engineering, finance, hospitality and management in some regional markets in Eastern Africa have fuelled migration of professionals from the region, some of them young. “Rwanda is a major destination for migrants from Kenya and Uganda and has attracted highly skilled professionals. Its burgeoning information technology sector has driven labour mobility among young highly skilled migrants from Kenya, who have taken advantage of economic opportunities in the sector, and demand in financial services and other skill-intensive sectors in Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania has also fuelled mobility among professionals from Kenya” the agency said. Mutual recognition agreements between various professional bodies within the East African Community (EAC) allow for cross-border practices among professionals and accord experts from partner States in accounting, architecture, dentistry, medicine and engineering to the same treatment as nationals. “Such agreements, along with the abolition of work permits by some EAC partner States, have been vital in facilitating labour mobility among highly skilled professionals within the region. Regional investment in economic sectors, besides creating labour demand in specific sectors, has also become an important driver of intraregional economic migration” UNCTAD noted. Highly skilled migrants tend to earn relatively high incomes in destinations. “For example, skilled Nigerian migrants in Ghana and South Africa have household...

Kenya has for months been feuding with Tanzania and Uganda over the treatment of its confectionery products in the regional market. The bone of contention has been a 25 per cent tax that the two East African Community partners have been imposing on products with industrial sugar. And with every indication that the community’s trade dispute resolution structures may not rule in its favour, Kenya has threatened Tanzania and Uganda with retaliatory action should the standoff persist beyond July 1. The two neighbours have dared Nairobi to make good its threat. We wish to state that such kind of grandstanding is unnecessary among countries that belong to a single regional market. The East African Community integration, as revived 18 years ago, has clear laws that all members must obey to keep it alive. Playing by the community’s rules is the only way out of the current crisis. Otherwise the game of musical chairs can play forever. Lest we forget, Kenya has always asked for a stay of the remission scheme on industrial sugar on the understanding that products such as biscuits, chocolate, ice cream and sweets would be priced competitively for export market. That’s how the East African Customs Management Act (EACMA) states it. When such goods are diverted into any of the five six integrating countries – which EACMA regards as a single customs territory - such products are deemed to have come from outside EAC, and as such attract 25 per cent import duty. According to EACMA, similar treatment must be meted out...

Rwanda has offered to facilitate Russia’s relations with Africa by offering to be its “channel of communication”, Foreign Affairs Minister Louise Mushikiwabo said on Sunday. It was a brother-sister mood as Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo received Sergey Lavrov – Russia’s Foreign Minister who paid a one-day visit to Rwanda. “Just welcomed to Rwanda my Russian counterpart and friend, Sergey Lavrov, here in Kigali for bilateral discussions,” Minister Mushikiwabo tweeted earlier today. It is the first time Lavrov – Russia’s Foreign Minister visits Rwanda since he was appointed to the post in 2004. Shortly after arriving in the country, Minister Lavrov and his delegation visited Kigali Genocide Memorial – where 250,000 victims of the genocide against Tutsi are laid to rest. At the time Rwanda went into abyss of the 1994 Genocide which claimed over 1 million Tutsi, Minister Lavrov was Russian Representative to the United Nations (UN), where he served from 1994 to 2004. From the Genocide Memorial, Minister Lavrov headed to Village Urugwiro where he paid a courtesy call to President Paul Kagame. Thereafter, foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo led her counterpart to Radisson Blu and Convention Centre for extended bilateral talks with other officials from both countries. Minister Lavrov’s visit comes when the two countries celebrate 55 years of diplomatic relations. His visit signals Russia’s new era of deepening relations with Africa, which analysts say is good and timely as Africa is also looking for new strategic partners, amid changing geopolitical dynamics. After bilateral talks, both Ministers Mushikiwabo and Lavrov...