USAID-ERRA’s Standards and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS/SQI) workstream enhances the quality and safety of tradable goods, increasing market access for agricultural commodities. The first-year work plan focused on supporting the East African Community (EAC) in establishing a harmonized regulatory framework. This framework facilitates seamless trade across regional and international borders by aligning national policies to Good Regulatory Practices (GRP) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) guidelines. In this second year, our efforts are transitioning to building the capacity for public and private sector players to ensure compliance with Standards and SPS requirements.

In January, USAID-ERRA held a stakeholder engagement event in Nairobi, Kenya. The workshop raised awareness of USAID-ERRA’s role in trade in the agriculture and CTG sectors, highlighted achievements from 2023, and set objectives for 2024. Attendees included representatives from the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) and the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS).

Significant accomplishments included developing the EAC SPS Strategy and Action Plan for harmonizing regional SPS measures, conducting consultations on the EAC SPS bill, paving the way for its successful adoption, and finalizing the Information Sharing Platform (ISP) for launch in 2024. The ISP will facilitate electronic sharing and access to trade documents, reducing time spent at borders.

Prioritized interventions include:

• Equipping laboratories with testing kits, like aflatoxin testing kits,
• Addressing counterfeit plant protection products through awareness campaigns and training sessions for growers’ associations, and
• Enhancing institutional capacities for compliance with SPS measures and improving surveillance of priority pathogens, food safety hazards, and environmental contaminants.