Why this project?

There is need to build sustainable Quality Systems at the national and regional levels in the EAC to support the implementation of the EAC Common Market, leading to increased intra-EAC trade, and increase in agricultural exports from the EAC region. It builds on lessons and results from Strategy 1, where product certification facilitated faster standards-related border clearance. Based on that, the programme proposes increased product certification and interventions that require country-specific requirements such as testing, labelling and certification.

What:

The aim is to bring the (National Bureaux of Standards) NSBs to a capacity level that can be trusted by all other NSBs in the region, removing the need for retesting, recertification and relabelling of regionally traded goods. SPS Agencies will be supported to carry out effective export inspections so that the certificates issued are deemed to be sufficient. Finally, national businesses, exporters and producers will be trained to acquire product certification so as to benefit from the faster standards-related border clearance when they trade industrial goods across EAC borders, and meet SPS requirements through certification so as to access priority export markets.

How:

Interventions for effective programme implementation will involve: 1) Technical Assistance delivered to national SPS agencies and standards bodies, culminating in improved institutional capacity. 2) Training will be delivered by private certification bodies and national bureaux of standards and to support private sector players meet SPS and standards requirements through product and system certification; 3) Studies and reviews to strengthen the case for TMA’s interventions; 4) Peer reviews to facilitate building trust in their respective compliance assessment processes and; 5) workshops to enable dialogue and consensus building for any contentious measures with regard to regional trade.

Contact:

Joshua Mutunga, Email: joshua.mutunga@trademarkea.com