Integrated Export and Import Certification System (IEICS) – ePhyto
Implementation Partners
Ethiopian Agricultural Authority, Ethiopia’s National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO), and the Ethiopian Horticulture Producer Exporters Association (EHPEA)
Implementation Period
April 2024 - March 2026
Project Participants
Officers from the EAA, EHPEA, EEC and NPPO. Indirect participants include exporters, producers, freight handlers, and electronic single window (eSW)customs agents engaged in agricultural trade.
Funding Partner
European Union (EU)
Project Rationale
Ethiopia’s reliance on manual phytosanitary certification has contributed to delays, additional processing costs and the risk of certificates being lost, damaged or manipulated. The IEICS-ePhyto Project supports the transition to electronic issuance and exchange of phytosanitary certificates.
The system is designed to shorten certification times, reduce paper use and physical travel, strengthen traceability and make it easier for agricultural exporters to meet the phytosanitary requirements of destination markets. It also supports Ethiopia’s national trade facilitation priorities and the digitalisation objectives of the Djibouti-Ethiopia Corridor Programme.
The intervention is aligned with the International Plant Protection Convention and contributes to SDG 9 on industry, innovation and infrastructure and SDG 12 on responsible consumption and production.
TMA’s Contribution
TradeMark Africa supported the design, development, testing and deployment of the HortiCampus eLearning platform and HortiLibrary knowledge repository. This included support for stakeholder engagement, digital infrastructure, system development, knowledge-management architecture and institutional capacity strengthening to enable sustainable ownership and management of the platform by EHPEA.
Funding Attribution
Financed by the European Union under Global Gateway, with funding delegated to Agence Française de Développement (AFD), and implemented by the Ethiopian Agricultural Authority in partnership with TradeMark Africa
Implementation Strategy
The e-Phyto system aligns with the Djibouti–Ethiopia Corridor Programme’s priorities on digital trade, cross-border systems integration and lowering transaction costs. The implementation strategy emphasises interoperability, sustainability and environmental efficiency.
1. System Choice and Interoperability
Ethiopia will adopt either a National System (NS) or a Generic National System (GeNS) platform, with preference towards developing a standalone Ethiopian system. The chosen solution will interconnect with the international e-Phyto Hub, the electronic single window (eSW) and other national trade systems, ensuring seamless exchange of electronic phytosanitary certificates.
2. Sustainability and Capacity Development
A sustainability and maintenance plan will guide long-term operation and system resilience. Targeted capacity-building will equip technical staff at the Ethiopian Agricultural Authority (EAA) and the National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO) with the skills to manage adoption, ensure operational continuity and maintain compliance with international standards.
3. Environmental efficiency
Digital certification is expected to reduce paper use, physical document handling and travel associated with manual certification processes.
Current Progress
- The project contract was signed in April 2024.
- Consultations were undertaken with Kenya and Uganda to draw lessons from their electronic phytosanitary certification systems.
- The technical design was completed, and the system was developed and tested.
- The platform was integrated with the International Plant Protection Convention ePhyto Hub, enabling the electronic exchange of phytosanitary certificates with participating countries.
- A digital payment gateway was established and linked to Telebirr.
- Ethiopia’s Integrated Export and Import Certification System, known as ePhyto, was officially launched on 29 October 2025 at the Regional Sanitary and Phytosanitary Conference in Addis Ababa.
- Exporters can now apply for, receive and transmit phytosanitary certificates online, reducing reliance on the physical exchange of paper documents.
- About 80 exporters are using the platform that connects Ethiopia to the IPPC ePhyto network, through which more than 100 countries were actively exchanging certificates by May 2026.
