EAC comprehensive agriculture development programme almost ready for ink

10/2/2016

 # EAC CAADP Compact for final brush

ARUSHA, TANZANIA

East Africa Community Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme or simply EAC CAADP Compact has been endorsed by the Regional Council of Ministers in their meeting in January 2016, it has been disclosed.

This implies that the document is by and large ready for signing by the EAC partner states.

Mr.  Timothy Wesonga, a senior official at EAC Secretariat, Directorate of Agriculture while addressing  EAC Small Scale Farmers’ Summit, he said the Council of Ministers in their meeting in January 2016 endorsed the Compact.

The Ministers asked the  EAC secretariat to improve some issues in the document and submit for verification before the document can be  signed.

Mr. Wesonga said that the EAC CAADP COMPACT derives its rationale from the EAC Treaty – pronounced in the Customs Union, Common Market Protocol, EAC Agriculture and Rural Development Program and Strategy as well as the EAC Food Security Action Plan (FSAP).

He says the Compact is expected to progressively contribute towards hunger and poverty reduction, food and nutrition security, and regional integration by boosting intra-and inter regional trade through using regional trade frameworks such as the SPS Protoco.l

 Priority of the EAC CAADP Compact will include 7 areas:

·        Sustainable Natural Resource Use and Management,

·        Rural Infrastructure, ICT and Trade-Related Capacities for Improved Market Access,

·        Food Supply and Reducing Hunger

·        Agricultural Research, Technology Dissemination and Adoption

·        Enhancing Resilience of Livelihoods and Production Systems and Management of Risks,

·        Institutional and Financial Strengthening and,

·        Addressing cross-cutting issues such as gender and youth, HIV and AIDS, climate change adaptation and mitigation measures.