Why regional agricultural products are failing on international market
The Minister of State for Agriculture, Mr Fred Bwino (L) chats with some of the delegates during the opening of the food safety training workshop in Kampala on Wednesday. Photo | Paul Adude
What you need to know:
- Ms Byanyima said countries faced a problem of lack of technology to trace and put in place remedial action for the harmful organisms detected in the international trading system and thereafter respond to the trade partner.
The Chief of Party at the Trade in Agriculture Safely and Efficiently in East Africa (TRASE) project, Ms Martha Byanyima, has said that even though not yet quantified, the region is losing a lot of revenue due to the interception of contaminated agricultural products on the international market.
“Signs are there, the partners across the world that we trade with as a block, have an enormous market for our produce, fresh produce in particular, but we receive so many interceptions. Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya, are receiving frequent notifications on consignments intercepted with harmful organisms that have been quarantined or biological hazards found in them,” she said.
She made the remarks during the opening of a three-day food and safety training workshop in commemoration of World Food Safety Day in Kampala on Wednesday.
Ms Byanyima said countries faced a problem of lack of technology to trace and put in place remedial action for the harmful organisms detected in the international trading system and thereafter respond to the trade partner.
“As a result, we have been occasionally delisted from list one to list three and sometimes blacklisted altogether since we don’t have proactive systems. We are always reacting to a problem and not doing enough about it,” she noted.
Ms Byanyima said there is a need for both the government and private sector to work together to ensure food safety and improve the food control systems to enable regional products to compete in the international agricultural market.
The Minister of State for Agriculture, Mr Fred Bwino, said there is a need to create awareness among producers and consumers on the importance of food safety to improve on the country’s international trade.
“We need to ensure that right from production on the farm, through handling harvest, storage processing, and marketing are done in a safe manner. Of course beyond awareness, we must put in place relevant policies and laws to deter errant actors in the food industry,” he said.
Mr Bwino said the country not only lose money from contaminated exports but also credibility.
