Regional Agriculture Trade-Their Challenges and Opportunities  USAID Kenya and East Africa Regional Trade Africa and Feed the Future Meeting Regional Agriculture Trade-Their Challenges and Opportunities Argent Chuula CEO-ACTESA

REGIONAL INTEGRATION INDICATORS

Gross Domestic Product : $667 billion VISION: “To be a fully integrated, internationally competitive regional economic community with high standards of living for all its people ready to merge into an African Union” Size: 11.6 Million sq. km Population: 482 million Gross Domestic Product : $667 billion Annual Imports: US$ 209 billion Annual Exports: US$ 105 billion

The Objective of COMESA is to create and maintain: A full Free Trade Area guaranteeing the free movement of goods and services produced within COMESA and the removal of all tariffs and non-tariff barriers: A Customs Union under which goods and services imported from non-COMESA countries will attract an agreed single tariff in all COMESA Member States Free movement of people, capital and investment supported by the adoption of a common investment area so as to create a more favorable investment climate Payment and monetary union with a common currency 15 November 2018

Program activities Trade liberalization Trade facilitation Financial and monetary systems Payment systems and financial institutions Investment Agriculture & Agriculture Commodity Trade– (ACTESA) Private Sector Support Immigration and free movement of persons Peace and Security xxx 15 November 2018

Decision Making structure

ACTESA STRATEGIC FOCUS Mission Integrate smallholder farmers into national, regional and international markets through an improved policy environment and expanded market facilities /services Focus Area one Policy Research Outreach and Advocacy Prioritysues: Trade Policy Investment Policy Sector-Specific Policies Research Stakeholder outreach Focus Area Two Expanding Market Services and Facilities Priority Issues: Market facilities and services, information system and service Forum (CAADP pillar II) Focus Area Three Capacity Building for Commercialization Pri Issues: Productivity and technology adoption Development of farmer organisations Development of Farmer Organisations (CAADP pillar III)

COMESA SEED PROGRAM: COMSHIP CURRENT STATUS COMSHIP launched in 13 COMESA Member States, now remaining with Comoros, Seychelles, Eritrea, Mauritius, Djibouti, South Sudan Rwanda was first country to align to COMESA Seed System in March, 2016 with aligned regulations ready awaiting approval for DR Congo, Burundi, Uganda, Kenya, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. On awareness creation, over 10,000 COMESA Seed Trade Harmonisation Regulations and 3,000 printed and distributed

COMESA SEED PROGRAM: WHERE WE ARE NOW A comprehensive COMESA Seed Training programme developed and to be implemented soon COMESA Variety Catalogue on-line, seed companies are requested to register their regional varieties and ACTESA is looking forward to testing the COMESA Seed System Three COMSHIP committees in place and operational, namely Seed Advisory Committee, COMESA Seed Committee and Seed Technical Working Group First COMSHIP Mutual Accountability Meeting held in February, 2016, now aiming to develop the mutual accountability framework in close collaboration with Africa Lead COMESA Seed Committee

WAY FORWARD COMSHIP official launch needed for Eritrea, Comoros, Seychelles South Sudan, Djibouti and Mauritius More resources needed for COMSHIP implementation in Egypt, Sudan, Swaziland, Madagascar Conduct Seed baseline study for the 19 COMESA Member States in close collaboration with The African Seed Access Index (TASAI) and Integrated Seed Sector Development (ISSD) to enhance Seed information System Awareness creation on the COMESA Variety catalogue and COMESA Seed System needed for all the COMESA Member States

COMSHIP BUDGET NEEDED Activities Budget (USD$) COMSHIP official launch in Eritrea, Comoros, Seychelles South Sudan, Djibouti and Mauritius with road map development   300,000.00 COMSHIP implementation in Egypt, Sudan, Swaziland, Madagascar 2,000,000.00 Seed information System baseline study in close collaboration with TASAI and ISSD 1,500,000.00 Awareness creation of COMESA Seed System (COMESA Variety catalogue) in 19 COMESA member States 1,425,000.00 Total 5,225,000.00

BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOSAFETY

BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOSAFETY Policy Framework and Implementation Plan in place COMESA BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOSAFETY POLICY IMPLEMENTATION PLAN (COMBIP) “A COMESA 2015-2019 STRATEGY TO IMPLEMENT THE COMESA REGIONAL BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOSAFETY POLICY, LEADING TO INCREASED INVESTMENT IN BIOTECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS AND AGRICULTURAL COMMODITY TRADE IN THE REGION”  

Status in COMESA MS Confined Release Multilocation Sudan Uganda Egypt Contained Confined Release Multilocation Production Zimbabwe Preparedness Legal Institutional Infrastructure Public awareness Swaziland Kenya Malawi Sudan Egypt (Maize) Uganda Egypt Zambia Ethiopia PROGRESS

Overall Goal of COMBIP: Increased Investment in Biotechnology Applications and Agricultural Commodity Trade in the COMESA Region 1. COMBIP has been designed towards achieving an overall goal of “Increased investment in Biotechnology Applications and Agricultural Commodity Trade in the Region within five years.

Strategic Objectives 1. Strengthen Awareness and Communication 2. Establish and Institutionalize a Regional Level Biosafety Risk-Assessment Mechanism 3. Support Biosafety Regulatory Capacity and Biotechnology Development in COMESA Member States

BIOTECH BUDGET ESTIMATE Strategic Objectives Budget (USD$) 1. Awareness and Communication  2,500,000 2. Establishing a regional level biosafety risk-assessment system 1,500,000 3. Support for capacity building  2,200,000 Total 6,200,000.00

COMESA FERTILIZER PROGRAM: (Harmonization, Financing, Supply Chain, Distribution) Harmonization of conflicting fertilizer policies and regulatory frameworks, Establishment of a financing mechanism to finance the bulk procurement or manufacturing of fertilizers, Mapping of a systematic supply chain of bulk fertilizer imports as well as the port logistics and, Strengthening of domestic marketing and distribution of fertilizer to the farm gate through the development of agrodealer networks and profiling of farmer organization/associations and linking them to finance and inputs.

Policy & Regulatory Framework: 6 Phases Phase 1: Undertaking a review of current national policy, legal and regulatory frameworks affecting fertilizer markets in the COMESA member Phase 2: Convening of a high-level regional workshop to consider the Synthesis Report for validation and preparation of a roadmap for the harmonization of fertilizer policies and regulations in the COMESA member states. Phase 3: Formation of four technical committees; i) Policy, Regulation and Legislation ii) Fertilizer Standards iii) Quality Assurance and iv) Market Development which will hold several meetings/discussions for at least one year to discuss, deliberate and agree on the main elements of different standards, regulations, policies and other relevant issues to be harmonized. The outcomes of these discussions will result in a draft COMESA Fertilizer Standards and Regulations Framework which will be passed through the COMESA policy approval structures.

Policy & Regulatory Framework: 6 Phases Phase 4: Legal drafting of the framework document by a legal expert. The outcome of this will be the Draft COMESA Fertilizer Regulations. Phase 5: The draft COMESA Fertilizer Regulations will then be presented to the Ministers of Agriculture, the Ministers Justice and Legal Affairs and the COMESA Council of Ministers for approval and endorsement into a binding policy of the COMESA Harmonized Fertilizer Regulations. Phase 6: Domestication and Implementation

Fertilizer Programme Status To date Phases 1 and 2 of the program have been undertaken. Through the complimentary support from the AFAP, ACTESA undertook national and sub regional policy review of the SADC and EAC. The outcome of the reviews was: National review reports from COMESA member states; and sub-regional review reports for SADC and EAC. ACTESA is currently implementing activities under Phase 3. In line with scheduled activities under Phase 3, the four regional technical committees have been established.

Challenges Inadequate funding for implementation of activities. Some countries have not submitted representatives to the technical committees. As a result we are working closely with COMESA country officers to obtain names of nominees.

Required Budget Technical Committees Meetings: USD 300,000 One Year of Policy & Regulatory discussions in national and regional meetings: USD 1,000,000 Legal Drafting: & Translation to Arabic & French: USD 50,000 Developing the Draft policy and regulations and presentation to policy organs for approval: USD 300,000 Developing of Fertilizer Policy & Regulations Implementation Plan: USD 50,000 Implementation /Domestication: USD 5,000,000 Total USD 6,650,000

OVERALL GOAL END HUNGER

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