TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) has signed an MOU worth US$ 1.3 million (approximately Sh130 million) with Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services (KEPHIS) and Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) for automation support of their internal business processes.
The funding to KEPHIS is US$ 450,000 while the funding to AFA is US$ 850,000.
The KEPHIS system will hasten the issuance of seed certificates to traders resulting in enhanced access to trade and market information, where information availability and traceability is expected to improve.
The AFA system will centralise existing information, improve efficiency and service delivery as well as facilitate effective regulatory processes in the agricultural sector.
The funding from TMEA will allow the two institutions respond to challenges in production, value addition and streamlining of the agricultural supply chains to boost efficiency, transparency and predictability in the trading of agricultural produce and products.
Eliminating these challenges will contribute to reduced costs along the value chain to guarantee higher earnings to farmers, improve food security for the country.
It will also enable agriculture surpluses or new value chains to target export markets.
During the ceremony, KEPHIS MD Dr. Esther Kimani, AFA interim Director General, Alfred Busolo Tabu and TMEA Senior Director Trade Environment, Richard Kamajugo signed on behalf of their respective organizations.
In his statement, TMEA Senior Director Trade Environment, Richard Kamajugo said, “This quest enshrined in the national vision pillars of economic development, fits in well with TMEA’s vision of growing prosperity in East Africa through trade; increased agricultural produce and products trade will significantly contribute to one of TMEA’s results target; 10% increase in value of exports from the EAC Region."