The Ministry of Trade and Industry in partnership with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, and the European Union launched a new project on March 20 aimed at enhancing food security through lessening crop losses due to pests.

The project, called "Strengthening food control and phytosanitary capacities and governance," is aimed at improving the food control system in the country.

According to FAO, this initiative will provide technical support and cooperate with competent authorities and institutions in COMESA countries to build up national capabilities, strengthen governance, and improve strategic planning around food safety and plant health.

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Coumba Dieng Sow, the FAO Country Director, said implementation of this tool will raise Rwanda’s agricultural produce.

"We are bringing a very important tool for food safety assessment, that was requested by the members of the Codex Alimentarius, this assessment is important in implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement,” she said.

"Rwanda is really pioneering this exercise by evaluating the entire food quality of its products here so that they can embrace the African Continental Free Trade Area but also other international markets.”

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The project foresees the implementation of a facilitated assessment of the national food control system in eight countries with specific focus in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).

The project is expected to enhance the capacities of the target member states to enhance food security through the reduction of crop losses due to pests.

Additionally, it will allow the implementation of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) standards, which help countries to develop import and export systems, facilitating safe trade, development, and economic growth.

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Farmers and exporters to gain

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Jean-Chrysostome Ngabitsinze, said that Rwanda will be able to increase exports to international markets because the national market requires adherence to many standards.

"Sometimes, farmers may not be aware of how to handle their products to ensure good quality for international markets. This project will help to educate and empower farmers to meet international standards and sell their products with confidence,” he said.

The project will use internationally recognized common approaches to assess national food control systems and phytosanitary systems, respectively, leading towards the prioritization of needs and recommendations for ways forward. This provides powerful support towards regional harmonization and contributes to improved dialogue for enhanced trade at the regional and global levels.

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Jean-Bosco Shingiro, a researcher at Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB), said that this assessment tool will help identify gaps in food quality and food safety.

"With this tool, we will be able to train farmers to improve the quality of their products, which is essential for linking to the market,” he said.

At national level, the project has two components: the national food control system and phytosanitary capacity evaluations.

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The project targeting agriculture value chains will be implemented in three years using €5 million (approximately Rwf5.8 billion) provided by the European Union. The first assessment of the national food control system is scheduled to start with the inception and training workshop from March and is, tentatively, to be completed by the end of October.

The second component will follow after FAO completes the recruitment of national facilitators.

Stakeholders of the food control system include national food control authorities and plant health authorities, relevant ministries – agriculture, forestry, health, trade and environment.