However, the sector remains constrained by multiple non-tariff barriers such as non-harmonized Sanitary and Phytosanitary requirements, fragmented seed and input certification systems,  and duplicative testing protocols, among other things.

These barriers not only raise transaction costs and delay cross-border trade, particularly for perishables, but also suppress private sector participation in the value chains, productivity, and regional food system resilience. Enhanced

To contribute to unlocking the full potential of agricultural value chains by eliminating NTBs and aligning regulatory frameworks, ACTESA and the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Cooperatives, Uganda, have joined forces in championing a barrier-free regional trade environment that enables efficient, inclusive, and competitive horticultural value chains in Eastern and Southern Africa through spearheading the review of institutional arrangements and promoting coordination mechanisms for NTB Taskforces and SPS systems at the national and regional level.

This was manifested by the convening of the COMESA EAC Horticulture Accelerator, Regional Forum on NTB/SPS  held in Entebbe, Uganda, on the 17th and 18th of September.

The Forum aimed to strengthen National and Regional NTB/SPS Taskforces in CEHA countries, including defining institutional mandates, coordination mechanisms, and governance structures for NTB/SPS oversight.

A crucial outcome of the meeting was the formalization of the role of CEHA National Chapters in national NTB monitoring and the institutionalization of the NTWG at the country level. This will contribute to ensuring that NTB/SPS-related issues in the horticulture sector across the CEHA target countries are tracked, investigated, reported, and addressed promptly.

Key stakeholders from the private and public sectors, including strategic partners like the GIZ and Trademark Africa, explored mechanisms to define institutional mandates and strengthen the governance structures of the regional NTB/SPS Taskforces.

Acting Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Trade, Industry, Mr Deogratius Musagazi, and the ACTESA CEO, Dr John Mukuka, remarked on the critical role of functional NTB and SPS institutional frameworks in the elimination of NTBS.

The two speakers emphasized that trade barriers, including regulatory requirements, certification procedures, and compliance standards, lead to increased costs, delayed market access, and reduced competitiveness for small and medium-sized enterprises in the region.

Mr Deogratius Musagazi called for quick harmonization of Standards and Procedures through systematic coordination, while reducing compliance burdens.  He stated that institutional frameworks are crucial in enabling the sharing of best practices, technical expertise, and capacity-building resources across member countries.

“Effective task forces serve as early warning systems and resolution mechanisms for emerging trade barriers.  Based on global best practices and regional experiences, effective NTB and SPS task forces should incorporate several critical elements”, he remarked.

The ACTESA CEO explained that the COMESA-EAC Horticulture Accelerator (CEHA) was established to unlock the enormous potential of the fruit and vegetable sector as a driver of inclusive growth.

Dr Mukuka reaffirmed ACTESA’s commitment to working with  EAC, governments, and development partners to ensure that NTB elimination is not only discussed but also implemented with urgency for the benefit of farmers, SMEs, and exporters.

Together, we are championing a barrier-free regional trade environment that enables efficient, inclusive, and competitive horticultural value chains in Eastern and Southern Africa.

The post Boosting Intra-regional Trade in the Horticulture Sector through Elimination of NTBS appeared first on The Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa (ACTESA).

Meet John Mary, Head of monitoring for Masaka Cooperative Union, who now shares with us how the CEHA matching grants will propel Masaka Cooperative’s potential to reach greater heights.

The post Transforming Lives in Rural Communities through Increased Income in the Horticulture Sector appeared first on The Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa (ACTESA).

The Summit was officially launched by Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who was joined by Rwanda’s Paul Kagame, former Ethiopian Prime Minister Haile Mariam Dessalegn, and Senegal’s Agriculture Minister Mabouba Diagne, who remarked on the African continent’s potential to harness, unlock, and transform its food systems for self-sufficiency and sustained food security.

President Bassirou Diomaye Faye underscored the relevance of inclusivity in agricultural transformation, unlocking socio-economic opportunities, and the necessity of reducing reliance on food imports to build sustainable food sovereignty.

‘’Our continent has all the potential needed to achieve food self-sufficiency. Africa could help feed the world. Africa should first rely on itself to feed itself. She needs to join a dynamic solution. Together, let us work to break the notion that agriculture is a survival sector’’, remarked H.E. President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, Republic of Senegal.

H.E. President of the Republic of Rwanda, H.E. Paul Kagame, remarked that the youths are key innovators and drivers of economic growth and agricultural transformation.

“Young people are the changemakers who are the heart of development. You must be out there actively engaged and find a purpose that guides you. Young people must make an effort to contribute and match the level of demands they are making. Support from government, institutions, including development institutions, to partner with you to take your ideas further will come, but you must be engaged.” -H.E. Paul Kagame.

ACTESA Chief Executive Officer, Dr John Mukuka, reaffirmed COMESA’s shared commitment to building resilient, climate-smart, data-driven food systems across Eastern and Southern Africa.

Speaking when he delivered a keynote speech at a side event dubbed “Production estimation

using satellite data and machine learning for Regional Food Balance and Security Monitoring, Dr Mukuka highlighted the crucial role of RFBS in ensuring proactive governance, stable markets,

increased intra-regional trade and agricultural transformation.

In a highly interactive panel discussion, RFBS Manager, Patrick Maingi, emphasised the role of RFBS in boosting farmer incomes, unlocking the agriculture trade and investment potential, and building Africa’s climate-smart food systems.

The summit highlighted the role of the continent’s fast-growing young population in a sector that contributes nearly a quarter of Africa’s GDP.

Key sessions of the forum addressed challenges of agricultural transformation, land access, youth participation, finance, innovation, and technology. The forum also reviewed the African Union’s new Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP/PDDAA), a roadmap for 2026–2035 to strengthen food sovereignty and cut reliance on imports.

Africa’s Food Systems Forum, formerly AGRF, is the world’s premier forum for African agriculture and food systems, bringing together stakeholders to take practical actions and share lessons that will move African food systems forward. Africa Food Systems Forum is designed to energize political will and advance the policies, programs, and investments required to achieve an inclusive and sustainable food systems transformation.

Hosted by Senegal after Kigali (Rwanda) in 2024, the event was organized by 33 partners, including the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). The event drew nearly 6,000 participants, including policymakers, private sector leaders, farmers’ organizations, civil society, and development partners.

The post SHIFTING FOCUS – UNLOCKING AFRICA’S VAST AGRI-FOOD POTENTIAL THROUGH DOMESTIC RESOURCES AND BOLD POLICY REFORMS appeared first on The Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa (ACTESA).

The regional Forum aligns with CEHA’s vision of supporting the development and adoption of a regional MIS platform integrated into the Regional Food Balance Sheet (RFBS), a multi-country framework for tracking production, consumption, trade flows, and food security indicators across the region.

In his official opening remarks, the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture, Tanzania, Mr. Gerald Mweli, noted that the forum was crucial for advancing regional harmonized and integrated MIS and RFBS that inform policy direction, decision making, and strengthening market systems.

“MIS is anticipated to integrate our national systems into the Regional Food Balance Sheet (RFBS), providing real-time data on production, prices, trade flows, and demand trends. This is not a standalone database; it is the foundation for regional value chain coordination, enabling decision makers to make informed choices in responding to market signals, attracting targeted investments, and strengthening our competitiveness in regional markets”. He stated.

He observed that systemic inefficiencies in data flow, market access, and post-harvest management hinder inclusive growth and intra-regional trade.

“Market intelligence tools like MIS are critical in boosting farmer incomes, stabilizing food supply chains, and enhancing regional food security. This is why the integration of CEHA’s Market Information System (MIS) with the Regional Food Balance Sheet (RFBS) framework is not only timely but essential as the EACs and COMESA’s broader trade and business agenda, leveraging digitalization to deepen regional value chains for sustainable and inclusive growth’’ he remarked.

Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa, Chief Executive Officer, Dr John Mukuka, remarked that MIS is relevant in ensuring the availability of accurate, timely, and standardised market data towards unlocking the trade and investment potential of the Horticulture sector in COMESA and EAC regions.

“Without reliable, timely, and standardised market data, farmers cannot plan production, exporters cannot identify opportunities, and policymakers cannot respond effectively to changing market conditions. Therefore, today’s forum is key in building consensus on governance, data sharing protocols, technical interoperability, and sustainability models.

EAC Acting Director for Productive Sectors, Mr Simon Kiarie, updated that EAC has intensified efforts to enhance the Horticulture Sector by implementing the Fruits and Vegetables strategy and post-harvest Management initiatives aimed at improving farmers’ income.

He remarked that EAC is committed to deepening regional integration through enhanced intra-regional trade and promoting regional horticulture food security systems in the COMESA and EAC regions.

And Green Revolution Regional Program Officer, Food Trade in East and Southern Africa, Solomon Baregu, underscored the need for strategic partnerships and consensus-building that support harmonized, regional MIS for transparency, private sector investment, and policy responsiveness.

The collaborative platform brought together strategic partners, including experts in MIS and RFBS from the Ministries of Agriculture, trade, and the National Bureau of Statistics in the CEHA Target countries of Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Rwanda. Other Partners included COLEAD and GIZ.

The Regional Forum marks a key step towards realising the COMESA and EAC aspiration of boosting farmer incomes, stabilizing food supply chains, and enhancing regional horticulture food security systems in the COMESA and EAC regions.

The post COMESA AND EAC ADVANCE EFFORTS TO STRENGTHEN MARKET INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR ENHANCED AGRICULTURE COMPETITIVENESS IN REGIONAL AND GLOBAL MARKETS.   appeared first on The Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa (ACTESA).

Each grantee from the CEHA target countries of Rwanda, Ethiopia, and Uganda will contribute a matching amount to complement the CEHA grant.

Meet Oluwaseun Joshua Rasheed, Chief Executive Officer of SOUK, a cooperative enterprise based in Rwanda, who shares with us how the CEHA matching grants will contribute to unlocking SOUK’s potential.

The post TRANSFORMING THE NARRATIVE OF THE HORTICULTURE SECTOR: FROM VISION TO SCALE AND PROFITABILITY. appeared first on The Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa (ACTESA).

1. Effective collaboration on ensuring that the COMESA Biotechnology and Biosafety Implementation Programme drives the development and harmonization of biosafety protocols for Genetically Modified Organisms and other biotechnology products.
2. Ensuring the safe deployment of biotechnology innovations and standardizing biosafety regulations across COMESA Member States.
3. Expediting efforts of institutionalizing a Regional Biosafety Risk Assessment Mechanism through the established COMESA Panel of Experts (PoE).

Together, we are taking bold steps toward advancing biotechnology and biosafety in the region to promote increased global and regional trade in genetically modified agriculture products.

The post TOWARDS ENHANCED PARTNERSHIPS ON ACCELERATED BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOSAFETY INITIATIVES. appeared first on The Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa (ACTESA).

The regional Forum aligns with CEHA’s vision of supporting the development and adoption of a regional MIS platform integrated into the Regional Food Balance Sheet (RFBS), a multi-country framework for tracking production, consumption, trade flows, and food security indicators across the region.

Keynote speeches delivered by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Gerald Mweli, Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa, Chief Executive Officer, Dr John Mukuka, EAC Acting Director, Productive Sectors, Mr Simon Kiarie, Alliance for a Green Revolution Regional Program Officer, Food Trade in East and Southern Africa, Solomon Baregu, Tanzania Horticulture Association, Chief Development Manager, Anthony Chimanga, underscored the following;

• The relevance of ensuring the availability of accurate, timely, and standardised market data towards unlocking the trade and investment potential of the Horticulture sector in COMESA and EAC regions.
• Enhancement of MIS and RFBS data systems to accelerate policy coordination, value chain development, including actionable, responsive, and inclusive financing.
• Advancing regional harmonized and integrated MIS and RFBS that inform policy and decision making.
• Strengthening strategic partnerships and consensus building on governance, data sharing protocols, technical interoperability, and sustainability models.

The collaborative platform brought together strategic partners, including experts in MIS and RFBS from the Ministries of Agriculture, trade, and the National Bureau of Statistics in the CEHA Target countries of Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Rwanda. Other Partners included COLEAD and GIZ.

The Regional Forum marks a key step towards realising the COMESA and EAC aspiration of boosting farmer incomes, stabilizing food supply chains, and enhancing regional horticulture food security systems in the COMESA and EAC regions.

The post COMESA AND EAC ADVANCE EFFORTS TO STRENGTHEN AGRICULTURE COMPETITIVENESS IN REGIONAL AND GLOBAL MARKETS. appeared first on The Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa (ACTESA).

• Strategic alignment of national and regional horticulture regulations, standards, and programmes for increased regional capacity development and regulatory harmonization.
• Effective coordination of regional horticulture initiatives.
• Creativity and innovation enhancement through effective partnerships and collaborations.

The meeting reflected a shared dedication to developing the regional horticulture sector and provided a valuable opportunity for CEHA to engage with its strategic partners.

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CEHA remains enthusiastic about accelerating the growth of the regional horticulture sector and is keen to leverage this partnership to collectively drive the transformation of the Fruit and Vegetable Sub-sector in our region through the COMESA-EAC Horticultural Accelerator (CEHA).

The post CEHA ADVANCES STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS TOWARDS TRANSFORMING THE REGIONAL HORTICULTURE SECTOR appeared first on The Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa (ACTESA).

To fast-track the process of establishing and strengthening horticultural production clusters in the areas of operation, CEHA recently onboarded consultants to coordinate the process of establishing clusters in close partnership with the respective CEHA National Chapters. This will be achieved through site validation, business case development, and stakeholder capacity building. The key highlights of crucial outcomes to strengthen the horticulture sector in the CEHA target countries will include;

• Harmonized cluster operations with the CEHA Regional Strategy and Action Plan.
• Built capacity of MSMEs, cooperatives, and producer groups on Good Agriculture Practices, post-harvest handling, and market access
• Strengthened capacity of 300+ value chain actors.
• Over 400 value chain actors trained.
• Developed investment cases for PPPs in aggregation, processing, and logistics.
• Trainings for smallholders, SMEs, and cooperatives undertaken.

Horticulture cluster is a regional/geographical concentration of targeted horticulture crops, offering scope for specialization in pre-production, production, post-harvest management, logistics, marketing, and branding.

Currently valued at USD 4 billion, to double or triple in the next 10 years, the Bill Foundation-funded project program was created in 2022 through public and private sector partners to better coordinate policy, value chain development programs, financing, research, and development. The project aims to accelerate the growth of the fruit and vegetable subsector of the COMESA and EAC regions.

STAY TUNED FOR MORE EXCITING UPDATES!!!!!!!

The post CEHA UNVEILS ITS CLUSTER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME TOWARDS UNLOCKING REGIONAL HORTICULTURE POTENTIAL appeared first on The Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa (ACTESA).

Given this potential, the Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa (ACTESA), a Specialized Agency of COMESA has prioritized building the capacity of the horticulture sub-sector across the COMESA  and EAC regions. Through its program, the COMESA-EAC Horticulture Accelerator (CEHA), ACTESA aims to complement the implementation of the Fruit and Vegetable (F&V) sub-sector of the COMESA and EAC Regions.  Valued at USD4 billion to double or triple in the next 10 years, CEHA’s priority value chains over the short term are avocado, onion, and Irish potato in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.

To support innovative agribusiness projects that contribute to the improvement of farming household incomes, rural economic development, and gender equity via horticultural value chains across the region, the CEHA  project will see seven vibrant agribusiness cooperatives and associations receive up to 100,000 US dollars Gates foundation funded matching grants by August 2025, with each grantee contributing a matching amount to complement the CEHA grant. The cooperatives and associations will implement various initiatives aimed at scaling up horticulture value chains over a period of 24 months.

CEHA is keen to transform the horticultural industry in the COMESA and EAC region to create the growth and sustainability of horticultural value chains. The CEHA project underscores the need for accelerating commercial integration of East and Southern Africa horticultural value chains into national, regional, and international markets to promote the growth of horticultural markets, to contribute to enhanced climate-smart horticultural productivity, value chain development, and economic empowerment, and increased gender-inclusive rural income growth and employment creation.

By ACTESA Communication Specialist

The post CEHA MATCHING GRANTS POISED TO TRANSFORM THE HORTICULTURE SECTOR IN THE REGION. appeared first on The Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa (ACTESA).