East African countries need policies on food trade that address climate change. At a recent conference in Bujumbura in Burundi, it was revealed that the East African Community Food Security Action Plan falls short when it comes to climate change. Titled “Promoting Agriculture-Climate-Trade Linkages in the East African Community,” the conference revealed that not all EAC partner states have concrete policy frameworks that deal with climate change.
East African countries need policies on food trade that address climate change.
At a recent conference in Bujumbura in Burundi, it was revealed that the East African Community Food Security Action Plan falls short when it comes to climate change.
Titled “Promoting Agriculture-Climate-Trade Linkages in the East African Community,” the conference revealed that not all EAC partner states have concrete policy frameworks that deal with climate change.
In addition, intra-EAC trade in food is far lower than that with countries outside those not from the region. According to Dickson Poloji, a policy analyst with the East African Business Council, intra-EAC trade in food only accounts for 13 per cent of the total food trade.
Much of this is attributed to non-tariff barriers that hinder the transfer of food from surplus food production zones to areas with deficits. Also, some countries in the region still have export bans on food commodities and products intended for consumption within the EAC region.
The conference noted that while implementing the EAC Common Market Protocol, the first priority should be given to free movement of food within the region to ensure food security.
It will also ensure that the majority of the EAC citizens, engaged in the production of food commodities are not adversely affected by unpredictable weather patterns.
EAC Principal Officer for Environment and Natural Resources Wivine Ntamubano said that the EAC Climate Change Policy Framework 2011-2015 provides an effective and integrated response to regional climate change adaptation.
“However, it is focused on investment as a remedy for climate change. We need to consider the balance between economic gains, environmental impacts and social effects,” she said.
The meeting noted that even though the EAC climate change strategy is to enhance a co-ordinated regional response to climate change, it was more donor-driven than country-driven and thus the implementation was wanting.
According to Paul Isabirye of the Ugandan Focal Point on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, it is not the work of the EAC Secretariat to implement climate change policy but the partner states’.
Norman Ojamuge, of the Ugandan Ministry of Trade, Industry and Co-operatives, said that the Ugandan national trade policy is silent on issues of climate change.
Burundi MP Diomède Ntangamajeri noted that the country’s climate early warning system, which was established in 1992, has not worked since 1998 after the Japanese grant ran out.
The biggest challenge is for the EAC partner states do adopt climate-smart agriculture to strengthen food security and improve farmers’ livelihoods.
This includes agro-forestry, integrated pest management, crop rotation, mulching and residue management that with time can sustainably increase the productivity of smallholder farmers.