By Ezra Kashumbusha,
KAMPALA
East African Community (EAC) states have come together to strengthen food security in the region. Policy and decision makers on food security recently held a meeting to implement action plans to intensify food and codex safety mechanisms in the region.
The meeting was hosted by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics with support from the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations at Protea Hotel in Kampala.One of the key takeaways from the meeting was the need to develop food safety programs through EAC partnerships.
Minister of health Ruth Aceng, while speaking at the event, emphasized the importance of harmonizing regulatory mechanisms to ensure a smooth flow of trade. She stressed the need for safe food products, especially during epidemics.
“Whatever we are trading in, or the end products from the farm to the fork, must be safe for the consumers. We have seen that during epidemics, we have had trade issues where the Ministries of health are involved to ensure that there’s safety of trucks as they move forward,” Aceng said.
She also added that disagreements regarding trade can arise between countries. For example, South Sudan accused Ugandan maize of having aflatoxins, and cereals have been rejected on several occasions in the past. Therefore, this meeting was held to address these challenges before they happen.
By collaborating on food security, EAC states hope to intensify food safety regulations and reduce the risk of trade disputes, ensuring a smoother flow of trade and food security for the region.
On the same note Minister of trade and investment Hon. Francis Mwebesa said that his ministry is committed to investing in infrastructure like food safety laboratories which have been decentralised to Eastern, Western & Northern Uganda to ensure accessibility and availability of safe food in the region.
“As of June 2023, up to 1,100 Uganda Standards were developed in the Food & Agriculture sector of which 140 are adopted from Codex” Hon.Mwebesa revealed.
