11th Meeting of the Sectoral Council on Agriculture and Food Security is taking place in Arusha, Tanzania
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 11th June 2018:
The 11th meeting of the Sectoral Council on Agriculture and Food Security (SCAFS) is taking place from 11th to 16th June 2018 at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. The SCAFS will review the progress made in the sector in implementing Council decisions and consider other issues of regional importance in the areas of Agriculture and Food Security.
The Sectoral Council will be held through the session of Senior Officials from 11th to 13th June, 2018; Session of Permanent/Principal /Under Secretaries on 14th June; and concludes with the Ministerial Session on 15th June 2018.
Since the last meeting of the Sectoral Council held in June 2017, several activities have taken place in implementing various projects and programmes under the sector. The 11th meeting of the Sectoral Council on Agriculture and Food Security (SCAFS) will consider the following items, among others:-
- Progress Report on EAC Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) process;
- EAC Regional Project on Aflatoxin Prevention and Control;
- Status of implementation of EAC Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Protocol;
- Harmonization of Farm Inputs;
- EAC Food and Nutrition Security Strategy and Action Plan;
- Challenges and Opportunities in Rice Value Chain;
- EAC-FAO Project on Promoting Youth Employment in the Agricultural Sector;
- Status of Livestock and Fisheries Development; and
- Resource Mobilization and Partnerships.
Meanwhile, a High Level Forum on the Inaugural Biennial Report on the Implementation of the June 2014 AU Heads of State Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transformation for Shared prosperity and Improved Livelihoods is scheduled to take place on 16th June, 2018, at the Mount Meru Hotel in Arusha, Tanzania. At that Forum, the Best Youth Agripreneurs in the EAC will be recognized and awarded.
The Secretariat in collaboration with FAO embarked on a programme to promote youth employment in agriculture through the technical cooperation project dubbed: Promoting Youth Employment in the Agricultural Sector in East Africa. In the month of May 2018, the Secretariat with support from FAO sent 18 youth from six Partner States to Songhai Centre in Benin for a one month’s apprenticeship intended to build their agribusiness knowledge and practical skills in various agro-enterprises. The initiative has demonstrated that when youth are equipped with the right knowledge and skills, they are likely to operate successful agribusinesses.
-ENDS-
For more information, please contact:
Mr Owora Richard Othieno
Head, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department
EAC Secretariat
Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: +255 784 835021
Email: OOthieno [at] eachq.org
About the East African Community Secretariat:
The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of five Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
The EAC Secretariat is ISO 9001:2008 Certified