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STATUS OF THE COMESA SEED TRADE
HARMONISATION REGULATIONS
John Mukuka, PhD
WHAT IS ACTESA?
•
A Specialised Agency of COMESA established by
COMESA Heads of States
. on 9th June 2009 .
•
Implement agricultural activities on staple foods with a
focus on small scale farmers in the ESA region.
•
Stemmed from the need of having an implementing
Agency for Comprehensive Africa Agricultural
Development Programme (CAADP) pillars 2 on
market access and 3 on Food Security
•
Programmes fits into CAADP regional compact
framework’s priority 1 on Agricultural productivity
and priority 2 on removal of barriers to trade
STRATEGIC POSITION OF ACTESA?
•
COMESA is answerable to Members States' Heads
of States and Governments
in the Performance of
.
Regional Programmes
•
Use the COMESA Policy Organs to enable Member
States implement Regional Programmes
•
Mutual and Collective Accountability and
Responsibility
•
High level of Transparency, Responsibility,
Coherence and Synergies
STRATEGIC FOCUS OF ACTESA
Mission
Integrate Smallholder Farmers into National,
Regional and International Markets through
an improved Policy Environment and
expanded Market Facilities /Services
Focus Area one
Policy Research
Outreach and
Advocacy
Prioritysues:
Trade Policy
Investment Policy
Sector-Specific Policies
Research
Stakeholder outreach
Focus Area Two
Focus Area Three
Expanding Market
Services and
Facilities
Capacity Building
for
Commercialization
Priority Issues:
•Productivity and
technology adoption
Development of farmer
organisations
Development of Farmer
Organisations
(CAADP pillar III)
Market facilities and
services, information
system and service
Forum
(CAADP pillar II)
ACTESA PRIORITIES / PROGRAMMES
Agro-inputs:
Seed Programme, Fertiliser standards
and supply system,
Biotechnology and Biosafety Policy
Food security:
Regional Food Balance Sheet, Cross
Border Informal Trade monitoring, food
safety, post harvest management, imports
and exports bans, etc
Market Access:
Developed programme on maize and
livestock for the COMESA region
Strengthening Farmer Organisations: Not yet done, but scope
in place
EAC (ASARECA)- SADC- COMESA SEED HARMONISATION
EAC
COMESA
Burundi
Comoros
DR Congo
Djibouti
Egypt
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Kenya
Libya
Madagascar
Malawi
Mauritius
Rwanda
Seychelles
Sudan
Swaziland
Uganda
Zambia
Zimbabwe
SADC
Angola
Botswana
DR Congo
Lesotho
Madagascar
Malawi
Mauritius
Mozambique
Namibia
Swaziland
Tanzania
Zambia
Zimbabwe
South Africa
Seychelles
ASARECA
Burundi
EAC
DRC
Kenya
Ethiopia
Uganda
Eritrea
Tanzania
Kenya
Madagascar Burundi
Rwanda
Rwanda
Sudan
Comoros
Tanzania
Djibouti
Uganda
Egypt
Libya
COMESA
ASARECA
SADC
BENEFITS OF COMESA SEED SYSTEMS
•Seed companies’ will benefit from reduced
business costs as they will no need to set new
.
branching across the region
•The time and cost of certification / inspection of
quarantine pests will be reduced and seed
companies
•The incomes and/or numbers of smallholder outgrower small seed producers will increase as they
join regional value chains, expanding their production
on behalf of national, regional or international seed
companies.
BENEFITS OF HARMONISED REGULATIONS
•Smallholder farmers will benefit from increased availability of
a wide range of new and improved seed varieties at
.
affordable prices,
•thus increasing their the small-holder productivity as seed
of consistent good quality will be traded in the COMESA
region
•Domestication will encourage innovation by seed
companies through Research and Development (R & D)
that will reduce costs of doing seed business in region
•Increase in numbers of local seed producers as they will
be increased demand for quality seed and will foster
partnership among seed companies
11 CROPS COMMON IN BOTH
THE COMESA AND SADC
CROP –COMESA LIST
ONLY
CROPS –SADC LIST
ONLY
MAIZE (OPV and Hybrid)
PEARL MILLET
CABBAGE
GROUNDNUT
ONION
SOYABEAN
PEPPER
COTTON (OPV and Hybrid)
TOMATO
SUNFLOWER (OPV and hybrid)
TOBACCO
RICE (OPV and Hybrid)
PEA
BEAN
SORGHUM (OPV and Hybrid)
WHEAT
CASSAVA
POTATO
10CROPS COMMON IN BOTH THE
COMESA AND EAC
CROP –COMESA LIST
ONLY
MAIZE (OPV and Hybrid)
PEARL MILLET
GROUNDNUT
COTTON (OPV)
SOYABEAN
SUNFLOWER (OPV and hybrid)
RICE (OPV and Hybrid)
BEAN
SORGHUM (OPV and Hybrid)
WHEAT
CASSAVA
IRISH POTATO
8 CROPS COMMON IN BOTH
THE COMESA AND ECOWAS
CROP –COMESA LIST ONLY
CROPS –
ECOWAS LIST
ONLY
MAIZE (OPV AND HYBRID)
SUNFLOWER (OPV AND
HYBRID)
COWPEA
GROUNDNUT
SOYABEANS
YAM
SORGHUM (OPV AND HYBRID) WHEAT
ONION
COTTON
TOMATOS
CASSAVA
PEARL MILLET
RICE (OPV AND HYBRID)
IRISH POTATO
BEANS
IMPLEMENTATION STATUS
•COMESA Seed Harmonisation Regulations were
. are now in force and are
gazetted in May, 2014 and
bidding according to article 10(1) of the Treaty
•With the directive from COMESA Council of
Ministers in February, 2014, ACTESA has come up
with COMESA Seed Harmonisation Implementation
Plan (COMSHIP) validated in April, 2014
•The COMSHIP was endorsed by the COMESA
Ministers of Agriculture in February, 2015.
COMSHIP VISION
A 5 YEAR STRATEGY TO IMPLEMENT COMESA
SEED TRADE HARMONISATION REGULATIONS,
LEADING TO INCREASED SEED PRODUCTION,
RELIABILITY, TRADE AND COMPETITIVENESS
OF THE SEED INDUSTRY IN THE COMESA
REGION.”
COMSHIP IN A NUTSHELL
•SO.1. Prepare for, and support of Phased
.
domestication of seed regulations
•SO. 2. Strengthen awareness of the COMESA Seed
Trade Harmonisation regulations
•SO.3. Monitor and improvement of the COMESA
Seed Trade Harmonisation Regulations
•SO. 4. COMESA Seed Capacity Building and Smallholder Support Programme
PARNERSHIPS WITHIN COMSHIP
COMESA / ACTESA Secretariat:
Facilitation , Co-ordination and
Communication
Contracting /Facilitation
DEVELOPMENT
PARTNERS
Technical Support
and Resource
Mobilization (UKAID
and USAID)
IMPLEMENTING
PARTNER (AFSTA,
SACAU, EAFF and
other NGOs
GOVERNMENTS /
MEMBER STATES:
Facilitate activities by
national partners in
collaboration with
ACTESA (NSAs, NPPOs,
NAROS, etc
WITH FOOD TRADE / UKAID SUPPORT
•Assist Burundi and Rwanda in finalising draft Seed Laws and
align them to the COMESA Seed Trade Harmonisation
.
Regulations (SO. 1)
•Align the National Seed Regulatory Systems in Kenya,
Malawi, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe to the COMESA
Seed Trade Harmonisation Regulations (SO. 1)
•Strengthen Institutional and human capacities in targeted
countries (SO. 1)
•Launch COMSHIP and conduct effective advocacy, awareness
creation, information sharing and learning in relation to the
COMESA Seed Trade Harmonisation Regulations (SO. 2& 3)
•Establish Mechanisms for regional variety release and
maintenance of variety catalogue (SO. 1)
WITH USAID SUPPORT
•Far launched COMSHIP in Swaziland, DR Congo, Ethiopia,
Egypt, Madagascar and Sudan (SO.2)
•Assist DR Congo, South Sudan
. and Djibouti in finalising draft
Seed Laws and align them to the COMESA Seed Trade
Harmonisation Regulations (SO. 1)
•Align the National Seed Regulatory Systems in Ethiopia to
the COMESA Seed Trade Harmonisation Regulations
(SO. 1)
•Training of customs staff on the COMESA Seed Trade
Harmonisation Regulations and documentation (SO. 1)
•Awareness and training on Maize Lethal Necrosis Disease
(MLD) for Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda,
Kenya, Zambia, Malawi (SO. 2 & 3)
•Support operalitionalisation of the COMESA Seed Committee
(SO. 1)
WITH AGRA-SSTP SUPPORT
•Development of the software and hardware of the COMESA
regional variety release and maintenance of variety catalogue
.
(SO. 1)
CONCLUSIONS
•ALIGNMENT TO THE COMESA SEED TRADE
HARMONISATION REGULATIONS
THROUGH
.
“REVIEW TEAM” KEY
•THE SUPPORT OF THE NATIONAL SEED
AUTHORITY / NATIONAL PLANT PROTECTION
ORGANISATION IS CORNERSTONE
•AWARENESS CREATION IMPORTANT TO ALL
SEED STAKEHOLDERS
•PRIVATE PUBLIC PARTNERSHIP IS ESSENTAIL
ELEMENT AS WAS DONE IN THE PAST
CONCLUSIONS
•OPERATIONALISATION OF THE COMESA VARIETY
CATALOGUE CRITICAL .
•A FUNCTIONAL COMESA SEED COMMITTEE ALSO
IMPORTANT
•BY 2050, WORLD POPULATION WILL BE 9.3 BILLION,
THE REGION HAS POTENTIAL TO FEED THE WHOLE
WORLD, THIS IS THE TIME.
THANK YOU