Through its Fruits and Vegetables Strategic Plan and initiatives to reduce post-harvest losses, the EAC is working to grow the intra-regional trade of fruits and vegetables
Arusha. The East African Community (EAC) has intensified efforts to enhance the horticulture sector by implementing the Fruits and Vegetables Strategic Plan 2021–2031 and post-harvest loss management initiatives, aimed at improving farmers’ incomes.
Speaking at the Comesa–EAC Horticulture Accelerator (CEHA) forum in Arusha, the EAC Acting Director for Productive Sectors, Mr Simon Kiarie, said the regional bloc was committed to deep integration, creating a unified market where goods, services, capital, and people move freely.
He noted that the fruits and vegetables sub-sector was expected to significantly increase intra-EAC trade from 15 to 50 percent, despite persistent challenges. Mr Kiarie explained that EAC policy frameworks, including the 6th Development Strategy and Vision 2050, prioritise interventions to facilitate trade and investment, strengthen regional value chains, and expand intra-EAC trade.
“CEHA has identified significant challenges in the horticulture sector, including fragmented supply chains, high post-harvest losses, limited access to finance, poor infrastructure, and restrictive tariff and non-tariff barriers,” he said.
He revealed that a proposal was underway to expand CEHA interventions to cover all EAC Partner States, beyond its initial membership. The EAC and Comesa have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly implement the CEHA strategy.
The 40th Extraordinary Sectoral Council of Ministers on Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment, held on 24 May 2025, directed the EAC Secretariat to finalise the EAC–Comesa Horticulture Accelerator Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) by 2 June 2025, ensuring that all Partner States are included.
The Council also instructed the Secretariat to work with stakeholders to harmonise multiple horticulture initiatives across the region by June 2026 to avoid duplication and enhance collective impact.
According to Mr Kiarie, the CEHA initiative aims to build resilient, climate-smart and competitive horticulture value chains through sustainable production, enhanced value addition, integration of smallholders, and greater private sector investment.
He added that ongoing efforts include strengthening national Market Information Systems (MIS), aligning Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) and Non-Tariff Barrier (NTB) policies, and integrating them into regional systems such as the Regional Food Balance Sheet.
The chief executive officer of the Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa (ACTESA), Dr John Mukuka, stressed the importance of harmonised market information systems, which he said would make data work for farmers, traders and the region as a whole.
“This forum marks a significant milestone for the CEHA/ACTESA flagship programme, which seeks to transform the horticulture sector into a driver of trade, income growth, job creation and improved nutrition,” he said.
CEHA, a multi-country coordination platform, aligns investments, policies and market facilitation measures to transform fruit and vegetable value chains in its five founding countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, with potential to expand further across the region.
Dr Mukuka pointed out that although the horticulture sector holds immense potential, it continues to face bottlenecks that limit global competitiveness, including fragmented value chains, inconsistent quality standards, weak market linkages and limited access to reliable market data.
He added that CEHA’s strategies are focused on upgrading regional value chains by improving cold storage, logistics networks and modernised trading systems, while ensuring adequate and profitable production of quality, safe and affordable fruits and vegetables.
