- The East African Community (EAC) partner states have been urged to increase budget allocation to agriculture sector.
This came up during the one day meeting of the Sectoral Council on Agriculture and Food Security today held in Arusha, Tanzania.
The EAC Partner State Ministers responsible for Agriculture considered and made recommendations on various matters relating to agriculture, livestock and food security in the region, the EAC said in a statement.
Among the items considered at the meeting were also progress reports on the establishment of the EAC System of Early Warning to Monitor Food Security; development of an EAC Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Protocol; implementation of the Strengthening Trade at Regional Level in Agricultural Inputs in Africa Project (STAR Project); and ongoing efforts aimed at prevention and control of human and animal transboundary diseases. The ministers also directed the Secretariat to work with Partner States to develop common disease control and management strategies for H1N1 virus.
The ministers urged Partner States to increase their budget allocation to agriculture sector to the level proposed under CAADP Maputo Declaration - which is at least 10 percent of the national budget - as part of the overall implementation of EAC's Agriculture and Rural Development Policy and Strategy.
They further agreed to a draft action plan for the implementation of an EAC Summit directive to hold a special Food Security and Climate Change summit. The summit is expected to take place next year, the EAC statement said.
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