Workshop: European Union market access for East African agro-based small and medium enterprises

It also builds on the work during that grant on the sustainable trade index evaluation of EU-Africa trade arrangements, including the EU-EAC Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), which was validated with stakeholders. This workshop is expected to bring together representatives from agricultural SMEs in the EAC and EU and EAC decision-makers and experts, practitioners, researchers, project developers, and NGOs who have directly or indirectly contributed or are well placed to influence the implementation of the findings.

Background

This project explores access to EU markets for East African small-medium enterprises (SMEs) in the agriculture sector and the effect of EU sustainability standards. It continues our efforts under a previous ECF grant to SEI for the Green Trade Network project to identify challenges and opportunities for the region’s trade relationship with the EU as it moves towards more environmentally stringent requirements for market access. Stakeholder discussions at a workshop in Kigali, Rwanda, delivered under SEI’s previous ECF grant, indicated that research and analysis on African exports and EU market access would complement existing efforts focused on sustainable production in the agricultural SME sector.

Africa’s biggest export market is the EU, accounting for 33% of total exports in 2020. While there are still barriers to market access, the East African Community finalized an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the EU in 2014, but it has been held up as not all EAC member countries have ratified it into national laws. Kenya has ratified the EPA and this year agreed with the EU to pursue an interim agreement with binding commitments on environmental protection, climate, and labour rights. Once agreed, this will provide Kenya with full access to the EU market for its exports in advance of the delayed EPA, provided these sustainability commitments are met.

The trade and sustainability chapters of trade agreements that include such commitments have been given renewed focus in the EU’s Trade and Sustainable Development Action Plan, released on 22 June 2022. This will provide more scope for locally developed approaches and enforcement as well as support by the EU’s development cooperation tools. Agricultural commodities are the region’s largest export to the EU and are likely to be among the focus areas for the trade and sustainability chapters being negotiated by the EU and Kenya.

Workshop’s Objectives

• Engage agricultural SMEs in the EAC and EU as well as EAC decision-makers and experts, practitioners, researchers, project developers, and NGOs to present and refine project findings, timed with policy windows of influence, connected to negotiations between the EU and EAC on an interim EPA;
• Co-develop practical recommendations with agricultural SMEs, EU and EAC decision-makers, and experts to inform sustainable/climate-compatible trade cooperation between EU and EAC partner countries based on the climate-smart production practices, market and value chain barriers, and policy gaps that have been identified in this project;
• Through the EU-EAC secretariats, engage EU-EAC member countries on mainstreaming sustainable/climate-compatible trade cooperation recommendations into EU-EAC trade policy (EAC EPA), planning and funding processes.

Workshop Outputs

• Enhanced understanding of the challenges and opportunities to sustainably upgrade the coffee and avocado value chains in East Africa;
• Policy recommendations to inform sustainable/climate-compatible trade cooperation between EU and EAC partner countries;

• Strategies and sector-specific implementation guidelines for mainstreaming sustainable/climate-compatible trade cooperation recommendations into EU-EAC trade policy (EAC EPA), planning, and funding processes;
• An agreed roadmap for implementing sustainable/climate-compatible trade cooperation between EU and EAC partner countries.