AU SAFGRAD facilitated in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), from 13 to 14 November 2019, a Regional Validation Workshop (for IGAD & UMA) on : Improving competitiveness of Agricultural Commodities through Regional Value Chains development for Boosting Intra-Africa Trade
Group Picture at the Openning of the workshop
From 13 to 14 of November 2019, AU-SAFGRAD has convened a regional validation workshop for IGAD and UMA to provide actors and stakeholders the opportunity to consider and agree on selection criteria, analyze and select priority commodity value chains, based on agreed criteria, for regional endorsement.
The 2-day validation workshop was held at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This meeting was facilitated by AU-SAFGRAD but ownership and advancement of outcome as a regional commitment rested with the RECs. The aim of the workshop was to validate regional selection criteria and prioritize agricultural commodities value chains for regional ownership and domestication.
Attended by experts from RECs and their Member States. Various experts from development partners involved in agricultural trade and industrialization in the Continent/region took also part to the validation workshop.
The objectives of the workshop was specifically : (i) Collate information on Member States’ priority value chains selection criteria and commodities prioritized, (ii) Review and agree on selection criteria for prioritizing RVC against the proposed RVC; (iii) Validate the prioritized RVC for regional ownership and domestication and finally (iv) Initiate process to agree on the modalities for constituting regional and Continental commodity committees.
After two days deliberations, the meeting was concluded with the following outcomes: (i)Information on status and criteria use in the selection of MS prioritized value chain for the region was documented; (ii) criteria for prioritizing RVC agreed and endorsed by IGAD and UMA; (iii) Regional priority commodities documented and (iv) Strategic approach in constituting commodities committees agreed.
