20101206
EA Business

Arusha — The Chairperson of the East African Community (EAC) council of Ministers Hafsa Mossi has warned that despite the improved rains since last year which resulted in a surplus production in the EAC, the region is still not food secure due weak systems in post harvest storage, infrastructure and distribution.

"The region has got a high variability in production caused by weather and climate which are becoming worse due to climate change," she said at the opening of a retreat of the EAC Heads of State on food security and climate change policy in Arusha last week.

"There are limited investments in agriculture and the inadequate food exchange within and between the partner states."

She said the region may undo the painstaking progress the partner states have made on many fronts of economic and social development.

Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete said agricultural productivity in the region is too low and is predominantly peasant and remains backward in use of modern technologies and methods.

"There is limited use of high yielding seeds, fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides, our agriculture depends on rain which has become unreliable while weather patterns have become less predictable,' he said.

He said experience has shown that the region is experiencing frequent and long periods of drought and post harvest losses.

"Shortage of food in many parts of East Africa has become a recurrent problem due to the effects of climate change, we need to explore how best to increase food production, address the weather patterns and minimize agricultural related activities that are destructive to the environment," said Kikwete.

He said the EAC will have to take more appropriate measures to ensure its own food security and think of food exports.

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki said although the region is endowed with huge potential to produce adequate food the uneven distribution of production endowments has resulted in good yields in some areas and deficiencies in other parts of the region.

"I appeal to the partner states to harmonise the EAC staple foods standards and remove impediments to the free flow of agriculture produce since this benefits both the producers and the consumers," he said.

Kibaki said food is a basic human right and its availability must not be at the will of a few individuals but through strategic interventions and joint efforts by the governments.

Rwanda Prime Minister Benard Makuza said climate change has led to increase in temperatures of warms days to exceed 30 degrees centigrade while the number of rain days have decreased.

Ugandan Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Kutesa said that climate change in Uganda has led to landslides with recent examples of those that displaced 5800 people and caused 350 deaths in the Mountain Elgon area of Eastern Uganda.