In Rwanda, FAO leads an evaluation of the national food control system

Last week FAO began a project to improve the food control system in Rwanda. A 5-million-euro project funded by the European Union, "Strengthening of Capacities and Governance in Food and Phytosanitary Control,” is set to provide technical support and work with Competent Authorities and other leading institutions in 12 Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Member Countries to build up capabilities, strengthen governance and improve strategic planning around two main components: food safety and plant health.

As part of the food safety component, an assessment of the national food control system will be carried out in Rwanda. A team of food safety experts from FAO will work closely with local Competent Authorities for food safety and relevant stakeholders, to assess the effectiveness of the national food control system, develop strategies to strengthen it, and ultimately to improve the country’s public health and economic development. Rwanda is the sixth country to implement the assessment within the project. Inception trainings were held in Kenya and in Mauritius just last month, and the data gathering process is well under way in the two island nations of Comoros and the Seychelles, and in the Kingdom of Eswatini where activities were launched at the beginning of 2023.

Assessment of the national food control system in Rwanda                       

The project, co-signed by the Government of Rwanda, falls within the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Policy Framework for Africa developed by the African Union (AU) to spur trade among AU Member States and is implemented in close collaboration with the African Union Commission Division for Rural Economy and Agriculture (AUC DARBE). 

Rwanda and FAO have a long-standing partnership working together in the areas of food security, fisheries and forestry since FAO’s Representation in Rwanda was established in 1985. With this project, FAO is introducing to Rwanda the FAO/WHO Food Control System Assessment Tool, a unique instrument whose use is expanding steadily, which is designed to assess the national food control system in a comprehensive manner, by looking at the entire food chain, including production, distribution, the retail market and the consumers. 

Among the various high-level officials present at the opening session of the training was Alexis Kabayiza, Chief Technical Advisor for the Ministry of Trade and Industry who underlined the importance of having FAO “guide and accompany” the government and the competent institutions in the assessment, “to make Rwanda more competitive,” adding that this will allow it to place itself in “a good position in the international markets.”

As part of the assessment, a team of FAO experts will assist Rwanda’s Competent Authorities in food safety through various assessment steps, culminating with the development of a set of recommendations and a strategic framework to facilitate their implementation.

Participants in the training were excited to take part in the assessment process. Those interviewed saw it as an opportunity to expand their skillset and to network with colleagues in other departments working in the field.  “What I have learned here is going to help me go through the different stages of food control and work with my colleagues so that we improve on how we regulate this food industry,” said Nicole Mutimukeye,  analyst in charge of controlling food  import  and export in Rwanda’s Food and Drugs Authority, adding “because it’s not an easy task.”

The project aims to assist Rwanda in adhering to international standards that will allow greater harmonization and trade in the region. 

Launch of the project and training of focal points 

The training took place at the Serena Hotel in Kigali, between March 20 and March 24, and included presentations, discussions, and case studies to train focal points of the Competent Authorities on the technical aspects of the Tool and also on their respective responsibilities and activities in the subsequent phases of the project. The activities included data collection across the whole food control system.

As Kabayiza said, this assessment will allow the country to “have a harmonized but also a standard, quality, and clean data that can bring clear recommendations for the government.”

Read more about the FAO/WHO Food Control System Assessment Tool  

Read more about FAO’s work in Rwanda here

Photo: ©FAO/Jean Baptiste Nkurunziza