Boost for Crop Inspection and Certification: Additional Endpoint Inspection Area Opened at the Entebbe International Airport
Entebbe, 1st September 2020. The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries has officially opened a new Endpoint Inspection area at the Entebbe International Airport. An Endpoint Inspection Area is one where the final inspection of the agricultural exports is undertaken.
The first phase of inspection and audit is undertaken at farm level, the second at Packhouse level and the third on the vehicles to make sure that the produce is transported in safe and clean vehicles.
In these Endpoint Inspection Areas, the consignments of agricultural exports are checked by scientists from the Department of Crop Inspection and Certification before they are loaded onto cargo planes for transit to markets abroad.As highlighted by Mr. Paul Mwambu the Commissioner for Crop Inspection and Certification, this additional Endpoint Inspection Area will further increase the competitiveness of #agricultural exports from Uganda in markets abroad.
To increase the presence of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries along the export value chain, 20 new Agricultural Inspectors have been recruited this year.The inspectors undertake work that is informed by the mandate of the Department of Crop Inspection and Certification. The inspectors also work with farmers to enable them better understand the standards required for different markets abroad.
The new Endpoint Inspection Area at the airport was set up through collaboration with the private sector, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Uganda and the World Trade Organization through the Standards and Trade Development Facility.
This additional Endpoint Inspection Area was set up in accordance with Section 24 of the Plant Protection and Health Act 2015 which allows for provision of suitable areas for office, inspection and destruction facilities at harbors and airports among other areas.
The private sector was represented by Management Teams of member companies of the Uganda Flower Exporters Association. Rosebud Limited was represented by Dr. Sudhir Ruparelia who also handed over repackaging machines in contribution to the Endpoint Inspection Area.Repackaging Machines are used to close packages that are opened for checking in the Endpoint Inspection Area.
Notes for editors
About the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF)
The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries is a Ministry in the Government of Uganda charged with creating an enabling environment in the Agricultural Sector.
The Ministry formulates, reviews and implement national policies, plans, strategies, regulations and standards and enforce laws, regulations and standards along the value chain of crops, livestock and fisheries.
Vision: A competitive, profitable and sustainable agricultural sector.
Mission: To transform subsistence farming to commercial agriculture.
Strategic Objectives
- To initiate the formulation and review of the policy and legal framework for the sector
- To establish and implement systems for service provision in the sector
- To strengthen and implement strategies, regulatory framework, standards, institutional structures and infrastructure for quality assurance and increased quantities of agricultural products to access and sustain local, regional and export markets
- To design and implement sustainable capacity building programmes for stakeholders in the agricultural sector through training, re-tooling, infrastructure, provision of logistics and ICT
- To develop strategies for sustainable food security
- To develop appropriate agricultural technologies for improved agricultural production, productivity and value addition through research
- To develop effective collaborative mechanisms with affiliated institutions and
- To take lead and establish a system and institutional framework for agricultural data collection, analyses, storage and dissemination to stakeholders including Uganda Bureau of Statistics.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) is made up of four Directorates including the Directorate of Crop Resources, Directorate of Animal Resources, Directorate of Agricultural Extension Services and the Directorate of Fisheries Resources each with Departments, Divisions and Partnership Projects.
The Departments of the Ministry which do not fall directly in the above include the Department of Agricultural Planning and Development, the Human Resource Department, the Department of Finance and Administration and the Department of Agricultural Infrastructure, Mechanisation and Water for Agricultural Production.
The Ministry is also made up of seven Agencies including the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO), the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS), Cotton Development Organisation (CDO), Dairy Development Authority (DDA), Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) and Coordinating Office for the Control of Trypanosomiasis in Uganda (COCTU) and the National Animal Genetic Resources Centre and Databank (NAGRC&DB).