Training of Trainers on Improved EAC Customs Procedures

The EAC region has made a commitment to transform the regional economy through value addition by promoting development of strategic regional value chains and facilitating the development of and access to appropriate skills and know how.

One of the capacity building courses that has been developed in this context is a Training of Trainers (ToT) on awareness raising for the implementation of harmonised prioritized and improved EAC customs procedures for cross-border trade and related opportunities with a special focus on perishable goods and pharmaceuticals. The purpose of this capacity building is to enable the trainers to conduct respective awareness raising events with relevant stakeholders in the field as well as to provide them with appropriate training materials.

The EAC has developed harmonised customs procedures, including for perishable goods and pharmaceuticals. A key challenge is the lack of awareness and mutual understanding between farmers, traders, agro-processors, customs officers and other border officials of regionally harmonised customs procedures and the opportunities attached to utilising them. As project funds and institutional set-up don’t allow the RIVA project to deliver this awareness raising to the target group directly, we have chosen to focus on training trainers (key focal persons), who will then conduct respective awareness raising events in the field.

The development and implementation of this online capacity building course aims at offering a blended approach, with an online TOT and subsequent field trainings, which are foreseen to be both, virtual and physical. This addresses the directive to utilise alternative approaches to capacity building. The content of the capacity building project is to address directives and guidelines aimed in facilitating trade in perishable goods and pharmaceuticals.