EOA-I Continental Secretariat Coordinator participates as a panelist at the SWITCH Africa Green Regional Sector Meeting on Sustainable Agriculture held at the United Nations, Nairobi-Kenya on 27th and 28th November 2019

The EOA Initiative Continental Secretariat Coordinator, Mr. Alex Mutungi featured as a panelist at the just concluded SWITCH African Green Regional Sector meeting organized by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) in Nairobi. The Coordinator was among panelists discussing policy recommendations for an enabling environment to strengthen regional and national mechanisms for uptake of Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) practices in the agriculture sector. The panel discussion revolved around the role of Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and partners in implementing the recommendations to strengthen regional and national mechanisms for uptake of SCP practices in the agriculture sector.

Speaking about the role of the EOA Initiative in creating strong partnerships to drive the EOA agenda in Africa, Mr. Mutungi noted that the RECs are key strategic elements of the mainstreaming strategy for EOA uptake by the five economic regions in Africa. He noted that the 12^th Continental Steering Committee (CSC) meeting of the EOA-I was held in Accra, Ghana in November and its Chair tasked the Secretariat to ensure that RECs are actively participating in EOA matters. The Coordinator also underscored the need for strategic partnership with the GIZ supported Knowledge Centres for Organic Agriculture (KCOA) project

The main objective of the workshop was to consolidate and share the knowledge generated by SWITCH Africa Green in the Sustainable agriculture sector and to promote the scale- up and replication of best practices identified. The project was being piloted in Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Ghana, Burkina Faso and Mauritius.

The second financing framework by the European Union (EU) will commence in 2021 and will involve the EOA-Initiative.

Specific objectives:

1. Provide a platform for consolidating and sharing lessons on best practices identified / supported by the SWITCH Africa Green programme in greening the agriculture sector.
2. Validate the findings of the SWITCH Africa Green survey results on sustainable agriculture focusing on green business development.
3. Promote networking among SWITCH Africa Green programme partners as well as stakeholders working in the sector in order to encourage scaling-up and replication of best practices in the participating countries, and Africa as a whole.
4. Formulate recommendations to strengthen regional and national mechanisms for uptake of SCP practices in the agriculture sector.