Tanzania and the Netherlands have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen electronic certification (E-cert) for sanitary and phytosanitary processes in Tanzania’s horticultural sector.
The agreement, signed on May 9, 2023 in Dodoma, outlines areas of cooperation to enhance the acceptability of Tanzanian horticultural products in the global market.
The signing ceremony was attended by Tanzania’s Permanent Secretary Gerald Mweli and Netherlands Ambassador Wiebe de Boer on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality of the Netherlands.
The collaboration aims to improve efficiency in agricultural trade to create more jobs and increase foreign earnings.
The signed MoU will be implemented by the National Plant Protection Organizations (NPPOs), the Tanzania Plant Health and Pesticide Authority (TPHPA), and the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA).
The partnership comes as Tanzania’s horticultural sector has shown significant growth over the last three decades, becoming one of the major foreign exchange earners, with exports amounting to $779 million in 2019.
The electronic certification process is expected to streamline the phytosanitary certification of horticultural products, replacing the current paper-based system.
The new process will reduce the time spent by phytosanitary inspectors and improve efficiency, allowing Tanzanian horticultural products to meet the growing demand for food in Tanzania and the region.
The Netherlands has a long-standing cooperation with Tanzania, with approximately 80 Dutch companies operating in Tanzania, 70% of which have invested in the agricultural sector, mainly in horticulture.
