Stakeholders during the validation exercise of the green supplement national AfCTA strategy in Nairobi

The State Department for Trade in collaboration with the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) held a validation workshop on Green Supplement to National AfCTA Strategy and Action Plan for Kenya in the tea and coffee sectors.

Different stakeholders drawn from government ministries, the State Law Office,KTDA,Kenya Tourism Federation,AFA,KEPSA, KAM,NGOs,Faith Based Organizations the Civil Society and the academia are attended the two day exercise in Nairobi.

The strategy is an addendum to Kenya's national AfCTA implementation strategy with special focus on tea and coffee which are vital sectors for Kenya's economy.

Tea and coffee account for 23% of the country's total exports and supports over 5 million livelihoods including 650,000 farmers.

The sectors are however vulnerable to climate change due to erratic weather patterns and the strategy aims to guide Kenya to harness green intra -African trade and climate adaptation opportunities by harmonising trade and environmental objectives to create a climate resilient and environmentally sustainable trade system for Kenya's tea and coffee.

The workshop was officiated by the acting Director for External Trade State Department for Trade Joseah Rotich who underscored the urgent need for adaption strategies to ensure sustainability in the tea and coffee sectors for effective implementation of the AfCTA.

Present also was Dr.Soulymane Abdallah who reitariated UNECA's commitment to integrate green and climate change policies into AfCTA implementation strategies for member states.

He pledged the commission's support for Kenya to create a sustainable and a resilient future using the green supplement to strengthen the implementation of AfCTA.

The workshop provided a platform for stakeholders to reflect on, discuss and validate the draft green supplement strategy