In Comoros, FAO concludes an evaluation of the national food control system

11/08/2023

Last week FAO concluded a nine-month assessment of Comoros’s food control system with a final workshop in the city of Ngazidja where high level executives endorsed the recommendations of the final report and committed to implementing its strategic plan. The assessment is part of "Strengthening of Capacities and Governance in Food and Phytosanitary Control,” a 5-million-euro project funded by the European Union which began in November 2022 to provide technical support and work with Competent Authorities and other leading institutions in 11 Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Member Countries. The project is designed to build up capabilities, strengthen governance and improve strategic planning around two main components: food safety and plant health.

Comoros is the first country to undertake the food safety component of the project and is the first to conclude the assessment and endorse the final results and recommendations. Project activities began here in November 2022. Throughout the project activities, a team of food safety experts from FAO worked closely with local Competent Authorities for food safety and relevant stakeholders, gathering data across local authorities and developing a strategic framework meant to improve the country’s public health and economic development.

Assessment of the national food control system in Comoros

The project, co-signed by the Government of Comoros, falls within the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Policy Framework for Africa developed by the African Union (AU) to spur trade among AU Member States and is implemented in close collaboration with the African Commission Division for Rural Economy and Agriculture (AUC DARBE).

With this assessment, FAO introduced to Comoros the FAO/WHO Food Control System Assessment Tool, a unique instrument whose use is expanding steadily, which is designed to assess the national food control system in a comprehensive manner, by looking at the entire food chain, including production, distribution, the retail market and the consumers. Ultimately, the assessment aims to assist Comoros in adhering to international standards that will allow greater harmonization and trade in the region.

“The Union of the Comoros considers the food control system a key component of the agrifood system which is the engine of Africa's transformation,” said H.E. Houmed Msaidié, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Environment and Tourism.

The team of FAO experts assisted a total of 25 focal points from Comoros’s Competent Authorities in food safety through various assessment steps, including data gathering across multiple institutions and a review and validation process. Back in November, the FAO team of experts travelled to Moroni to conduct an introductory training about the assessment process and tool content addressed to the focal points who were tasked with collecting data and providing specific information over a four-month period. Once the data was reviewed, the FAO team conducted a mission in May 2023 which involved field visits and interviews with Competent Authorities to complete the data collection, carry on with the strategic analysis of the data and produce a final report on the status of the country’s food safety control system and recommendations to improve it.

Conclusion of the project and the final workshop

The final workshop was the culmination of the nine-month assessment. Focal points and stakeholders involved in the country’s food control system from across the country met at Retaj Hotel in Moroni from 1 to 3 August to review findings and recommendations of the assessment, agree on priorities and develop a strategic framework to facilitate its implementation. The key moment of the workshop was on 4 August at the same location where high-level officials from Ministries across the country’s food safety control system approved and endorsed the recommendations and the shared vision for the food control system, committing to implement the framework, promote synergies and engage donors.

Participants expressed enthusiasm in the assessment and its findings. “All food regulatory agencies in Comoros need to continue working together to implement the priority actions stemming from the strategic analysis of the assessment results and meant to further strengthen and continuously improve our system,” Farhati Mohamed Rachid, Assistant Director of INRAPE, said.

The next country to conclude the assessment is Kenya, where the final workshop will be held on 29 August -1 September. More countries implementing the FAO/WHO Food Control System Assessment Tool and completing food safety control assessments contributes to greater adherence to international standards, increased harmonization and more trade in the region.

Read more about the FAO/WHO Food Control System Assessment Tool

In Comoros, FAO concludes an evaluation of the national food control system

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