Voluntary Sustainability Standards in East Africa

The report analyzes the alignment between three voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs)—the East African Organic Products Standard (EAOPS), the Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) Standard, and GLOBALG.A.P.—and the agricultural policies of the East African Community (EAC). It focuses on staple crops (beans, maize, rice, and wheat) which are critical for food security and regional trade. The findings indicate strong alignment with climate resilience goals and medium alignment with productivity and trade objectives. Key barriers to scaling VSSs include high certification costs for smallholders, low domestic demand for certified products, and a lack of official political recognition from national standards bureaus. The report recommends that VSS bodies use pilot projects to prove their value and that EAC policy-makers provide targeted financial support and official recognition to integrate these standards into regional trade and development frameworks.

• There is strong alignment between the requirements of the analyzed VSSs and the EAC policy objective of enhancing climate change resilience, particularly regarding soil health and land management.
• VSSs show medium alignment with EAC goals for increasing agricultural productivity, specifically by providing frameworks to reduce post-harvest losses and manage aflatoxin contamination in maize and wheat.
• VSSs demonstrate medium alignment with the objective of boosting intraregional trade by requiring compliance with national and regional laws and providing mechanisms for recognition and equivalence between different standard systems.
• Smallholder farmers in the EAC face significant barriers to VSS adoption, primarily due to high certification costs and a lack of financial incentives in domestic markets.
• The East African Organic Products Standard (EAOPS), while developed regionally, suffers from a lack of updates and official recognition by some national bodies, such as the Kenya Bureau of Standards.
• The Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) is being implemented in Uganda and Tanzania through pilot projects and is integrated into Uganda's National Rice Development Strategy for 2021–2030.
• Non-tariff barriers (NTBs), such as ad hoc import bans based on quality concerns like aflatoxin levels, remain a primary obstacle to intraregional agricultural trade in the EAC.
• Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGSs) provide a more accessible and cost-effective alternative to third-party certification for small-scale organic producers, particularly in Tanzania.

APA

Turley, L., Bermudez, S., Voora, V., Wilkings, A., & Elder, S. (2022). Voluntary Sustainability Standards in East Africa. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-09/voluntary-sustainability-standards-east-africa.pdf

Chicago

Turley, Laura, Steffany Bermudez, Vivek Voora, Ann Wilkings, and Sara Elder. Voluntary Sustainability Standards in East Africa. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2022. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-09/voluntary-sustainability-standards-east-africa.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Turley |first1=Laura |last2=Bermudez |first2=Steffany |last3=Voora |first3=Vivek |last4=Wilkings |first4=Ann |last5=Elder |first5=Sara |title=Voluntary Sustainability Standards in East Africa |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=September 2022 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-09/voluntary-sustainability-standards-east-africa.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{turley2022voluntary, author = {Turley, Laura and Bermudez, Steffany and Voora, Vivek and Wilkings, Ann and Elder, Sara}, title = {{Voluntary Sustainability Standards in East Africa}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2022}, month = sep, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-09/voluntary-sustainability-standards-east-africa.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }