Why Each Focus Area Matters

Agroecological practices matter because they protect the planet while sustaining people.
In the face of climate variability, soil degradation, and loss of biodiversity, agroecology provides a proven pathway for producing food in harmony with nature.

This focus area ensures that farmers adopt resilient, low-input, and biodiversity-rich systems that restore soil health and enhance productivity.
It empowers producers with knowledge and practical tools to transition from chemical-dependent farming to sustainable, regenerative production models.

Promoting harmonised regional standards and mutual recognition of organic certification enables trust and traceability in regional trade, positioning EAC agroecological products to compete effectively under the AfCFTA and global green markets.

Ultimately, it matters because it anchors all other focus areas — linking ecological integrity to fair trade, market value, and regional cooperation.

This focus area matters because efficient trade procedures unlock prosperity and inclusion.
Across East Africa, farmers and small traders — especially women — often face long queues, excessive documentation, and inconsistent border regulations that erode profits and discourage formal trade.

By simplifying procedures through the Simplified Trade Regime (STR), aligning customs processes, and supporting One-Stop Border Posts (OSBPs), the Hub helps reduce transaction costs, delays, and harassment at borders.
It ensures that agroecological goods move easily, safely, and legally across Partner States.

This work also strengthens EAC customs cooperation and AfCFTA Annexes on Trade Facilitation, Transit, and Non-Tariff Barriers, promoting fair competition and predictability.

In essence, it matters because when cross-border trade is smooth, smallholders gain access to regional markets, governments collect more revenue transparently, and consumers benefit from safer, affordable, and sustainably sourced products.

Markets thrive on information.
This focus area matters because knowledge gaps cost farmers income. Many producers sell blindly, unaware of prevailing prices, market demand, or regional opportunities.

The Hub bridges this gap by providing real-time price and demand data, market trend analysis, and trade bulletins that empower producers to negotiate better and plan production strategically.
Transparent information reduces the power imbalance between traders and smallholders, builds confidence in regional trade, and prevents exploitation.

Access to reliable data also helps governments and RECs craft evidence-based policies on agricultural trade, value-chain investment, and food security.

By enhancing market intelligence, the Hub supports efficient resource allocation, improves competitiveness, and turns information into empowerment.

Policy coherence is the foundation of functional markets.
This focus area matters because fragmented regulations create invisible walls to trade.
Across the EAC, variations in SPS/TBT regulations, customs laws, and licensing requirements hinder smooth trade in agroecological products.

The Hub simplifies complex legal frameworks into user-friendly guides and briefs, helping farmers, traders, and policymakers understand their rights and obligations under the EAC and AfCFTA.
It promotes the harmonisation of trade and agricultural policies, ensuring that environmental sustainability, public health, and competitiveness advance together.

This focus area also creates a dialogue space for ministries, RECs, and private sector actors to align priorities, fostering mutual trust and consistent implementation.

It matters because coherent policies mean fewer barriers, predictable rules, and stronger regional integration — essential ingredients for Africa’s transformation.

This focus area matters because non-tariff barriers silently undermine trade, especially for small-scale cross-border traders.
Delays, arbitrary fees, and duplicative SPS tests not only increase costs but also discourage formalisation and compliance.

By teaching traders how to identify, document, and report NTBs using digital regional mechanisms, the Hub helps convert frustration into actionable reform.
It promotes accountability and encourages authorities to resolve barriers quickly through structured dialogue and follow-up.

Additionally, the grievance mechanisms ensure that women and youth traders have a voice and can seek redress for discriminatory practices or administrative injustices.

This work matters because a trade system free of hidden barriers fosters fairness, transparency, and trust, enabling the vision of an integrated EAC and AfCFTA to become a lived reality for all.

Finance is the oxygen of trade, yet most smallholders and MSMEs remain financially excluded.
This focus area matters because it connects sustainability with affordability, ensuring that green and inclusive finance reaches those who need it most.

The Hub maps available financing opportunities — from microcredit and cooperatives to impact investment and green funds — and trains producers to prepare bankable proposals and investment cases.
It promotes innovative financing mechanisms such as blended finance, digital savings platforms, and gender-responsive credit schemes that lower barriers for women and youth entrepreneurs.

By linking finance with trade readiness, this focus area stimulates agribusiness growth, innovation, and resilience, ensuring that sustainability is not a luxury but a viable business model.

Capacity building matters because knowledge drives transformation.

Even the best policies or market systems fail without capable people to implement them.

The Hub’s training and capacity-building initiatives equip farmers, border officials, policymakers, and entrepreneurs with the skills, confidence, and tools to act effectively.

Through workshops, e-learning modules, and experiential learning (such as OSBP visits), participants develop competencies in SPS/TBT compliance, trade facilitation, digital tools, advocacy, and policy engagement.

By integrating gender and youth inclusion, climate adaptation, and digital literacy, the training ensures that all stakeholders — from grassroots traders to national officers — can participate meaningfully in agroecological trade.

This matters because empowered people sustain change, turning capacity into lasting institutional strength and economic progress.

Knowledge is power — and preservation of it ensures progress.
This focus area matters because Africa’s experiences and lessons are too often scattered, undocumented, or lost.
The Hub’s Knowledge Repository serves as a living, open library that consolidates research, policy briefs, data, and tools for everyone — from policymakers to farmers.

It enables evidence-based decision-making, supports continuous learning, and nurtures collaboration among researchers, CSOs, and governments.
By showcasing success stories and best practices, it amplifies African voices, celebrates indigenous innovation, and builds confidence in home-grown solutions.

Beyond documentation, this focus area fosters a culture of knowledge co-creation, where evidence informs action and action refines evidence — forming a continuous loop of learning and improvement.

It matters because a continent that documents, learns, and shares knowledge builds its own narrative of resilience, innovation, and empowerment.