News
Rwanda launches online
portal for agri-produce trade
The Rwandan Ministry of Agriculture
and Animal Resources has
announced the launch of a new
online portal aimed at reducing the
cost of importing and exporting
agricultural produce.
State minister for agriculture Tony
Nsanganira said that the new portal
is a 'double win' for importers and
exporters of plants/plants materials,
animals/animal products and
agrichemicals in Rwanda. The portal
will allow them to speed up the
process of acquiring import and
export permits.
Speaking about the new portal
Nsanganira said, “ICT is no longer an
option but a necessity for economic
development. We can hardly do
without it. We rely on the ICTs for
almost all our daily activities,
July - August 2016
including communications,
transport, and businesses, just to
mention these few.”
The project has been funded by the
ministry through a direct project
funding of US$150,000 from
TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) a
regional trade facilitation
institution, Nsanganira told
reporters.
“The linkages within the system will
enhance inter-government agency
coordination with the aim of
improving service delivery and good
governance in Rwanda,” said RALIS
director general Beatrice
Uwumukiza.
Uwumukiza explained that the
management information system
has been integrated with the
Rwanda electronic single window,
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which allowed information sharing
between Rwanda Revenue Authority
(RRA) and the Ministry of Agriculture.
It will also be integrated with financial
systems such as the national
payment gateway and banking
systems, further reducing
transaction and administrative costs.
The trade portal comprises of two
interlinked platforms. The front-end
login portal caters to Rwanda
agriculture livestock inspection and
certification services (RALIS)
stakeholders and allows them to
a c c e s s s e r v i c e s ra n g i n g f r o m
information on sanitary and
phytosanitary (SPS) requirements,
international and Rwanda trade
regulations. The second platform is a
management information system to
be used by RALIS management and
staff to process requests for services.
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