Voluntary Sustainability Standards in East Africa
International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)
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Abstract: This report provides an original analysis of the market and policy environment for voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) with a presence in East Africa,focusing on the countries in the East African Community (EAC): Burundi,Kenya,Rwanda,South Sudan,Tanzania,and Uganda.2 This is the first State of Sustainability Initiatives report on VSSs in a specific global region,showcasing the market performance,challenges,and opportunities for VSSs at the regional scale in a developing country context. The report focuses on VSSs? potential to enhance intraregional trade in agricultural produce,particularly staple crops,as they are among the crops most traded in this region. The primary motivation behind the report is the desire for guidance on how policy-makers at a regional level might avail of VSSs to further their development goals and ambitions for a common market and how VSSs?in turn? might leverage public policy in the region to improve their impact.