GITEGA June 9th (ABP) – Representatives of public services and private companies are called upon to get involved in sensitizing the people on the importance of quality in general and in particular the importance of food control in the daily life for good health.
That call was made on Monday June 7 in Gitega during a meeting of representatives of the decentralized and private services of the provinces from the central-eastern region of the country, namely the provinces of Gitega, Karusi, Cankuzo, Mwaro, Ruyigi and Rutana, to raise awareness on the importance of quality, organized by the International Trade Center which implements the MARKUP Burundi program.
The main goal of that series of meetings under organization in the different regions of Burundi is to sensitize development leaders on their undeniable role in establishing the culture of quality both within the public administration and in the private sector, said the officer in charge of monitoring the activities of the MARKUP program in the Ministry of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, Mrs. Viola Nsabimana, who opened the meeting.
The intended result is the promotion of inclusive and sustainable development of the country. She recalled the benefits of product quality for entrepreneurs, citing in particular customer loyalty and reduced risk and waste, increased profits, to name but a few.
On her part, the coordinator of the MARKUP Burundi program, Mrs. Emmanuela Hakizimana, said that MARKUP is a program to improve access to markets.
That program initiated by the East African Community (EAC), in collaboration with partner countries, includes the regional and the national components.
MARKUP thus aims to contribute to the economic growth of the EAC by promoting exports of agribusiness and horticultural products, and access to the European market, she explained.
The regional component is implemented by the International Trade Center (ITC). The national MARKUP Burundi component aims to both improve access to supply and reduce market constraints in the coffee, tea and horticultural sectors by supporting participation in regional and international value chains.
As for the record of achievements, the MARKUP coordinator indicated that ITC assisted Burundi in developing the national quality policy project, a directory of quality national infrastructure institutions.
The ITC also provided support to strengthen the equipment of the testing and analysis laboratories of 5 institutions, namely BBN, ISABU, CNTA, ODECA and OTB.
In turn, the expert in the field of quality, Mr. Séverin Sindayikengera, presented the theme focused on raising awareness of the quality, analysis and quality control of food for good health. He highlighted the importance of food control in the daily life of the people of Burundi.
He stressed the relevance of controlling the quality of food and providing good products that do not harm the health of consumers. He also stressed the need to provide national, regional and international trade with products that are competitive and meet standards and that also earn foreign currency for the country.
As for concrete actions to improve the quality of goods and services, Mr. Sindayikengera notably underlined the sensitization of the people on the concept of quality, the evaluation of the conformity of goods and services in order to protect the health of consumers, competitive food production on the regional and international markets.