Laboratories in Burundi Equipped to Support Agricultural Exports

In January and February 2021, International Trade Centre (ITC) through MARKUP organised a series of training workshops on the ISO 17025 for a team of technicians of laboratories, quality managers and laboratory managers from key institutions such as Bureau Burundais de Normalisation et de contrôle de qualité, Centre National de Technologie Alimentaire, Institut des Sciences Agronomique du Burundi, Office pour le Développement du Café du Burundi and Office du Thé du Burundi .

The training built capacity of the participants on obtaining accreditation.

This ISO 17025 standard is an important certification for labs that perform testing, sampling and calibration and are keen to ensure that competent laboratory staff operate and generate valid lab results. This lends credibility and generates confidence about the lab’s results at the international level. The workshops were held in hybrid format by an international consultant who joined remotely, while trainees met in person, and they focused on the scope of application, the normative references and the requirements.

As a result, Burundi National Quality Institutions are aware of the requirements for their laboratories to achieve accreditation status and they are on the right path to achieve that goal.

MARKUP aims at upgrading these institutions to the highest standard recognized at the international level. These efforts will eventually contribute to the removal of the non-tariff barriers for Burundi key agricultural sector products.