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Book (stand-alone)Framework for boosting intra-African trade in agricultural commodities and services 2021
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The African agricultural and food market is expanding quickly as indicated by World Bank projections that show that the value of Africa’s agriculture and agribusiness industry is expected to more than triple to reach USD 1 trillion by 2030, compared to 2010 (World Bank, 2013). This provides an opportunity to not only boost trade in food and non-food agricultural commodities and services within the continent but also enhance food security in Africa. Regional integration is also gaining momentum as evidenced by progress in the creation of customs unions and the initial steps in setting up a common external tariff at the regional level in a number of regional economic communities (RECs) such as the East African Community (EAC) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) further reinforces the gains achieved in regional integration and opens new market opportunities for farmers and other economic operators. It has been shown that the export of higher value-added products made in Africa is greater in regional markets than in external markets outside Africa, which are typically dominated by raw material exports. However, more than a decade after the adoption of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) in Maputo in 2003 by the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) in response to the stagnation of African agriculture, Africa continues to remain a marginal player, accounting for only 2.7 percent of world trade in goods and 5 percent of world agricultural trade (Bouët and Odjo, 2019). These figures are likely to trend downwards significantly in the near term due to the economic shock caused by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The continent currently depends to a significant degree on extra-African sources for imports of food and agricultural products. The share of intra-African agricultural trade has been consistently below 20 percent in recent decades (Bouët and Odjo, 2019; AGRA, 2019). Comparable figures for intraregional agricultural trade are higher for Asia and Europe (more than 60 percent). -
Policy briefPolicy brief: Trade facilitation in the agrifood sector
Making the African Continental Free Trade Area work for women
2023Also available in:
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement is a powerful roadmap which promises to boost the livelihoods of African people. The agreement spans over 54 countries and supports a market of over 1.4 billion people with a combined gross domestic product of USD 2.5 trillion and growing. While the new free trade area presents a ground-breaking opportunity to boost Africa’s share of global trade and achieve the goals of Agenda 2063, such objectives can only be accomplished if the implementation of the agreement is fair and inclusive. To ensure that the implementation of the AfCFTA is fair and inclusive, gender-based constraints must be removed and women must have an active voice in decision-making processes. Implementing entities and governments must conduct gender analyses and prioritize women's needs and challenges, facilitating their transition to and engagement in increasingly formal markets and value chains. FAO and the International Trade Centre have joined efforts to to support women in overcoming gender-based obstacles in the context of the agreement. The Empowering women and boosting livelihoods through agricultural trade: Leveraging the AfCFTA (EWAT) programme was developed in 2021 with the objective of promoting women’s participation in the AfCFTA, and increasing their access to capacity building and higher-productivity activities, capitalizing on the new opportunities in regional trade created by the AfCFTA agreement. Within the context of the programme, policy briefs were drafted based on in-depth studies on trade facilitation and non-tariff measures, sanitary and phytosanitary measures and technical barriers to trade. This policy brief examines the role of the AfCFTA in addressing gender-related challenges in trade facilitation faced by women agripreneurs and traders across sub-Saharan Africa. -
Policy briefManaging food security risks and intra-regional trade in Africa: Policy Brief 2016
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No results found.The key messages of the brief are as follows (i) Increased intra-regional trade in food staples can play a significant role in reducing domestic food price volatility. (ii) Significant efforts need to be made to increase the confidence of governments to place greater reliance on market based instruments at the same time as ensuring that food security objectives are met, and to convince private sector stakeholders that such change is credible and will be sustained. (iii) Strengthening evidence on the merits of market based instruments, facilitating improved dialogue and supporting public-private partnerships for investment in transport and communication infrastructure to reduce transport costs and improve access to information, strengthening regulatory frameworks to promote competitiveness, and developing the capacity of involved stakeholders to advocate for policy interventions conducive to market and intra-regional trade development, are imperative.
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