Thumbnail Image

Support for Boosting Intra-African Trade in Agricultural Commodities and Services to Advance the Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) - TCP/RAF/3708

Year of publication 2022

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 11

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Project

Synopsis (short abstract) African Heads of State and Government, through the 2014 Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transformation for Shared Prosperity and Improved Livelihoods (Malabo Declaration), have made a clear commitment on Boosting Intra African Trade ( in agricultural commodities and services This commitment includes harnessing market and trade opportunities locally, regionally and internationally by creating and enhancing policies, institutional conditions and support systems and tripling intra African trade in agricultural commodities and services by 2025 The 2017 Inaugural Biennial Review Report of the African Union Commission on the Implementation of the Malabo Declaration found that only three of the 29 Members reporting on the commitment to BIAT in agricultural commodities and services were on track to meet the commitment by 2025 Meeting this commitment on time requires building capacity to address policy, technical and investment constraints and minimize domestic food price volatility Despite the impressive gross domestic product ( growth rates experienced on the continent in recent years, Africa has remained a marginal player in both domestic and world trade The share of intra African merchandise exports in 2017 was around 19 6 percent of total exports (by value) The relatively low performance of intra African trade in agricultural commodities is of particular concern In the face of abundant unexploited suitable resources for agriculture, the continent depends on extra African sources for more than 80 percent of imports of food and agricultural products As a result, Africa faces a food and agricultural import bill growing at a yearly average of 3 6 percent, reaching USD 72 7 billion in 2017 To take advantage of fast growing intra African market opportunities, African agriculture must undergo a structural transformation that entails shifting from highly diversified and subsistence oriented production systems towards more market oriented ones This requires both a bold shift in policy and substantial investment to overcome the severe under capitalization, as well as low productivity and competitiveness of the sector In order to tackle the constraints on national and regional food marketing and trade, there is a need to face up to two broad categories of challenges The first set of challenges concerns prioritizing and filling the deficit in hard and soft market and trade infrastructure The second set of challenges requires tackling the policy and institutional deficiencies to strengthen intra regional and inter regional market integration and trade facilitation.

Language English

Also available in:

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Thumbnail Image
    Brochure, flyer, fact-sheet
    Seizing the opportunities of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement for women traders: A South-South cooperation event
    Concept note
    2022
    Also available in:
    The opportunities provided by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) should be capitalized upon, for the benefit of all. In order to identify solutions to address the challenges posed by the roll out of the AfCFTA, a dialogue between the key players in the Africa trade environment and women’s traders is necessary. In this context, FAO has partnered with the African Women Agribusiness Network – Afrika (AWAN AFRIKA) and the International Trade Center (ITC) to promote the exchange of lessons learned among countries on gender-sensitive trade policies and economic measures that have worked for the benefit of both women and men.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Project
    Strengthening Structures and Frameworks for the Agriculture Sector to Participate Competitively in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) - TCP/GHA/3802 2024
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    The African Union's (AU) Agenda 2063 placed great emphasis on promoting regulatory and policy reforms to remove barriers to the functioning of agriculture and agribusiness development, especially for micro, small and medium holder (MSMH) agroentrepreneurs and agribusinesses. Micro, small and medium farmers produce nearly 80 percent of Africa's staple foods and have enormous potential to be innovative and resourceful in increasing their productive capacity. Food systems employ a significant proportion of young people and women, but these opportunities often do not provide decent and meaningful work or adequate livelihoods. The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), which came into force on 30 May 2019, provided opportunities for Member States, particularly Ghanaian companies, to produce and export goods and services to other African countries and attract investment. Since then, Africa's participation in the global agrifood market steadily increased, but local industries still need to build their capacity to produce quality goods and services competitively and create more jobs to serve the huge market.
  • Thumbnail Image
Show more

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

No results found.