Malabo, 16 April（TDI): The Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) Secretariat, Wamkele Mene, attended the 32nd Regional Conference for Africa Ministerial Session held by the Food and Agriculture Organizations of the United Nations (FAO) on Friday.
THE 32nd FAO Regional Conference for Africa Ministerial Session
The capital of Equatorial Guinea, Malabo, has witnessed representatives from more than 50 African countries participating in the 32nd Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Africa from 11 to 14 April. Attendees have discussed the priorities for the transformation of agri-food systems on the African continent.
The conference is held in a serious context. As Wamkele Mene said at the 8th Annual Africa Summit last month, “Africa is a net importer of food and so anything related to that causes an imbalance in food security”. The Russia-Ukraine crisis has made the food security situation worse in Africa.
Moreover, 281 million people in Africa do not have enough food to eat every day. Also, nearly three-quarters of the African population cannot afford nutritious food.
AfCFTA CALLS ON JOINT COOPERATION TO DEVELOP AFRICAN AGRO-INDUSTRY
Sub-Saharan countries face significant post-harvest losses due to low levels of agricultural processing capacity. For perishable agricultural products such as fruits and vegetables, post-harvest losses average 35-50% of the total yield available. Besides, the losses for cereals range from 15-25%.
AfCFTA, a game-changer in global crisis, has the capability to encourage joint effort for the development of the African agro-industry.
Therefore, Mene called on FAO, African Export-Import Bank, African Development Bank, and other development institutions to work together with the AfCFTA Secretariat. The joint work aims to establish an Agro-industry development fund in Africa.
HOW CAN AfCFTA WORK WITH OTHER PARTNERS
From the perspective of AfCFTA, it is one of the world’s largest international free trade zones. Such a status offers AfCFTA an advantage to develop the entire agri-food value chain, including agro-processing in Africa. However, many nutritionally sensitive commodities may not be fully or gradually liberalized over a longer period. Thus, to fully realize the potential that AfCFTA has, external support will be necessary.
Take FAO as an example. FAO African Regional Representative, Abebe Haile-Gabriel once said, “The agricultural sector provides the best possible basis for the expectations of AfCFTA”. Accordingly, to make progress in the agricultural sector with AfCFTA, FAO has taken diversified actions.
Initially, FAO supports governments, private sectors, and smallholder farmers by offering data analysis, and project development. Meanwhile, FAO launched the Framework for Boosting Intra-African Trade in Agricultural Commodities and Services in April 2021 with the African Union Commission. The framework is designed to support the implementation of AfCFTA by integrating resources from different kinds of stakeholders. In the near future, FAO is working to establish an information system at all levels of the agricultural value chain. The system will provide AfCFTA with an easily accessible database, which is considered a key factor for the success of AfCFTA.
Collaboration among stakeholders has already made a difference in the African agriculture sector. There is no doubt that more deep and creative cooperation will contribute a lot to the continent.
