Addis Ababa, 2 November 2014 (ECA) - The Economic Commission for Africa, in collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) is launching a project in 10 African countries aimed at strengthening capacities of policymakers and other key stakeholders to develop competitive regional agricultural value chains for rice, maize and livestock commodities.
During the launches in Mali (September) and in Benin (November), ECA’s expert, Nasirou Ba said that agriculture employs 90 per cent of the rural labour force and nearly 60 per cent of the total labour force of the continent. Yet, the continent still spends $50 to 70 billion annually on food imports and looses its export market shares due to unexploited intra-regional production and trade potential.
He highlighted the catalytic role which regional value chains can play in the continent coupled with the expansion of regional trade.
“Africa should explore the avenues of regional integration, regional value chains and regional trade, built on economies of scale, economies of complementarities, comparative and competitive advantage - this project will reinforce the capacity building elements to make that happen,” he said.
For Africa to reverse its weak and declining competitiveness in regional and global markets, countries need to collaborate and form regional frameworks to create and sustain a competitive edge in the commodities they produce and trade in.
Background:
The ECA is facilitating the implementation of the project through its Food Security, Agriculture and Land section within its Regional Integration and Trade Division (RITD). The project will involve local/ national independent experts who will work on studies related to the whole chain of the selected commodities and highlight knowledge and strategy gaps which will help design the capacity needs in the countries. Mali and Benin have already embarked on their projects following
In the COMESA and SADC regions, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe will participate. and in ECOWAS region: Mali, Benin, Ghana, Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire.
In the 10 countries where this project will be launched, core decision makers in agricultural policy and strategy in the government, as well as relevant line ministries are consulted and participate in the process. Seminars, workshops and symposiums will be held to help bridge gaps found in the scooping and baseline studies on the value chains of three selected commodities.
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