Background
Increased intra-African food trade can contribute to food systems transformation by providing a channel for adapting and reducing the impacts of shocks, strengthening the competitiveness of food markets and supporting inclusiveness and sustainability in food value chains. Currently, Africa is heavily dependent on imports and spends a significant amount of money to feed its population. According to the African Union, Africa currently imports approximately 40% of its food. In 2019 for example, Africa expended US$43 billion on food imports, and with the population growth rates and increasing demand for food, this is projected to increase to US$90 billion annually by 2030. This leaves the Continent vulnerable to foreign sources, risking food insecurity when global supply chains are disrupted. Facilitating socioeconomic activity along the agri-food value chains through increased trade can have significant impacts on income, livelihoods, and the welfare of millions of Africans. Ensuring the right policies for the transformation of food trade and food systems is important to provide incentives and remove barriers that shape the behaviour of actors towards desired outcomes. Predictable, transparent, and coherent food trade policies that promote innovation in food trade are required to transform food systems to achieve food and nutrition security. In addition, improving policy coordination and harmonization among systems, sectors, and actors will be key to transforming food systems. Food trade in Africa is at a critical juncture with trading starting in January 2021 under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The AfCFTA, which creates the largest single market in the world in terms of the number of countries and people, is a critical opportunity for the continent to boost growth, decrease poverty, and reduce Africa’s dependence on the global markets. It is also a critical opportunity to increase food trade in Africa, transform Africa’s food systems and increase the Continent’s food security.
However, intra-African food trade remains low, relative to other regions in the world, with the Africa Agriculture Trade Monitor reporting a decline by 3.5% in 2022 compared to 2019 on intra-African trade in agricultural goods. While the AfCFTA presents a critical opportunity, it simultaneously presents a critical challenge. Over the last decade, there has been progress in intra-African food trade, especially through the Regional Economic Communities, but this continues to be hindered by a number of challenges. These challenges include lack of commitment from African governments to subordinate their national political interest to realize long-term regional objectives; instances of conflict and political instability within several member countries hindered progress; problems associated with poor intra-regional infrastructural linkages, low product diversification and low demand elasticity among subSaharan African countries. Intra-African trade has also been hampered by high tariffs and other non-tariff barriers, low-quality goods, low productivity, costly SPS measures, unstructured markets, lack of reliable and upto-date data and information, among others. In addition, the impacts of climate change, the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Russia – Ukraine Crisis have further exacerbated the precarious situation.
Overcoming these challenges can facilitate formal trade and also contribute to efforts to formalize informal trade flows. With increasing incomes and urbanization, demand for processed foods and increasing intra-African food trade represents an important channel through which producers and processors on the continent can access rapidly growing African markets.
AGRA, through its Inclusive Markets, Trade and Finance Unit, and the Food Trade Coalition for Africa, works with governments, the private sector, development partners and other critical stakeholders in food trade to support the creating of a predictable and coherent policy and business environment. This is to increase regional food trade from areas of surplus to areas of deficit, contributing to regional food and nutrition security as well as inclusive growth in the region. By supporting policy predictability and market-shaping initiatives, coupled with cross-cutting investments around climate resilience, gender, and nutrition, the unit’s interventions contribute to impact agriculture gross domestic product, food price volatility, the value of trade in food including nutritious foods, increasing availability of food at the household level, and improving the level of climate resilience integration at country level. For information about AGRA, please visit www.agra.org.
Objectives of the Assignment
The overall objective of this assignment is for the TA to support the AfCFTA Secretariat and AGRA in coordinating the implementation of activities outlined in the AGRA-AfCFTA Secretariat partnership plan to foster agri-food trade and agro-industrial development on the continent that is beneficial to disadvantaged women and youth.
Deliverables of the Assignment
The following deliverables are envisioned under this consultancy:
Duration of the Assignment
This assignment will be for duration of one (1) year renewable depending on the availability of funds and performance.
Key qualifications, skills and experience required.
We seek an individual with the following qualifications, skills, and expertise:
