The UN has implored Africa to establish integrated food corridors to connect production areas to the main national and regional markets, to reduce post-harvest losses and improve food systems across the continent.
In a statement, at the Annual Summit of the African Food Systems Forum, UN secretary general Mr António Guterres, who was being represented by the secretary-general of the United Nations and executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Mr Claver Gatete, said climate shocks, biodiversity loss, high capital costs, and over-indebtedness are converging to slow agricultural transformation.
He said for many countries, these pressures translated into higher borrowing costs, reduced fiscal space, and underinvestment in agriculture, infrastructure and human capital.
Mr Guterres said Africa was not only facing a simple food production problem, but also a development challenge, a situation where food insecurity directly competes with the investments needed to stimulate economic growth, employment, innovation and resilience.
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“We need to establish integrated food corridors to connect the different African production areas to the main national and regional markets,” said Mr Guterres.
“By modernising roads, ports, storage facilities and the cold chain, accelerating the connectivity of electricity interconnection power pools, and simplifying border procedures, we will be able to reduce post-harvest losses, ensure the timely delivery of various products, and strengthen the foundations of intra-regional trade.
“We must fully implement the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which means harmonising standards, eliminating non-tariff barriers and unleashing regional value chains.”
Africa has identified 94 promising value chains, many of which relate to agriculture, and if properly developed, will anchor private investment, increase competitiveness and enable African products to compete in regional and global markets.
Mr Guterres said Africa held more than 60 percent of the world’s arable land and had the potential to build an agribusiness industry worth US$1 trillion by 2030.
Unfortunately, despite this immense potential, he said Africa still imported food worth up to US$115 billion last year.
He also suggested the need to reform global financing systems, including credit rating practices, to reflect Africa’s true strengths.
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“We know that public spending and concessional financing are not sufficient to meet the scale of the investments required. But why should African countries pay up to three times the global average for their loans?” he lamented.
“By mobilising domestic resources, deepening capital markets and defining incentives for private investment, we can reduce borrowing costs and accelerate investment in agriculture, digital infrastructure and SMEs.
“We must strive to ensure that more countries, beyond Botswana and Mauritius, achieve a higher quality rating so that Africa’s true potential is recognised by global markets.”
Mr Guterres said this vision could be realised through increased domestic revenue, transparent risk assessment, and improved financial governance.
He also said Africa needs to transform agriculture itself by promoting value addition, technology adoption and climate-smart practices.
“Initiatives such as the joint agro-processing zones between Zimbabwe and Zambia and Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, are an excellent example of a scalable model for the maize, dairy and cocoa value chains,” said Mr Guterres.
“Furthermore, Africa has the capacity to produce its own fertilisers. Some countries, including Nigeria and Morocco, have considerable phosphate reserves and are able to supply essential inputs domestically, reducing our dependence on imports, reducing costs and boosting productivity”.
The need to strengthen youth initiatives has also been identified as a way to strengthen food systems in Africa, with public-private partnerships also recommended to promote investments in climate-resilient agriculture.