The 10th African Grain Trade Summit, themed “Defining Africa’s Place in Global Grain Trade for Sustainable Food Systems,” convened 300 stakeholders in October 2023 to reflect on the continent’s grain sector and chart a way forward amid global disruptions including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Africa’s reliance on food imports, especially wheat, has exposed the continent to price volatility and supply shocks. Rising shipping costs, energy prices, and climate change have further strained the region’s food systems.
The Summit underscored the urgent need for Africa to build resilience by promoting intra-African trade, reducing dependency on imports, and harnessing opportunities under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Key outcomes and recommendations:
Taking stock of the grain sector journey, acknowledging challenges and opportunities, and reconfirming our commitments to the industry and recommendations to engage the government, and above all, doing business. In line with the theme of defining Africa’s place in global grain trade for sustainable food systems, the 10th AGTS made the following recommendations:
1. Deepening Intra-African trade through AfCFTA
- Full implementation of AfCFTA protocols can boost intra-African agricultural trade by over 50% by 2045.
- Finalizing the AfCFTA protocol on women and youth is key to inclusive agricultural growth.
- Governments must fulfill their commitments under the Maputo and Malabo declarations to increase agricultural investment and create enabling environments for grain trade.
2. Promoting healthier grain consumption
- Support partnerships for local production of fortification tools and raise consumer awareness, particularly in schools.
- Encourage investment in technologies for processing, drying, and fermenting whole grain products.
3. Scaling up bulk grain production
- Invest in rural infrastructure such as storage, transport, and modern processing facilities.
- Support farmers to adopt climate-smart practices, including drought-resistant crops and efficient irrigation.
- Treat farming as a professional, viable livelihood with policy support, land reforms, and cooperative development.
4. Driving innovation and business competitiveness
- Incentivize technology adoption and protect homegrown innovations.
- Promote partnerships for by-product utilization, energy efficiency, and mentorship for startups.
- Raise awareness and scale up insect-based farming as an innovative, circular economy solution.
5. Strengthening trade logistics
- Create national and regional platforms to address transport and regulatory bottlenecks.
- Harmonize policies like axle load limits and certify logistics service providers to ease cross-border movement.
6. Expanding Access to Finance
- Increase availability of low-interest credit and insurance products for farmers and grain SMEs.
- Support capacity building on financial planning, quality management, and risk reduction.
7. Leveraging data for smarter policy
- Harmonize data tools and invest in market information systems and digital platforms for transparency, price discovery, and informed decision-making.
8. Advancing food safety through industry self-regulation (ISR)
- Scale up ISR efforts to improve compliance, reduce post-harvest losses, and manage aflatoxin contamination.
- Engage both private and public sectors in a shared responsibility model and advocate for greater government facilitation of ISR.
- Recognize that food safety is not only an agricultural issue it demands broader societal engagement.
Way Forward:
- Leverage AfCFTA to position Africa competitively in global grain markets.
- Improve trade finance to support grain actors in seizing emerging opportunities.
- Promote healthier grain consumption and invest in consumer education.
- Optimize logistics and reduce non-tariff barriers to smooth trade flows.
- Invest in innovation and bulk grain production for food system resilience.
- Use data to drive evidence-based policy and business decisions.
- Ensure food safety through a collaborative, regulated, and proactive approach.
- Forge global partnerships to grow the continent’s share in high-demand commodities like pulses.
The 10th AGTS concluded with delegates reaffirming their commitment to grain trade, signing trade intents through B2B meetings, and aligning on a shared agenda for sustainable food systems in Africa.