A presentation by The Malabo Montpellier Panel members at the 7th Malabo Montpellier (MaMo) Forum held on 21 December 2020.

1. www.mamopanel.org
Trading Up:
Policy innovations to expand
food and agricultural trade in
Africa
@MaMoPanel MaMoPanel #MaMoForum
7th Malabo Montpellier Forum
21 December 2020

2. Outline
Part One: Malabo Montpellier Panel and Forum
Part Two: Main Report Findings
Part Three: Experience from REC-level
Part Four: Key Recommendations
@MaMoPanel MaMoPanel #MaMoForum

3. Trading Up: Policy innovations to expand food and
agricultural trade in Africa
Part One: Malabo Montpellier Panel and Forum
Part Two: Main Report Findings
Part Three: Experience from REC-level
Part Four: Key Recommendations
Dr Ousmane Badiane
Executive Chairperson
AKADEMIYA2063
Co-Chair Malabo Montpellier Panel
@MaMoPanel MaMoPanel #MaMoForum

4. MaMo approach to policy innovation
Policy innovation from top,
Permanent Secretary and
above, is more likely:
• to be adopted and faster
• to be implemented and at
scale
• hence to be transformative
Drivers of policy innovation from the
top
• Failed experiments costlier,
financially and politically
• Policy change usually gradual vs
need for transformative scale
• Peer learning and imitation
accelerates pace of innovation
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5. Understanding Positive Change
• Find out where progress is taking
place
• Understand what works, how and
why
Evidence and Dialogue for Policy Innovation
Institutional Innovation
Policy Innovation
Program Interventions
Learning from Positive Change
• Good practices in policy and
program design and implementation
• Dialogue and exchange for adoption

6. Lessons and
Good Practices
Exchange Among
Practitioners
Evidence and Dialogue for Policy Innovation

7. Current members of the Panel
Debisi Araba Tom Arnold Ousmane Badiane Nobel Banadda Gordon Conway Gebisa Ejeta
Nachilala Nkombo Karim El Aynaoui Ashok Gulati Sheryl Hendriks Muhammadou Kah Agnes Kalibata
Elisabeth Claverie
de Saint-Martin
Wanjiru Kamau-
Rutenberg
Ishmael Sunga Rhoda Peace
Tumusiime
Joachim
von Braun

8. Trading Up: Policy innovations to expand food and
agricultural trade in Africa
Part One: Malabo Montpellier Panel and Forum
Part Two: Main Report Findings
Part Three: Experience from REC-level
Part Four: Key Recommendations
Dr Karim el Aynaoui
President, Policy Center for the New
South
Member Malabo Montpellier Panel

9. Continental policy frameworks
African Continental Free Trade Area
• Flagship program of the AU’s Agenda 2063
• 52% boost in intra-African trade simply by eliminating import duties
• Strengthen Africa’s common voice in global trade negotiations
• Create a single continental market for goods and services, with free
movement of people and investments

10. Global policy frameworks
Sustainable Development Goals
• SDG #17 “Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the
global partnership for sustainable development”
• SDG #14: Life
• SDG #3: Good Health and Wellbeing
• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
• SDG #10: Reduced Inequalities
• SDG #15: Life on Land

11. Benefits of trade
Productivity increase, employment and economic growth
Access to inputs and technologies
Food security and nutrition
Increased resilience and managing risk management
Women’s empowerment

12. Adjustment costs of trade
s
Loss of customs revenue
Reallocation of production factors within and between sectors
Additional risks:
• Environmental degradation
• Automation
• Dependencies

13. African agricultural trade – key trading partners
Africa’s primary trading
partners
• Western Europe: 45 %
• South and East Asia: 20%
• Middle East:10%
• North America: 5%

14. African agricultural trade – key traders
Source: 2020 AATM report and authors Source: 2020 AATM report and authors

15. African agricultural trade - Key products traded
Source: 2020 AATM report and authors

16. African agricultural trade – Informal cross-border trade
ICBT in intraregional trade
Lack of adequate data on the scale of ICBT
Varied contents, including food staples
Employment and income
Mainly women ©Maxime Niyomwungeri

17. African agricultural trade - the COVID-19 pandemic
Possible negative impact of COVID-19 pandemic on current trade
trend
Predicted decreases of 8% for exports and 16% for imports in 2020
for Africa’s trade volumes
Disruption of trade flows due to measures to combat the pandemic
© Meera Shah

18. Strengthening national-level participation in intraregional
trade 1/2
Transport: ports, roads, rail and air
Productive infrastructure: energy,
irrigation and telecommunications
Telecommunications and technology
adoption
Bundled solutions and financing
Shared infrastructure for regional
integration
©Chuttersnap

19. ©Mitchel Maher, IFPRI
Strengthening national-level participation in intraregional
trade 2/2
Trade logistics and
facilitation
Human capital: technical,
business management and
enterprise skills
development
Exploiting the untapped
potential of informal trade

20. Trading Up: Policy innovations to expand food and
agricultural trade in Africa
Part One: Malabo Montpellier Panel and Forum
Part Two: Main Report Findings
Part Three: Experience from REC-level
Part Four: Key Recommendations Mr Ishmael Sunga
CEO, SACAU
Member Malabo Montpellier Panel

21. Regional Economic Communities: case study selection
Eight RECs officially recognized by the AU: UMA, COMESA, CEN–SAD,
EAC, ECCAS, ECOWAS, IGAD, SADC
Selected RECs: SADC, ECOWAS and COMESA
Intraregional agricultural exports: SADC (84%), ECOWAS (79%) and
COMESA (66%)

22. Addressing agricultural trade at cross-
institutional levels
Unlocking finance for trade through robust
banking and insurance institutions
Enforcement of competition regulations
Leather and Leather Products Institute
COMESA – cross-institutional coordination

23. Supporting trade policy implementation:
RISM
Facilitating the movement of goods and
people
• Transport insurance
• The Regional Customs Transit Guarantee Scheme
• COMESA Virtual Trade Facilitation System
Improving small-scale cross-border trade
COMESA – regional support mechanisms & digital services

24. Evolved Institutional arrangements to
achieve its ambitious goals
Dispute settlement: The ECOWAS
Community Court of Justice
Access to finance and attracting investment
Improving the investment climate and
competitiveness of the region
Exemption of local agriculture products from
Customs duties and RoO requirement
ECOWAS – an evolving institutional framework

25. Setting a common external tariff
Boosting agricultural productivity
Regulating fertilizer blends and seed quality
Building a comprehensive regional quality
system
Access to trade and market information
• ECOAGRIS agricultural markets component
• ECOWAS Trade Information System
ECOWAS – regional agricultural policies

26. Top-down coordination with inclusive
engagement
Institutional reform and quality
standards
Dispute settlement
Gender mainstreaming
SADC – a combined top-down & inclusive approach for
stakeholder empowerment

27. Development of a Regional Agricultural
Policy
Protocol on Trade: pragmatic and flexible
• Protecting vulnerable sectors: the Sugar
Agreement
Risk management of transboundary animal
diseases
Improving access to and availability of
high-quality seeds
SADC – alignment of national and regional priorities

28. Recommendations 1/2
Improve data and information collection and provision to support
efficient price formation and informed and inclusive policy design and
decision making.
Fast-track trade facilitation arrangements at REC level and adopt
coordinated ICT systems to expedite the elimination of tariff and non-
tariff barriers for facilitating agricultural trade and greater integration.
In conjunction with robust systems, institutions and policies, design and
adapt innovative models for financing the expansion and use of hard
infrastructure to drive intraregional and intracontinental agricultural trade.

29. Recommendations 1/2
Better align national with regional priorities as set out in the NAIPs and
RAIPs to accelerate the implementation of intraregional trade and
integration agendas.
Invest in the design and development of technologies as well as skill and
innovation capacities to strengthen Africa’s emerging food processing
sector and overall value chain competitiveness.
Coordinate policy responses to crises and shocks within RECs and
at the continental level through designated centers and taskforces to
improve the level of preparedness and response capacity and to maintain
agricultural and food trade flows across borders.

30. @MaMoPanel MaMoPanel The Malabo Montpellier Panel
Thank you!
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