Chief Executive Officer of Private Enterprise Federation (PEF), Nana Osei-Bonsu has said the main driver of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is the many opportunities that exist in the agriculture sector, thus called on businesses to take advantage.
He explained that agriculture is a major component of big economies in Africa which generates around US$ 100 billion or 15 percent of the continent’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
He said although contributions of Agriculture to GDP tend to vary widely from one country to another, the sector remains a critical sector for the continent in terms of employment, food security as well as exports.
Nana Osei-Bonsu speaking at PEF’s sensitization of private sector players on the AfCFTA said Africa possessed 60 percent of the world’s uncultivated arable lands, for which if properly used, it could produce 2-3 times more cereals and grains, with its parallel increases in horticulture crops and livestock.
“However, the region has been a net importer of basic food products for over two decades which is likely to worsen in the short term due to the Covid-19 crisis. It is here that the AfCFTA becomes crucial,” he added.
The CEO of the Private Enterprise Federation (PEF) said to effectively benefit from the AfCFTA, African countries must focus on areas where they had a competitive and comparative advantage. He said a greater portion of these opportunities are in agriculture and infrastructure, adding that as of 2010, Africa still needed at least $46 billion in additional spending each year to upgrade its energy, water, and transportation networks.
However, Mr. Osei-Bonsu noted that Ghana’s intra-Africa exports value ranking in the seven products studied was generally impressive.
“Our ranks in the top 10 African countries in four products including plastics, mineral oils, pharmaceuticals, manufactures of metals; ranks in the top fifteen countries in two products including agro-processed goods, and cosmetics and places in the top twenty countries in one product textiles,” he added.
Nana Osei-Bonsu said there is the need to map and review the status of implementation of AfCFTA in other African countries and build the support systems for boosting agricultural production and value addition as well as Intellectual property right protection to promote research and development.
He called for country-level diagnostics through the establishment of National Agribusiness Chambers to enhance Intra Africa trade and adopt improved farming practices such as enhancing agricultural production through greenhouses.
