Opportunities amid COVID-19: advancing intra-African food integration. (Special Section: Pandemics and sustainability.)

Morsy, H.; Salami, A.; Mukasa, A. N.

The COVID-19 pandemic comes as Africa still struggles to ensure its population's food security and eradicate malnutrition, hunger, and starvation. Africa significantly lags other regions in turning its agri-food trade into a catalyst for economic growth and structural transformation. We argue that the COVID-19 pandemic and its ensuing economic disruptions offer opportunities that African countries could leverage by promoting a vibrant intra-African food trade and market integration. In particular, commitments to harmonizing food trade rules and policies and both tariff and non-tariff barriers by coordinating policies across Africa's Regional Economic Communities could prove to be game-changers. The recently ratified African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) offers an excellent opportunity to enhance food market integration and boost intra-African food trade.