Foreword
The African Union (AU) looks to agriculture as the engine for Africa’s transformation and for strong support of the aspirations of Africa outlined in Agenda 2063. Agriculture is expected to realize the economic transformation agenda of Africa with the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) whose objective is to facilitate trade between AU Member States and thereby “promote and attain sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development, gender equality and structural transformation of [African countries].”2 Indeed, the production and flow of agricultural products is critical to economic development, prosperity and food security throughout the continent. This is formally acknowledged through the AU’s 2014 Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transformation for Shared Prosperity and Improved Livelihoods and the landmark signing and coming into force of the AfCFTA in May 2019. The AfCFTA stresses the continuing expansion of Africa’s agricultural growth and transformation and reiterates the need to further expand Africa’s agricultural commodity trade. According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, 75 percent of intra- African trade is in agricultural products. There is an urgent need to harness markets and trade opportunities on the continent and overseas.
Improved implementation and harmonization of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) systems is critical to ensuring that any agricultural trade protects human, animal and plant health. SPS laws and regulations within AU Member States must be updated and meet the WTO SPS Agreement commitments and be based on international standards that ensure the safe trade of agricultural products with minimal trade distortion. Thus, the AU SPS Policy Framework lays out a roadmap to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of SPS systems on the continent to enhance protect human health and facilitate intra-African agricultural and food trade. Nevertheless, it will be the Member States of the AU that must take action at the national level to implement the Agreement, demonstrate commitment to strengthening their regulatory systems, and prioritize SPS funding streams. It will also be incumbent upon national governments to mobilize stakeholders— farmers and herders, traders, distributors, retailers, regulators, and consumers— to produce and demand safe agricultural products for the African continent.
I am therefore very pleased to introduce the AU SPS Policy Framework for the period 2019 to 2024. It was developed by the African Union Commission in collaboration with the African Union Member States, Regional Economic Communities (RECs), and technical and development partners. The Policy Framework is firmly aligned with the AU Business Plan (2017-2021) for implementing the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) 2014 Malabo Declaration. Furthermore, the Policy Framework was formulated at a significant time when African Union (AU) entered into the practical phase of operationalizing AfCFTA to achieve overall continental integration. Moreover, the AU has increasingly grown in stature, representing a major force in international affairs including trade. Worth noting too, is that the Policy Framework comes at a time when the AU’s Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture (DREA) is presenting the 2nd Biennial Review Report. The Policy Framework will help to generate information for successive Biennial Review Reports.
The AU Commission recommits itself to enhancing collaboration with other Pan African Institutions, working with the RECs and promoting partnerships with regional and international agencies, in support of AU Member States in our key strategic areas contained in the AU SPS Policy Framework. By so doing we will contribute to the vision of an integrated and prosperous Africa.
Amb. Josepha Sacko
Commission for Rural Economy and Agriculture
