The African Union Agenda 2063 is a blueprint and master plan for transforming Africa into a globally competitive economic contender in the world stage. Aimed at revitalising the region’s economy, Agenda 2063 is a strategic framework that aims to deliver on its goal to promote inclusive and sustainable development, and is a “concrete manifestation of the pan-African drive for unity, self-determination, freedom and progress.”

A major component of Agenda 2063 lies in harnessing the abundant resources that are presently available within the African continent. The lack of a consolidated continental strategy had previously hindered the nation from achieving this target, however Agenda 2063 aims to address this challenge through the development of a commodities strategy for Africa, which among its objectives includes promoting sustainable economic growth.

One such concerted effort to revolutionise the African economy has been through the establishment of the Ethiopian Commodities Exchange (EXC). The EXC is a centralised marketplace that was established in 2008 to modernise the country’s agricultural marketing system. It facilitates the trading of agricultural commodities in Africa, which was previously characterised by informal and inefficient trading practices.

Among some of the key features of the EXC are providing and Centralised Electronic Trading Platform where buyers and sellers can trade various agricultural commodities such as coffee, sesame seeds, maize, wheat and others.

The EXC also provides a platform that enforces the quality standards and grading of the commodities traded on its platform. This ensures transparency and reliability in transactions, allowing buyers to be confident in the quality of the commodities that they are purchasing. On the whole, the African Union Agenda 2063 hopes to creates greater demand for the commodities that are both produced and consumed within the nation. In order to achieve this, one of its core objectives is to shorten the overall value chain by removing unnecessary transactions from sales between farmers and aggregators. In this way, African farmers will be able to enjoy greater margins from the sale of the crops, in so enabling a more efficient marketplace through a more simplified market structure.

In addition to the EXC, another strategy that is being adopted by Africa is in the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area, which will create the largest free trade area in the world measured by the number of countries participating. The pact connects 1.3 billion people across 55 countries, with a combined Gross Domestic Product valued at US $3.4 trillion. The AfCTA has the potential to lift 30 million people out of extreme poverty by putting in place significant policy reforms and trade facilitation measures. The role of Research and Development efforts in supporting the goals set out within the African Continental Free Trade Area are substantial, and will go a long way towards ensuring that it is able to meet the objectives that are set out therein.

IRGA recently attended the ISP Africa launch event which took place on the 24th of May at the Abuja Continental Hotel in Nigeria. The event was in line with the International Plantation Society’s mission to develop and transform the African Plantation Industry. It was also intended to foster networking opportunities among agricultural experts, industry stakeholders, policymakers and researchers to address key challenges and opportunities in the African Agricultural Sector.

One of the key agricultural crops which aims to be enhanced in terms of its quality and productivity is the African Oil Palm crop. It is well understood that the oil palm crop (Eleais guineensis) originated from West and Southwest Africa, however during the surge in demand for resources during the 19th century industrial revolution, rising demand for palm oil from European nations saw the crop being exported to be used in the manufacturing of items such as soaps and candles. These were considered to be highly valuable during this period.

In the early 1900’s, the Lever Brothers, who had successfully secured land development concessions in Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Ghana, founded Helleries du Congo Belge. It was around this time that highly efficient plantation systems began to emerge in Southeast Asia, and the newly incorporated Unilever began to establish their operations there. This subsequently led to Indonesia and Malaysian becoming the two largest producers of palm oil in the world, responsible for approximately 85% of the world’s supply.

Nearly a century ahead, countries such as Nigeria and South Africa face various challenges in terms of poverty and food security, with approximately one-third of food production lost or wasted annually, resulting in economic losses estimated at $1 trillion. In addition to this, a significant portion of food produced in Africa is lost (30-40%) before it reaches consumers.

Agenda 2063 and the African Commodities Strategy is an attempt to recapture the role that key agricultural commodities such as oil palm can play in revitalising the nation’s economy as well as protecting its national food security and sustainability concerns to secure its position as a global economic contender.

IRGA’s participation in the ISPA Africa launch event allowed us to gain key insights into the challenges and opportunities involved in the technological revolutionisation of the African agricultural sector. We hope to be able to work closely with industry representatives in Nigeria and other parts of the African region to establish a productive and mutually beneficial working relationship that enables its agricultural sector to thrive through the adoption of advanced agritech solutions and innovations.