The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has signed an agreement with AGRA, an African-led institution that scales agricultural innovations, to help smallholder farmers market their products across the continent.

Speaking at the signing ceremony on the sidelines of the 39th AU Summit, Wamkele Mene, secretary general of the AfCFTA, said the partnership will combine AGRA's technical and policy expertise with trade tools to facilitate the movement of agricultural goods across Africa and help reduce the continent's food import bill.

"We have agreed on a three-year roadmap that will enable us as Africans to tackle food insecurity by invoking trade rules to lower the cost, lower intra-Africa barriers, and eliminate non-tariff barriers that prohibit informal traders and smallholder farmers from accessing markets across the continent," Mene said.

He added that the two institutions are developing an agricultural trade action plan, expected to be adopted soon by the ministers of trade and agriculture, before being submitted to heads of states for endorsement.

"At the heart of this plan is reducing the cost of food, eliminating food insecurity, and enabling the development of the agri-processing industry," Mene added.

Alice Ruhweza, the president of AGRA, said the partnership will also focus on building climate resilience to protect Africa's food systems from drought and floods.

Ruhweza said it aims to unlock value chains by shifting from exporting raw commodities to strengthening agro-processing zones that utilize sustainable water management, while ensuring that women and young smallholders benefit directly from AfCFTA opportunities.

She described the MoU as a "historic bridge" from high-level policy ambition to practical delivery for farmers.

"The partnership is about virtual water, because when we trade maize, citrus, and processed dairy across borders, we are also trading the water that we use to produce them," she said, referencing the summit's theme on sustainable water and sanitation under Agenda 2063.

"By integrating our markets, we allow water-abundant regions to nourish water-scarce ones, optimizing our continent's most precious resource to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry."

Mene emphasized that trade will not transform Africa unless agri-enterprises meet international standards, noting that clean water and safe sanitation are not just social services but economic infrastructure.

edithmutethya@chinadaily.com.cn