African countries to improve trade systems and capitalize on their agricultural resources

Rome, 18 April 2025. Countries in Africa’s south and east are planning major overhauls to their trade and quarantine operations, guarding against the spread of agricultural plant pests and taking advantage of the continent’s vast natural resources, which presents significant export potential.

At a recent meeting in Rome, officials from 11 countries from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) region shared detailed plans on how they will maintain international confidence in the safety of their plant and plant product exports.

The plans were prepared after many months of work as countries conducted phytosanitary capacity evaluations (PCEs), to identify gaps in their biosecurity systems, guided by the secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention.

Sarah Brunel, lead of the IPPC secretariat’s implementation and facilitation unit, said Africa’s extensive land and labour resources provided significant opportunities for boosting agricultural production, leading to increased crop exports.

“With the right regulatorily and procedural frameworks in place, these countries can capitalize on the global appetite for fresh produce and plant-based products,” said Brunel.

Countries revealed plans for revising agricultural legislation, improving operating procedures; restructuring trade ministries; building capacity in inspection, risk analysis and surveillance systems; developing IT infrastructure; and enhancing training programmes for frontline phytosanitary staff.

The PCEs were conducted in each of the 11 countries, which included Djibouti, Egypt, Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Funded by the European Union, the USD 7 million effort – known as Strengthening Food Control and Phytosanitary Capacities and Governance – was designed to assist countries identify gaps in their import and export systems, implement improvements, and ultimately promote safe international trade.

“Plant pests represent a major challenge to agricultural productivity, food security, environmental sustainability, and trade efficiency within the COMESA region,” said an IPPC secretariat assessment of the PCEs carried out in Africa.

“Tackling these risks is critical to ensuring economic stability, protecting livelihoods, and strengthening food security, particularly in the region’s most vulnerable nations.”

As part of the PCEs, facilitators from the IPPC secretariat traveled to all 11 countries, where they met with export industry representatives and other stakeholders, and helped guide local officials through the PCE process.

Based on the PCE findings, trade officials will seek funds from donor nations, as well as their own governments, to implement the plans they revealed in Rome.

In Uganda, for example, the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries has already secured EUR 8 million from the European Union, along with USD 5.5 million from the Ugandan finance ministry, to enhance agricultural inspections, diagnostics and surveillance.

In a follow up to the meeting, trade officials, IPPC staff and phytosanitary stakeholders reconvened at the Rome headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to build on the lessons learned by PCEs conducted in Africa, and other locations, to improve and streamline the process.

Participants covered topics including legislation, environment forces, national plant protection organizations, pest diagnostics, pest surveillance and eradication, import regulations, risk analysis, pest free areas and export certification. Moreover, participants made suggestions for improvement, particularly when it came to simplifying the software application used during the PCE process.

The IPPC Secretariat’s new Plant Health Campus contains free, certified e-learning courses, practical guides, and tools to support national and regional plant protection organizations while conducting the PCEs.