Africa Food Systems Forum: Dumelo calls for borderless Africa to boost agricultural trade

Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture, John Dumelo, has urged for a borderless Africa to promote agricultural trade and strengthen intra-African commerce. During an interview at the Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF), Dumelo discussed the importance of African nations leveraging their unique agricultural strengths and resources through increased trade among themselves. He emphasized that "no country is an island," highlighting the necessity for countries to share resources and goods.

Dumelo outlined several challenges that hinder intra-African trade, including visa restrictions, import and export tariffs, and inadequate infrastructure. To address these issues, he called for the expansion of established trade corridors, such as the West African corridor, to create a more integrated African market. The Deputy Minister stressed that a borderless Africa would require collaboration from various sectors, including foreign affairs, infrastructure, health, and beyond.

He added that progress has already been made in addressing these barriers, with the ultimate goal of achieving a more unified African trading system. The forum, which runs from September 1-4 in Kigali, Rwanda, brings together over 5,000 stakeholders from more than 50 countries to address key focus areas such as investment and finance, food security and nutrition, climate resilience, youth and digital innovation, and trade and markets.

Dumelo expressed gratitude to AGRA, a key partner of the AFSF, for providing a platform for world leaders to discuss Africa's food systems. He emphasized that transforming Ghana's food systems sector requires stronger collaboration with development partners to advance agriculture across the continent.