In most (sub)regions agricultural trade has long been part and parcel of food systems. In West Africa, for example, regional livestock trade enables producers in the Sahel countries to access markets in coastal areas. In the Dutch support for regional market development in East and West Africa, special attention was given to agricultural trade and value chain development through targeted support to ECOWAS (World Bank led Trade Facilitation West Africa program) and the EAC/COMESA (TradeMark East Africa). In both projects the Netherlands emphasized the importance of informal trade (often food and agricultural products) and the role(s) of women traders. Specific actions were undertaken to reduce sexual violence and gender discrimination focusing on women traders in (informal) trade.
In 2018 the AU African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) was signed by all but one of the countries in Africa5. The current thinking is that the AfCFTA, that became operational in 2021 in the countries that ratified the agreement, could become a game-changer, enabling local agricultural producers and agribusinesses in Africa to thrive, while at the same time reducing dependency on imported goods from elsewhere, including food and agricultural inputs. The European Union (EU) is actively engaging with the AU to move this agenda forward in complementarity with the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Program (CAADP) also spearheaded by the African Union.