The African Union Commission, ECOWAS Commission and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa recently launched a groundbreaking initiative in Accra, to strengthen cross-border agricultural value chains between Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, two nations representing over 60 per cent of global cocoa production and significant rice cultivation across West Africa.
This isn't just another regional cooperation announcement. Under the Common African Agro-Parks (CAAPs) flagship program, we're seeing the practical implementation of AfCFTA through targeted commodity focus on cocoa and rice value chains.
The initiative directly addresses the persistent challenge of limited value addition in African agriculture, where raw cocoa exports generate a fraction of the final chocolate bar value, and rice imports cost West Africa billions annually despite significant production capacity.
The strategic implications are profound for our regional integration agenda; by creating demonstrable cross-border agro-industrial park models, this collaboration could become the template for scaling value addition across ECOWAS member states.
When borders become bridges for agricultural transformation, smallholder farmers gain access to technology, finance, and regional markets while reducing post-harvest losses that currently cost our region millions.
