The Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA): To facilitate Goods and Services made in the Continent of Africa, Permanent Secretary – Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Ernest Umakhihe disclosed

By Abdul Rahman Bangura–

NEW AFRICA DAILY NEWS (NADN) Freetown, Sierra Leone- Dr. Umakhihe communicated at the induction of the Technical Working Group (TWG) of AfCFTA in Abuja on August 13th, 2021. He told that, the ambition would establish a single continental market as well as decrease tariffs and the application of non-tariff
obstacles to trade among African nations.

Further said, AfCFTA consensus would be the biggest trade and investment block treaty since the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

“These opportunities will boost intra African trade among 1.2 billion people and a cumulative Gross Domestic Product of 3.4 trillion dollars.

“Particularly, UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) envisages a potential increase in African Trade by 52% in 2022,’’ he announced.

Dr. Umakhihe remarked that, the National Action Committee (NAC) of the AfCFTA was comprised by President Muhammadu Buhari on December 20th, 2019, in a bid to harmonize comprehensive enactment strategies for pertinent stakeholders to evaluate the trade willingness and anticipated interventions.

“The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development is a member of the productive Sector Steering Committee for the AfCFTA, impact and readiness study.

“While the Minister of State is serving on the Steering Committee of the NAC on AfCFTA Champion for Agriculture, and I am the team lead for the Agric and Agribusiness Work stream.’’

Abdulahi Zubairu, the Director, Planning and Policy Coordination Department (P&PC), told, the commission of an established market in the context of the AfCFTA as a trade block; would employ a tremendous undertaking of synergy amongst stakeholders in the Agricultural sector.

According to him, this will enable them to wield the chances related to navigate comparable and active benefit.

“It is in the above contest that a Ministerial TWG was conceived to coordinate all intrinsic and extrinsic issues in the sector along the respective Value Chain.

“This is a deliberate initiative to track, document with an empirical precision report on progress to guide the sector toward taking its rightful position in the AfCFTA process,’’ he explained.

For New Africa Daily News Abdul Rahman Bangura Reports,  Africa Correspondent

www.newafricadailynews.com