Economic Commission for Africa unveils groundbreaking project strengthening cross-border agricultural value chains between Ghana and Ivory Coast under continental trade framework.
The initiative, implemented jointly by ECA, ECOWAS Commission, and African Union partners, aims to boost intra-regional agricultural trade while advancing African Continental Free Trade Area implementation. This strategic collaboration focuses on developing competitive cross-border value chains that enhance productivity, increase export earnings, and create sustainable employment opportunities.
Joan Kagwamja, ECA’s Chief of Land and Agriculture Section, emphasized the project’s significance for Africa’s single market development. “With AU-endorsed Guidelines on Regional Agricultural Value Chains, ECA and partners are powering agro-processing, diversification and intra-African trade,” she explained during the Accra workshop launch.
The project prioritizes cocoa and rice value chains, leveraging both countries’ comparative advantages in these strategic commodities. Ghana’s cocoa expertise combined with Ivory Coast’s production capacity creates opportunities for enhanced processing, value addition, and regional market integration through coordinated policy frameworks.
ECOWAS Programme Coordinator Zonon Abdoulaye highlighted the initiative’s alignment with West Africa’s integration agenda through the Common Industrial Policy. “We will support AfCFTA rollout, align different initiatives with AfCFTA and scale cross-border value chains using e-certificates of origin and trade portals,” he stated.
The Common African Agro-Parks programme, adopted in 2019 as an AfCFTA-associated flagship initiative, provides the institutional framework for establishing joint agro-industrial parks. This approach builds on successful Zambia-Zimbabwe collaboration experiences while adapting to West African market conditions and regulatory environments.
Current assessments focus on policy, regulatory, and institutional frameworks needed to promote selected value chains effectively. The initiative addresses persistent constraints facing small-scale producers including limited technology access, inadequate financing, and insufficient transport and storage infrastructure.
Janet Edeme, AU Commission Director of Rural Economy and Agriculture, emphasized the project’s climate finance dimensions. “A Green Climate Finance track will mobilize climate-resilient investment for Ghana and Ivory Coast,” she noted, highlighting environmental sustainability integration within agricultural development strategies.
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