“African leaders must also take serious steps to free up intra-continental trade to help local farmers. They must equally ramp up programmes to help people rebuild their lives and cope with recurrent climatic shocks,” she added. “Right now, it (AfCFTA) is Africa’s biggest development program and hence we are accelerating implementation of the agreement, establishing the African continental free trade area. The AU says it recognises hunger and climate change as key barriers to trade. “There is a need to mainstream climate change issues including land degradation, into the AfCFTA implementation,” the AU bulletin says.

Source: Daily Nation February 19, 2023 03:34 UTC