Industry & Agriculture

The Mandate of the Industry and Agriculture Division is to promote development of competitive, sustainable and profitable agriculture and industries that contribute to economic and social prosperity of the COMESA citizens.

Overall Objective The overall objective of the Industry and Agriculture Division is to contribute to deepening regional integration through promoting and supporting efforts to drive inclusive industrialization, private sector development and agricultural growth and transformation in the COMESA region.

Specific Objectives

The specific objectives of Industry and Agriculture Division include:
1) To support increased agricultural productivity and agro-processing for improved food security and nutrition, and agro-product competitiveness in the COMESA region;
2) To promote and support competitive and diversified industrial development in the COMESA region;
3) To foster linkages between industry, value addition to agriculture and other natural resources as well as supporting development of other economic sectors for inclusive and sustainable development in the COMESA region;
4) To promote and support compliance with regional and international standards and Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures for increased access to competitive markets and enhance intra-regional and international trade;
5) To support development, harmonization and implementation of policies, regulations, strategies and programmes on agriculture and industry development in the region;
6) To promote and support creation of enabling environment for investment and business development in the region.
The Industry and Agriculture Division delivers its mandate through the following technical units and agency:

Agriculture Development

Coordinate and support the development, harmonization and implementation of agricultural policies, strategies and programmes and regulations to promote complementarity and sustainability of the national agricultural programmes in order to ensure inclusive agricultural growth and transformation for COMESA regional food and nutrition security, economic development and integration.

Services:
– We formulate regional agricultural policy and regulatory frameworks in line with the continental and global frameworks for harmonized development and implementation of national agriculture policies, strategies, plans, and regulations;

– We assist Member States in developing, implementing, monitoring and reporting on their National Agriculture and Food Security Investment Plans (NAIPs) aligned to the continental and regional frameworks and international agreements;

– We partner with development and strategic organizations to mobilize technical and financial resources to support the implementation of the COMESA Regional Agriculture Investment Plan and Member States NAIPs;

– We promote and support, through collaborating with regional agricultural research institutions, regionally coordinated agricultural research to generate and disseminate information on improved technologies, innovations and management practices to stakeholders in the agricultural sector.

Livestock

• Support efforts aimed at driving sustainable livestock production and productivity, value addition and access to markets in the COMESA region.

•Services:
• We support Member States to attract public and private investments along the different livestock values chains;

• We support Member States to enhance Livestock Production and Animal Health to increase productivity and resilience of livestock production systems;

• We support Member States to enhance innovation, generation and utilization of technologies, capacities and entrepreneurship skills of livestock value chain actors;

• We support Member States to enhance access to markets, services and value addition.

Blue Economy

Support investment in sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and jobs while preserving the health of ocean ecosystem.

Services:
• We promote and support increased investment in diversification of existing ocean-based economic sectors (particularly fisheries, tourism and ports) to realize greater value and efficiency from the existing resource base;

• We support exploration and feasibility of new and emerging maritime sectors (for example sustainable fisheries, marine-based aquaculture, tourism);

• We support improved prevention of ocean/blue economy risks including illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, marine pollution and climate change through integrated approaches to effective regional cooperation on maritime security.

Industrial and Private Development

Support initiatives to promote sustainable industrialisation and private sector development in the COMESA region.

Services:
• We support the development of regional Industrial Policy and strategic frameworks;

• We support the development of regional SMEs policy framework;

• We support Member States to domesticate the regional industrialization and SMEs and the local content policy frameworks;

• We mobilize technical and financial resource to support the implementation of regional and national industrialisation and SMEs strategies and programmes.

Investment Promotion

Support efforts aimed at transforming the COMESA region into a single and harmonized investment destination.

Services:
• We support adoption of COMESA Common Investment Area Agreement (CCIA);

• We support Member States in improving the ease-of-doing business environment, building on regional best practices and peer- to- peer experience sharing.

Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)

Support efforts to enhance regional and global market access and trade as well as plant and animal health, and food safety

Services:
• We work with SPS regulatory authorities to facilitate market access agreements, implement capacity building programmes across the private and public sectors aimed at compliance with trade partners SPS requirements;

• We work with Member State national bureaus of standards to develop mutual recognition frameworks for conformity assessment;

• We support regulatory laboratories to achieve equivalence of laboratory test results and to recognize each other’s certificates of analysis;

• We support a network of plant health and animal health professionals in the public and private sector, to manage transboundary plant pests and animal diseases in a transparent and credible manner that does not obstruct trade.

Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa (ACTESA)

A specialized Agency of COMESA established in line with article 182 of the COMESA Treaty. Its programmes are aimed at boosting of intra-regional agricultural trade through supporting small-scale farmers access to agricultural input, output and financial markets.

Services
• We support harmonization of agro-inputs (e.g. seeds and fertilizers) policies/regulations, standards, quality assurance and market development in COMESA region;

• We support harmonisation of grades and standards for staple food commodities to enhance small-scale farmers access to national, regional and international markets;

• We build capacities of farmers and providing market linkage support to enhance their access to markets;

• We support the strengthening of market services and facilities;
• We assist private firms in investing in knowledge, technology and other forms of transfers to the benefit of local suppliers;

• We provide comprehensive and evidence-based policy findings and improving the policy environment for investment and agricultural trade.