Against the background of worldwide trade disruptions due to COVID-19, IFPRI and AKADEMIYA2063 are launching the third annual Africa Agriculture Trade Monitor (AATM), the leading comprehensive report on African agricultural trade flows and policies. The report’s authors will discuss emerging trends in African countries’ trade flows and compositions, comparative advantages globally and regionally, tariff and non-tariff trade protection, and recent extraregional and intraregional trade developments. The 2020 AATM includes special coverage of the extensive informal cross-border trade across Africa and initiatives to measure informal trade, along with an assessment of regional integration outcomes in this year’s region of focus: The Southern African Development Community (SADC). 

This seminar will explore the opportunities to develop stronger regional value chains by removing trade barriers and capitalize on the recently ratified African Continental Free Trade Area.

Opening Remarks

• Ousmane Badiane, Executive Chairperson, Acting Managing Director, AKADEMIYA2063 
• Antoine Bouet, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI

Speakers

• Mamello Nchake, Senior Research Fellow, Trade, Industry and Private Sector Development, Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis (Presentation)
• Sunday Odjo, Deputy Director, Knowledge Systems, AKADEMIYA2063 (Presentation)
• Chahir Zaki, Assistant Professor of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University (Presentation)

Discussant

• Tracy Davids, Manager, Commodity Markets & Foresight, Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP) & Researcher, University of Pretoria

Closing Remarks

• Antoine Bouet, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI

Moderator

• Julie Kurtz, Research Analyst, IFPRI