CropLife Africa Middle East was honoured to work with African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat on a full day dedicated to capacity enhancement on Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs), consumer safety, and MRLs role in enabling safe and predictable global trade, at the 5th AfCFTA Secretariat Subcommittee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures in Nairobi, Kenya and hosted by TradeMark Africa.
The session brought together SPS experts from Ministries of Agriculture, Health, and Trade across AfCFTA member states, alongside Regional Economic Communities and international organizations.
Discussions highlighted both the complexity of MRL-related issues and the clear need for continued regulatory capacity building, as well as the critical importance of strengthening MRL harmonization to support trade of African agricultural commodities.
At the opening of the meeting, Dr. Mmatlou Kalaba presented a CropLife AME-commissioned study by BFAP on “The State of Play of Trade of African Agricultural Commodities,” recently unveiled by CropLife AME. Key insights included:
• African agricultural exporters remain globally competitive
• Regulatory pressures in traditional markets (EU/US) are increasing
• Export concentration creates structural vulnerabilities
• Regional trade through AfCFTA and export diversification are essential
A big thank you to Dr. Mmatlou Kalaba for the excellent presentation, and to Dr. Edward Chikwana (Corteva) for co-delivering the training alongside our CEO, Stella SimiyuBW.
The importance of strong public-private partnerships was also emphasized, exemplified by the cooperation between CropLife AME and AfCFTA. CropLife AME stands ready to further collaborate on these critical topics. Many thanks to Dr. Diana Akullo Ogwal (AfCFTA) for her engagement and support.
