Analysis of Agri-Food Trade Structures

To Promote Agri-Food Trade Networks

In the Islamic Countries

African Intellectual Property Organization, which prohibits the product name from being used

outside the original region.

If these efforts are successful long term, labelling could allow for

structuring of stakeholders and specialization of operators that make up the value chain.

Likewise, Certification Standards are aimed at reassuring consumer markets of product quality

so adhering to them is helpful for market integration. However, Cameroon has not implemented

a national framework for food safety legislation that is coherently linked to global agribusiness

and its international obligations with regards to trade. Steps towards implementing a local

regulatory framework for biosafety and the use of genetically modified organisms via a 2003

law,

but enforcement mechanisms and tracing instruments remain inadequate.

The minister in charge of livestock proposed collaboration could build from previous study by

the World Bank and would focus on the integration of regional trade in meat and livestock-

related products in the Lake Chad Basin. The development objective of such a project would be

to support the improvement of the regulatory environment for livestock and meat trade along

livestock trade corridors in Central and West Africa. The project would (a) provide a thorough

assessment of trade flows and impediments along these corridors, (b) design policy and

recommendations to address key constraints to trade in livestock and meat; (c) develop action

plans to implement these policy recommendations. The project could collaborate with West

Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP) network and work closely with, the

Commission du Bétail de la Viande et des Ressources Halieutiques

(CEBEVIRAH); the Economic

Community of Central Africa States (ECCAS); and the West and Central African Council for

Agricultural Research (CORAF/WECARD), the African Union and international institutions such

as the FAO or World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). The adoption and/or harmonization

of livestock trade policies among these countries needs strong political will on the part of

governments for streamlined procedures. An OIC-member collaboration could provide the

framework required to accelerate the adoption/harmonization of these policies. The project

would need to, among others, undertake a socio-economic study on livestock trade (including

livestock products) and identify legal and policy areas that need attention both from export and

import perspective.

Cameroon’s agri-food sector also lacks harmonized regulatory and administrative procedures.

The infrastructure challenges in Cameroon’s region are not just material but also encompass

inefficiencies in non-material infrastructure. While material infrastructure comprises roads,

energy, facilities and ICT (Information, Communication, and Technology) connectivity, non-

material infrastructure covers the gamut of all competencies, procedures, and knowledge

associated with the physical infrastructure. In Cameroon and between its regional members

these challenges include administrative inefficiencies, lags in governance along with a lack of

clarity and harmonization of processes in legal and political frameworks. This fragmentation is

also evident in the fact that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry

of Trade have low levels of coordination between them. These ministries implement a variety of

projects but have limited coordination between them.

These numerous factors coalesce and

contribute to limiting the potential growth and perspectives of the agriculture and agri-food

system. It is imperative that strategies that aim to foster greater and more sustainable agri-food

and agricultural trade, prioritize efforts that remedy these complex challenges.

Chabrol, D. et al. (2015) “Establishing Geographical Indications without State Involvement? Learning from Case Studies in

Central and West Africa”,

World Development

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2015.11.023

FAO. Law N° 2003/006 of 21 April 2003. Law to lay down safety regulations governing modern biotechnology in Cameroon

Ibid.