Word from the ceo
Chief Executive Officer
As a response to the 2007/8 high food prices, COMESA established the Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa (ACTESA), as a Specialised Agency under the COMESA treaty of article 182. In this regard, ACTESA was established on the 9th of June 2009, with a ‘mission to integrate smallholder farmers into domestic, regional and international markets through an improved policy environment, expanded market facilities, services and capacity building. In accomplishment of this mission, ACTESA’s strategic goal is to ensure increased integration and improved regional competitiveness of staple foods markets across the Eastern and Southern Africa region leading to broad-based inclusive growth and increased food security.
ACTESA is key to transforming and addressing the region’s agricultural challenges, including market access-related constraints, low productivity, and technological and policy-related constraints.
It is a strategic institution in a region where 85 per cent of all staple crop producers are smallholders and of these, only about 15 per cent produce for the market, and are characterized by poor organization with no predictable selling mechanisms.
ACTESA’s Strategic Plan
ACTESA’s regional Strategic Plan, 2021-2031, underscores its dedication to fostering staple food programme development and implementation, with a focus on tailored, practical and actionable aspirations as follows:
- Private sector-led programmes from formulation to implementation;
- A re-orientation within the African Union (AU) Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development;
- Programme (CAADP) priority areas of market access and food security;
- Applying a regional cluster market approach in its programming; and
- Working with ACTESA Alliance Partners in implementing staple food programmes efficiently and effectively.
ACTESA’s Future Milestones
Looking ahead, we eagerly anticipate more impactful and meaningful milestones boarding on:
- Improved planning and coordination with key ACTESA Alliance Partners Stakeholders;
- Enhanced policies that support regional market integration;
- Improved policies that support staple food trade;
- Increased facilities and services required for improved integration and regional competitiveness of staple foods markets;
- Improved access to services that enhance the production of staple foods;
- Strengthened capacity of regional farmer organisations to engage in market-oriented production;
- Improved smallholder farmers’ linkages and access to input and out-market facilities
ACTESA’s Role in Advancing Regional Agricultural Programs and Initiatives
ACTESA is poised to propel the COMESA Regional Food Balance Sheet (COMREFBS), which will facilitate and ease the operations of the COMESA Regional Agricultural Commodity Exchange Programme (COMRACEP). This is in addition to programmes and concept notes that have been developed in the last 2 years, namely:
- COMESA EAC Horticulture Accelerator (CEHA)
- COMESA Regional Fertilizer Programme (COMFREP)
- COMESA Biosafety and Biotechnology Implementation Plan (COMBIP)
- COMESA Seed Harmonisation Implementation Plan
- COMESA Bioprotectants Harmonisation Programme (COMBIHAP).