UN calls for integrated food corridors in Africa

Sikhulekelani Moyo

Zimpapers Business Hub

The United Nations (UN) has implored the African Continent to establish integrated food corridors to connect African production areas to the main national and regional markets to reduce post-harvest losses and improve food systems across the continent.

In a statement at the Annual Summit of the African Food Systems Forum, UN secretary general Mr António Guterres, who was being represented by the under secretary-general of the United Nations and executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Mr Claver Gatete, said climate shocks, biodiversity loss, high capital costs, and over-indebtedness are converging to slow agricultural transformation.

He said for many countries, these pressures translated into higher borrowing costs, reduced fiscal space, and underinvestment in agriculture, infrastructure, and human capital.

Mr Guterres said Africa was not only facing a simple food production problem, but a development challenge, a situation where food insecurity directly competes with the investments needed to stimulate economic growth, employment, innovation, and resilience.

‘’We need to establish integrated food corridors to connect the different African production areas to the main national and regional markets,’’ said Mr Guterres.

“By modernising roads, ports, storage facilities, and the cold chain, accelerating the connectivity of electricity interconnection power pools, and simplifying border procedures, we will be able to reduce post-harvest losses, ensure the timely delivery of various products, and strengthen the foundations of intra-regional trade,” he said.