非洲大陆自由贸易区: 非洲的正确举动

非洲是一个广阔的大洲, 但是现在 1.2 根据自由贸易协定，我们这里生活着数十亿人团结一致，该协定于1月1日正式生效—and I’m excited to think about what it could mean for farmers like me.

非洲大陆自由贸易区 (非洲自由贸易协定) 链接所有 54 非洲大陆上的国家, 承诺通过降低关税和消除低效率来促进跨境货物和服务的流通.

该 世界银行 说可以增加我们的收入 $450 十亿, 或关于 7 百分—虽然它也说我的津巴布韦国家会看到它的收入增长 14 百分. 除了象牙海岸, that’s more than any other African nation.

此外, AfCFTA将解除 30 百万人摆脱了极端贫困 2035, 妇女将取得一些最令人印象深刻的收获.

那些数字很大, 但是故事总是比统计数据更具说服力.

在我在津巴布韦的农场, 我种豌豆, 玉米, 白饭, 和更多. 我也养牛和猪. We’re always looking for new ways to sell what we produce—消除贸易壁垒是帮助我们实现这一目标的最好方法之一.

博茨瓦纳是我们的邻居. 那个国家的大部分是半干旱的, 很难种任何东西. 我的国家, 然而, 有潜力成为我们地区的粮仓. We can fill in Botswana’s food gaps with fresh vegetables. 在我们的旺季, 津巴布韦的农民种出很多西红柿和白菜, 跨境供应剩余的机会为农民提供了创收的机会，并实际上减少了不必要的粮食浪费.

出口市场是解决方案. 非洲是一个千差万别的大陆, 充满经历涉及气候的各种条件的国家, 季节, 和土壤. 根据地点和时间, 我们可以平衡自己的优势和劣势.

Countries should focus on what they produce best and buy from neighbors what they don’t produce as well. 这是经济规律 比较优势 and I’m hopeful that AfCFTA will make it work in our favor.

这就是我们共同繁荣的方式.

Africans spend a lot of time worrying that we don’t trade enough with the rest of the world, and the truth is we don’t. 一个更大的问题, 然而, is that we don’t trade enough with ourselves—AfCFTA将开始改善我们的处境.

别处, 洲内贸易 是健康经济的重要力量. 在欧洲, 超过三分之二的国际贸易留在欧洲, 法国向西班牙出口奶酪，西班牙将橙子运往法国. 在亚洲, 这个数字差不多 60 percent and in North America it’s about 55 百分.

在非洲, 然而, 洲内贸易很小 16 占所有贸易的百分比. That’s an official figure, 真正的贸易可能会更高，因为很多非洲贸易都没有报道. 但这是一个明显的区别, 它表明我们有很多工作要做.

非洲自由贸易协定将减少配额和原产地规则等人为贸易壁垒. 它还将消除繁文tape节, 简化海关程序并降低合规成本.

Lots of challenges await. One of them is political. 虽然 津巴布韦 has signed and ratified AfCFTA, 一些 20 nations still need to take this step. 此外, Africans everywhere suffer from poor infrastructure. Our lack of warehouses and roads makes it hard to store and transport our farm products before they spoil. Flights to just about anywhere remain too expensive, but flights within Africa are much more costly than they should be.

We also need better access to agricultural technology, including the improved seeds that have made such a big difference for farmers in the developed world—and increasingly are helping farmers in poorer countries as well.

AfCFTA is a sweeping pact and years will pass before it realizes its full potential—but I’m confident that in time it will make me a better farmer who enjoys more opportunities to sell what I grow.

拿一个 虚拟旅游 of Ruramiso Mashumba’s farm.

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