COMESA has stressed on the need to leverage digitalisation, green growth, and inclusive value chain development to ensure that COMESA remains a competitive and sustainable market.
Speaking at the on the sidelines of the 18th COMESA Business Forum and the 24th COMESA Summit of Heads of State and Government in Nairobi, COMESA Secretary General Chileshe Mpundu Kapwepwe noted that the COMESA – EU Horticulture Connect provides a timely opportunity to build on what has been achieved and to chart a positive path forward.
“Together, we must leverage digitalisation, green growth, and inclusive value chain development to ensure that COMESA remains a competitive and sustainable market.”
While hailing hailed the European Union for its steadfast partnership, the SG remarked that COMESA and the European Union can create a future where regional integration drives prosperity and where home grown enterprises are firmly embedded in global value chains.
The forum brought together enterprises, policymakers, and European partners to explore new opportunities in trade, investment, and sustainable value chain development.
Kapwepwe noted that digital tools have become central to enhancing competitiveness in agriculture from traceability systems that assure quality compliance to e-commerce platforms linking regional producers directly to international buyers.
Over the past five years, COMESA, through the EU-funded Regional Enterprise Competitiveness and Access to Markets Programme (RECAMP), has supported more than 500 SMEs across the region 30 pc of which are women and youth-led to access regional and global markets.
The SG says, exports in the horticultural sector to the EU amount to more than Ksh. 427 billlion (USD 3.3 billion) annually, with the Netherlands alone accounting for 28pc of COMESA’s horticultural exports.
“The horticulture value chain alone contributes over Ksh. 4.83 trillion (USD 37.3 billion) annually in exports to the European Union, employing millions of smallholder farmers across the region.” She said.
“Under the programme, trade missions to the Netherlands and Germany facilitated direct B2B engagement, with SMEs securing contracts valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars, gaining first-hand knowledge of certification, logistics, and standards.”
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