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Paper short abstract:

This paper analyses changes in selected agro-processing regional value chains focusing on three SADC countries, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia. Drawing on recent in-depth research it analyses market outcomes, governance and industrial policies, and considers the implications of climate change.

Paper long abstract:

Urbanisation, rising incomes and supermarketisation are changing patterns of consumption towards greater demand for processed foods. While there are indications of an economic transformation in Africa with shifts to higher value crops and agro-processing, most African countries remain net food importers. Without a dramatic increase in agro-processing, higher demand for food products will mean a continued and growing food deficit, despite potential for increased agricultural production. At the same time, climate change introduces new levels of uncertainty about sustainable crop production.

This paper evaluates changing patterns of production, trade and the governance of selected agro-processing value chains across three SADC countries, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia, drawing on recent research in which the authors have been involved. While regional integration in the form of liberalising trade has been strongly promoted, the paper assesses the mixed picture in terms of divergent prices across countries and the continued relatively low levels of regional trade. The analysis points to the importance of understanding power on the part of local and international market participants, and the different policy approaches adopted in the three focus countries.

The variability associated with climate change makes it imperative to consider how investments in food systems should be made across the region to organise production in ways that anticipate changes and makes the most sustainable use of endowments and capabilities across national borders. A broader view of agro-industrialisation is required to sustain investments and to regulate power in the production systems to ensure wider participation, along with upgrading.