COMESA urges free movement of maize across borders

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) has urged member states to allow free movement of maize by implementing the "maize without borders" concept to ensure food security and promote trade in the region.

"As a staple food crop in a number of COMESA countries, the unimpeded movement of maize from surplus to deficit areas is critical to ensuring sustained regional food security," Comesa said in a report.

It noted that free trade in maize was being hampered by periodic import and export restrictions imposed by member countries.

COMESA said the solution to such challenges lay in the speedy implementation of the "maize without borders" strategy that had already been adopted by the bloc to remove trade barriers in the movement of maize across member states.

"Such a development will also recognise and formalise the important role played by small cross-border traders in the movement of maize across borders."

Apart from being a staple food, maize is one of COMESA's leading export commodities.

According to recent United Nations trade data, maize accounts for more than 50 percent of the region's total grain imports.

COMESA said for the region to fully realise its potential in maize production, serious consideration towards investment in agro-processing should be made.

Such a development, it said, would enable COMESA to add value to raw maize grain and boost export sales.

"Investing in agro-processing will enable the bloc to add value to raw maize grain, thus allowing local goods to compete on the international market," it said.

Sudan, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo are COMESA's major importers of agricultural commodities while Kenya, Zambia, Uganda, Malawi and Egypt are the top five leading exporters of farming products.

The 20 member COMESA region, has an estimated combined population of 400 million people and covers an area of over 12 million square kilometres, compared to the Southern African Development Community's estimated 9.8 million square kilometre area and 233 million people.

The two organisations have overlapping memberships.

COMESA member countries are Angola, Burundi, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

SADC's 14 member countries are Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.