98800   Securing Food Safety to Leverage Economic Growth Opportunities in the African Food Sector: Speeding Progress, Advancing Partnerships and Sustaining Momentum   Waters  Corporation  organized  and  co-­‐hosted  with  The  World  Bank  Group  and  UNIDO   the  second  annual  Food  Safety  Regional  Leadership  Dialogue  at  the  3rd  GFSP  Annual   Conference  held  in  Cape  Town  in  December  2014.  This  paper  is  an  outcome  of  a   discussion  that  brought  together  five  African  and  international  food  safety  experts  to   explore  how  best  to  support  and  expedite  African  efforts  to  improve  food  safety  on  the   continent  through  partnerships  such  as  the  GFSP.  The  paper  highlights  both   opportunities  and  challenges  to  agricultural  production  and  food  trade  in  Africa.  Since   the  1980s,  the  continent—apart  from  South  Africa—has  been  a  net  food  importer   despite  having  more  than  half  of  the  world’s  agriculturally  suitable  land  and   considerable  renewable  freshwater  resources.  The  issue  of  food  safety  is  addressed  both   in  terms  of  potential  exports  (trade)  as  well  as  food  policies  that  will  encourage   compliance  with  international  standards.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Dr.  Paul  Young  of  Waters  Corporation  moderated  the  panel  of  the  five  food  safety   experts:    Ali  Badarneh  –  Industrial  Development  Officer,  United  Nations  Industrial   Development  Organization  (UNIDO);  Dr.  Ian  Goulding  –  Food  Safety  and  Quality   Consultant,  African  Union  Commission;  Dr.  Lucia  Anelich  –  Food  Safety,  Food   Microbiology  &  Food  Safety  Management  Systems  Consultant,  Anelich  Consulting,  South   Africa;  Dr.  Boitshoko  Ntshabele  –  Director,  Food  Safety  and  Quality  Assurance,   Department  of  Agriculture,  South  Africa;  Dr.  Chance  Kabaghe  –  Former  Minister  for   Agriculture  of  Zambia,  representing  COMESA.                             This regional dialogue was organized by Waters Corporation and co-hosted by UNIDO and the Global Food Safety Partnership                                                                                                             Introduction and Acknowledgements   Economic  development  in  Africa  has   We  begin  with  a  review  of  data  that   taken  many  directions  in  the  last  five   speaks  to  the  opportunities  and   decades.  Since  1960,  GDP  per  capita  in   challenges  in  the  food  and  agricultural   Africa  has  grown  from  130  to  1715  in   sectors  and  recognized  actions  needed   current  US  dollars.  Despite  this  progress,   continent-­‐wide  to  improve  food  safety.  It   Africa  underperforms  compared  to  the   is  important  to  emphasize  there  is  an   rest  of  the  world,  and  the  continent  still   emerging  framework  for  action  in  food   faces  significant  development  challenges.   safety  across  Africa  as  well  as  many   Since  1980,  Africa  has  been  a  net  food   emerging  leaders  who  understand  the   importer,  utilizing  valuable  foreign   connection  between  food  safety  and   currency  to  feed  its  population.  Though   economic  growth  in  the  food  sector.     high-­‐income  countries  can  pay  for  these     food  bills  through  other  industries,  for   The  African  Union  Commission’s  (AUC)   most  countries,  this  balance  of  trade  is   2012  and  2013  Continental  Workshops   unsustainable.  Fortunately,  the  continent   on  food  safety  and  individual  sector   possesses  abundant  human  and  natural   leaders  such  as  Pretoria’s  Lucia  Anelich   resources  that,  if  utilized  properly,  could   are  two  examples  whose  leadership  and   transform  Africa  into  a  major  food   voices  this  paper  draws  heavily  upon  to   producing  region  of  the  world,  driving   frame  the  Dialogue  discussion.    There  are   trade,  exports  and  economic  growth;  and   many  others.    They  are  all  important   responding  to  domestic  needs.     reminders  that  the  solutions  to  food     safety  challenges  in  Africa  will  be  African-­‐ This  paper,  populated  largely  from  the   driven  solutions.     Global  Food  Safety  Partnership’s  (GFSP)     Food  Safety  Regional  Leadership  Dialogue   Africa,  of  course,  is  a  massive  continent  of   (Dialogue)  held  in  Cape  Town,  South   54  very  diverse  countries,  and  a   Africa  on  11  December  2014,  seeks  to   population  of  1.1  billion  people.  This   explore  the  ways  in  which  Africa  can   paper  recognizes  and  applauds  just  a   continue  progress  and  speed  the   sample  of  mechanisms  and  African   development  of  modern  food  safety   leadership  already  in  place  to  inform  the   systems,  so  that  as  challenges  to   actions  of  the  GFSP,  governments,  NGOs   agriculture,  food  production  and  trade  are   and  the  private  sector  as  partners  to   solved,  Africa’s  food  and  agriculture   Africa  in  improving  food  safety  and  the     exports  are  more  closely  aligned  with     international  standards  and  can  be  a     driver  of  economic  growth  and  poverty   Continuing  to  promote  the  development   alleviation  for  the  continent.   of  economies  and  the  health  of     3                                       communities.  It  is  that  spirit  of  African   continent,  compared  with  other  global   leadership  and  global  partnership  that   regions.   this  GFSP  regional  Dialogue  Series  seeks     to  contribute  and  inspire.   In  addition  to  its  human  capital,  Africa  is     relatively  land  rich.  Over  44%  of  land  in   Opportunities for the Food and Sub-­‐Saharan  Africa  is  agricultural  land,   Agriculture Sectors including  arable  land,  permanent  crops,     and  permanent  meadows  and  pasture.   The  population  in  Africa  is  young  and   Africa  contains  more  than  half  of  the   growing  at  2.7%,  more  than  double  the   world’s  agriculturally  suitable,  yet  unused   global  rate  (1.2%  in  2013).  This   land.  In  the  fertile  Guinea  Savanna  zone,   population  growth  coupled  with  low   comprising  over  400  million  hectares  in   labor  costs  creates  an  opportunity  and   Sub-­‐Saharan  Africa,  just  10%  of  the  land   advantage  for  food  producers  on  the     is  cultivated.         Table  1  -­‐  Proportions  of  Global  Agriculture  Land,  by  Region,  2012   Agricultural  Land   Agricultural  Land   Regions   (%  of  global  land)     (%  of  regional  land)   Sub-­‐Saharan  Africa  (all  income  levels)   21.8   44.1   North  America   9.6   26.0   Middle  East  &  North  Africa  (all  income   levels)   7.6   33.4   South  Asia   5.3   54.6   Latin  America  &  Caribbean  (all  income   levels)   15.2   37.4   East  Asia  &  Pacific  (all  income  levels)   24.1   48.7   Europe  &  Central  Asia  (all  income  levels)   16.2   29.2   Source:  World  Development  Indicators,  2014   Note:  Agricultural  land  refers  to  the  share  of  land  area  that  is  arable,  under  permanent  crops,  and  under  permanent   pastures.  Arable  land  includes  land  defined  by  the  FAO  as  land  under  temporary  crops  (double-­‐cropped  areas  are   counted  once),  temporary  meadows  for  mowing  or  for  pasture,  land  under  market  or  kitchen  gardens,  and  land   temporarily  fallow.  Land  abandoned  as  a  result  of  shifting  cultivation  is  excluded.  Land  under  permanent  crops  is  land   cultivated  with  crops  that  occupy  the  land  for  long  periods  and  need  not  be  replanted  after  each  harvest,  such  as   cocoa,  coffee,  and  rubber.  This  category  includes  land  under  flowering  shrubs,  fruit  trees,  nut  trees,  and  vines,  but   excludes  land  under  trees  grown  for  wood  or  timber.  Permanent  pasture  is  land  used  for  five  or  more  years  for  forage,   including  natural  and  cultivated  crops.     Africa  currently  uses  less  than  3%  of  its     renewable  freshwater  sources.  As  other   still  equipped  to  increase  irrigation  and   global  regions  face  water  shortages,   expand  its  agricultural  production.   challenging  agricultural  output,  Africa  is         4                                       Challenges to Agricultural Production Even  after  production,  the  industry     suffers  from  post-­‐harvest  losses  –  the   Despite  opportunities  for  Africa’s   Partnership  for  Aflatoxin  Control  in  Africa   agricultural  sector,  the  continent  has  yet   estimates  an  annual  loss  of  trade  of  450   to  become  a  global  breadbasket.  In   million  US$  due  to  aflatoxin   addition  to  under-­‐utilized  land  and  water   contamination  alone.   resources,  low  crop  yields  and     productivity  continue  to  threaten  the   Additional  challenges  to  the  growth  of  the   potential  of  leveraging  agriculture  and   productive  agricultural  sector  include  the   food  sectors  for  economic  growth.     institutional  deficiencies  and  conflict  on     the  continent,  including  disruptions  to  the   While  this  paper  does  not  seek  to  recreate   labor  force  and  movement  and   the  broader  research  surrounding  the   transportation  of  goods  coupled  with   challenges  of  increasing  agricultural   varying  dependencies  on  food  donations   output  in  Africa,  it  is  worth  mentioning   and  imports.     some  of  the  major  themes  well  identified     in  the  research,  including  in  the  FAO’s   Opportunities for Agriculture 2011  paper  “Why  Has  Africa  Become  a   and Food Trade Net  Food  Importer.”       To  transform  Africa’s  food  sector  into  one   Low  yields  and  productivity  in  the  African   that  drives  economic  growth,  a  robust   agricultural  sector  is  largely  due  to   trading  economy  must  develop  for   limited  access  to  essential  inputs,   agricultural  and  food  products.  But  since   equipment  and  market  infrastructure;   the  1980s,  the  continent  (apart  from   limited  technology  transfer  and  adoption,   South  Africa)  has  been  a  net  food   including  the  lack  of  human  capital  and   importer.  FAO  data  show  that  in  1980,   investment  in  agriculture  research  and   trade  of  food  and  agriculture  products,   extension;  and  supply  shocks,  including   excluding  fishery  and  forestry  products,   natural  disaster,  disease  and  oil  shocks.     was  more  balanced  with  imports  and     exports  near  14  billion  US$     Table  2  –  Agricultural  Trade  (1000  US$)      1970    1980    1990    2000    2010   Export  Value   2  306  420   14  990  800   15  660  500   20  091  400   62  389  000   Import  Value   5  413  860   13  988  300   11  909  100   13  519  700   35  520  300   Net  Trade  Value   3  107  440   -­‐1  002  500   -­‐3  751  400   -­‐6  571  700   -­‐26  868  700   Source:  FAOSTAT,  2014   Note:  Agricultural  trade  refers  to  imports  and  exports  of  food  and  agriculture  products,  excluding  fishery  and  forestry   products.       5                                         By  2010,  agricultural  imports  at  USD  $62   Challenges to Food Trade billion  were  nearly  double  the  value  of   exports.  It  is  important  to  note  that   Though  significant  opportunities  exist  for   because  the  value  of  imports  and  exports   growth,  challenges  remain  to  increase   varies  greatly  by  country  and  region  in   both  intra-­‐African  trade  and  international   Africa,  the  impact  of  food  and  agriculture   food  exports.  Just  as  there  are  both  input   trade  varies  as  well.     and  policy  barriers  affecting  agricultural     production,  food  trade  is  hindered  by   The  share  of  food  and  agricultural  trade   regulations  limiting  access  to  important   with  Africa  is  quite  small  compared  with   inputs  and  trade  policies  that  restrict  the   total  global  trade,  representing  just  4.7%   flow  of  food  across  borders.  Though   of  the  global  value  of  agricultural  imports   informal  trade  can  deliver  significant   and  exports.  Africa  is  not  a  competitive   benefits,  associated  high  risks,  including   region  globally  for  food  trade.  Though   SPS  risks,  loss  of  revenue  and  loss  of   given  the  vast  resources,  it  has  the   available  data  undermine  potential  for   opportunity  to  become  a  global  supplier   sustainable  trade.   of  food.    Additionally,  rising  global     demand  for  food,  especially  crops  that   Without  access  to  the  best  seeds,  low  cost   require  specific  agro-­‐climatic   fertilizers,  agricultural  specialists  and  due   characteristics  and  intense  labor,  can   to  outdated  or  non-­‐existent  regulations,   provide  a  competitive  advantage  for   African  producers  have  difficulty   producers  in  Africa.   competing  against  others  on  the  continent     or  globally.  High  transport  costs  and  poor       6                                           services,  due  to  weak  infrastructure,   deliver  safer  and  better  quality  food  for   further  drive  higher  costs.   all.       Trade  policies,  especially  in  the   A  risk  analysis  approach  across  the  food   agricultural  and  food  sectors,  have  varied   system  is  required  to  fully  unlock  the   in  the  decades  post-­‐independence.  Anti-­‐ potential  of  economic  growth  through   production  and  anti-­‐trade  biases  in  the   agriculture  and  food  trade  in  Africa.     forms  of  high  production  and  export  taxes     led  to  import  substitution  in  the   Food Safety Systems in Africa immediate  post-­‐independence  era.  Gains     through  structural  adjustment  in  the   Food  safety  systems  in  Africa  show  a   1980s  to  mid  1990s,  including  aid   patchwork  of  regulations  and   packages  to  reduce  fiscal  debt,  and   organizations.  Though  laws  and   encouraging  output  and  export  growth,   regulations  exist  in  all  countries,  few   followed  by  trade  liberalization  in  the  mid   countries  have  central  organizing   1990s  were  largely  negated  by  declining   agencies,  and  the  ministries,  departments   world  commodity  prices.     and  agencies  involved  differ  greatly     between  countries,  including  Ministries  of     Additionally,  trade  policies  of  foreign     governments,  including  subsidies  and   Agriculture,  Trade,  Health,  Drugs,   dumping,  protection  barriers,  preferential   Industry,  Veterinary  Services,  Education,     trade  and  food  aid  policies  have  made  it   Science  and  Technology  and  Customs.   difficult  for  African  products  to  compete   Building  on  the  2005  situational  analysis   in  global  markets.     completed  for  FAO  of  agencies  with     oversight  on  food  safety  in  2005,   As  the  agriculture  and  food  sectors   Appendix  1  contains  the  current  agencies   mature  and  solve  many  of  the  challenges   in  each  of  the  countries  in  Africa.   outlined  above,  and  there  are  more     opportunities  for  trade,  the  quality  and   A  situational  analysis  of  national  food   safety  of  African  food  products  will  come   safety  systems  in  Africa  prepared  for  the   under  increasing  scrutiny.  Food  safety   FAO/WHO  Regional  Conference  on  Food   needs  to  be  addressed  before  it  becomes  a   Safety  for  Africa  in  2005  identified  a   major  obstacle  to  food  exports.   number  of  components  and  related   Additionally,  without  effective  regulation   actions  needed  to  improve  food  safety   of  food  safety  to  eliminate  non-­‐compliant   systems  on  the  continent.  These  14   operators,  there  is  no  incentive  for   identified  improvements  needed  for  the   investment  by  progressive  operators  to     food  safety  systems  in  Africa  have     remained  relevant  –  and  are  still  a       7                                       potential  guidepost  to  measure  progress  –   equipment,  personnel  and  quality   over  the  past  decade.   assurance  procedures.     • Capability  of  industry  to  supply   • National  food  safety  policies   safe  food.    When  appropriate,  the   should  be  a  high  priority  for   food  industry  can  provide  capacity   governments.   for  food  safety  and  quality   • Food  legislation  is  frequently   assurance  monitoring.   outdated,  inadequate  and   • Information  networks  on  food   fragmented.  New  legislation  needs   safety  issues  should  work  to  build   to  stem  from  food  policy  and   confidence  among  consumers  and   science-­‐based  approaches.   the  media.   • National  food  safety  standards   • Training/education  in  food   should  be  in  agreement  with   safety  should  be  on-­‐going  and   regional  or  international   focused  towards  government   standards,  such  as  Codex   officials,  industry  leaders  and   Alimentarius,  IPPC  and  OIE.   consumers.   • Science-­‐based  risk  assessments   • Consumer  awareness  raising  to   of  food  safety  issues  should  be   encourage  consumers  to  be  quality   completed  at  a  national  level  or     and  safety  conscious     • Coordination  of  food  safety   regional  level,  if  more  appropriate   activities  at  a  national  level   and  harmonization  of  science-­‐   should  include  all  relevant   based  food  safety  legislation  is   stakeholders  including  ministries   required.   of  health,  agriculture,   • Inspection   trade/industry,  fisheries,  tourism   mechanisms/schemes  should   and  others,  as  appropriate.   operate  with  clear  policy  and     qualified  personnel.     • Laboratory  support  service   requires  adequate,  recurring   budgets  to  ensure  modern   • Epidemiological  surveillance  of     food-­‐borne  diseases     • Membership  in  Codex     • Biosafety  concerns  –  regulations     and  biotechnology  and  GMOs                   8                                       should  be  adopted  as  the  food   biotechnology.   industry  increases  use  of  modern   Challenges to Developing Food Safety Systems in Africa   In  the  decade  since  the  above   systems  may  not  have  the  institutional   improvements  were  identified  at  the   capacity,  human  capital  and  necessary   2005  Conference  on  Food  Safety,   budget  to  implement  these  harmonized   developing  a  modern  food  safety  system   standards.  Even  when  regulations  are  in   has  proven  elusive  for  many  countries  in   place,  Codex  or  otherwise,  consistent   Africa.  Countries  struggle  with  the  legacy   enforcement  of  those  regulations  at   management  systems  in  place   different  border  posts  of  countries  is  an   compounded  by  ad  hoc  adjustments  to   enormous  challenge.   address  specific  trade  related  barriers,  a     product/sector-­‐focused  approach,  and   These  challenges  to  food  safety  and   legislation  linked  to  a  specific  institution   subsequent  economic  growth   rather  than  function.  Additionally,  lack  of   opportunities  are  understood  by  leaders   vision  for  long-­‐term  planning  for   in  Africa,  and  acknowledged  in  the  2013   development  of  food  safety  systems   African  Union  Commission’s  (AUC)   compared  to  actual  short-­‐term  policy   Recommendations  For  the  Missions,   horizons  coupled  with  vested  interests  in   Functions  and  Structure  of  African  Union   the  status  quo  (e.g.  lawful  extortion  in   Food  Safety  Authority  and  a  Rapid  Alert   fees  for  control  services  impacting  on   System  for  Food  and  Feed  (See  also,   competitiveness)  continue  to  challenge   Appendix  2):   development.       “The  weak  compliance  with  international   As  noted  above,  the  laws  and  regulations   food-­‐safety  and  quality  standards   concerning  food  safety  are  piecemeal  and   hampers  the  continent’s  efforts  to  increase   jurisdiction  is  distributed  among  many   agricultural  trade  both  intra-­‐regionally   different  agencies  within  governments,     and  internationally.  Weak  coherence   making  it  difficult  to  update  and   between  domestic  public  health,   coordinate  new  policies.     agriculture  and  trade  policies         Though  food  safety  systems  strive  to   means  that  the  developmental  benefits  of   harmonize  standards  and  systems  with   trade  opportunities  available  to  African   international  ones,  like  Codex,  doing  so   producers  cannot  be  optimized.”   comes  at  a  significant  cost  and  can  deter       more  basic  changes  to  existing  systems.   Countries  that  have  less-­‐advanced     9                                         Addressing Food Safety region,  and  recommended  that  this   Challenges in Africa should  include  a  system  for  alerting  all     African  Union  (AU)  Member  States  of  any   To  address  some  of  the  challenges   ensuing  food  safety  concerns.  It  also   described  above,  and  specifically  outlined   discussed  the  principles  to  be  applied,   during  the  2005  Regional  Conference  on   and  outlined  the  mechanisms  and   Food  Safety  and  its  associated  situational   procedures  to  be  developed.”     analysis,  the  AUC  convened  a  series  of     Continental  Workshops  in  2012-­‐2013.     “The  Second  Continental  Workshop  held   The  workshops  served  not  only  to     in  Addis  Ababa,  Ethiopia  on  5th to  7th   identify  the  challenges,  but  to  build  a  road   November  2013,  undertook  analysis  of   map  for  the  response  required  to  address   the  specific  food  safety  challenges,   them.     focusing  on  the  majority  of  the     challenges  and  needs  identified  nearly  8   As  noted  in  the  2013  AUC   years  earlier  at  the  2005  Regional   Recommendations  For  the  Missions,   Conference.  Specific  areas  were   Functions  and  Structure  of  African  Union   addressed  at  the  Workshop  focusing  on   Food  Safety  Authority  and  a  Rapid  Alert   ‘where  and  how  a  regional  approach   System  for  Food  and  Feed:   could  add  value,  by  providing  leadership,     creating  synergies,  avoiding  duplication   “The  First  Continental  Workshop  was     and  ensuring  a  coordinated  and  coherent   held  in  Kigali,  Rwanda  on  29th  and  30th   approach  to  strengthening  food  safety   October  2012  and  endorsed  the  need  for   management  systems  across  Regional   a  food  safety  management  coordination     Economic  Communities  and  Member   mechanism  at  the  level  of  the  African     States. The  proposed  AU  Food  Safety   • Increase  market  access  and   Coordination  Mechanism  overall   competitiveness  in  food  trade,   objectives  are  to:   including  raising  production   levels;   • Protect  public  life  and  health  by     reducing  the  risk  of  foodborne   illness,  and  taking  into  account   • Promote  and  facilitate  inter-­‐ animal  and  plant  health  issues,  and   African  food  trade  and  exchange   the  environment;   between  the  Member  States;       • Protect  consumers  from   • Contribute  to  economic   unsanitary,  unwholesome,   development  by  maintaining   mislabeled  or  adulterated  food;   consumer  confidence  in  the  food     system;  and         10                                       • Provide  a  sound  scientific  and   safety  capacity  of  African  food   regulatory  foundation  for  trade  in   business  operators;   food.     8. To  promote  and  coordinate     research  on  the  assessment  of  food     Specifically,  10  missions  have  been   safety  risks  affecting  African   identified  for  the  AU  FSCM:   producers  and  consumers;       1. To  advocate  and  support  the   9. To  strengthen  the  awareness,   adoption  by  Member  States  of  a   knowledge  and  confidence  of   coherent  and  compliant  policy  and   African  consumers  regarding  food   legal  framework  for  food  safety;   safety  matters;  and       2. To  provide  technical  and  logistical   10. To  ensure  the  provision  of   support  to  Member  States  for  the   adequate  technical  and  financial   implementation  of  effective,   support  for  food  business   efficient,  valid  and  reliable  food   operators  to  invest  in  food  safety   safety  control  systems;   improvements  along  the  food     chain.   3. To  ensure  the  provision  of  an     appropriate  scientific  basis  for   Both  initiatives  –  the  Food  Safety   informed  decisions  by  food  safety   Authority  and  a  Rapid  Alert  System  –  have   managers;   been  endorsed  at  the  AU/EU  Heads  of     States  summit  held  in  Brussels  (2-­‐3  April   4. To  provide  technical  and  logistical   support  to  laboratories  providing   2014),  and  have  now  been  included  in  the   testing  services  for  official  controls   AU/EU  joint  cooperation  roadmap  for   of  food  safety;     2014/2017.  Once  the  initiatives  are  fully     approved,  the  AUC  will  begin  the  process     5. To  quickly  exchange  information     about  food  and  feed-­‐related  risks   to  develop  the  organization,  including  the   to  ensure  coherent  and   permanent  legal  basis,  budget,  staffing   simultaneous  actions  by  all   network  members  with  the  view  of   and  material  resources,  and  work  with   protecting  consumer  health  from   major  development  partners  and  UN   imminent  public  health  risks;   agencies.       6. To  coordinate  the  development  of   Speeding Progress, Advancing requisite  professional  skills,   Partnerships, Sustaining Momentum knowledge  and  expertise  for     official  control;     In  an  increasingly  global  food  system,  the   7. To  promote  coordinate  and   Global  Food  Safety  Partnership,  facilitated   support  measures  to  build  the  food   by  the  World  Bank  Group,  brings  together   the  full  suite  of  actors  in  food  safety  –     11                                       from  international  organizations  and   Each  Working  Group  identified  how   governments  to  industry,  NGOs  and   they  would  support  implementation  of   academics.  Working  on  multiple   GFSP  activities  in  2015.   continents,  the  GFSP  has  developed  a     suite  of  training  modules  to  improve   • An  interactive  session  on  the  final  day   aquaculture  in  Malaysia,  is  working  in   provided  feedback  on  the   China  on  the  design  and  implementation   opportunities  beyond  2015,  as  well  as   of  a  national  action  plan  in  cooperation   the  strengths  and  weaknesses  of  the   with  a  number  of  GFSP  partners,  and  is   Partnership.    It  was  recognized  that   supporting  Zambia  with  a  comprehensive   opportunities  ultimately  rest  in  the   needs  assessment  and  follow-­‐up  plan.     strength  of  stakeholders:  this     commitment  and  perseverance  need  to   For  the  3rd  GFSP  Annual  Conference,  more   be  maintained.    Among  the  many   than  130  participants  from  over  50   actions  listed  as  necessary  to  improve   organizations  convened  in  Cape  Town   the  Partnership,  communication  and   from  December  8-­‐12,  2014.  The   raising  the  GFSP  profile  stood  out:     conference  illustrated  the  achievements   communication  both  internally  and   of  the  GFSP  in  its  first  two  years  of   externally,  with  potential  donors   operation,  and  outlined  continued   (CEOs,  governments,  foundations),  and   collaborative  action  for  2015  to  scale  up   the  public  to  increase  participation,   the  world’s  response  to  food  safety   attract  more  financial  contributors,  and   challenges  among  public,  private  and   increase  alignment  to  support   academic  actors  worldwide.     implementation  of  priorities.         Conference  highlights  included:   As  an  ongoing  feature  of  the  GFSP  Annual     Conference,  Waters  Corporation,  in   • Conference  participants  reinforced   partnership  with  the  World  Bank  Group     that  improving  food  safety  is  a  shared   and  this  year,  with  UNIDO,  hosted  the  2nd   priority  that  can  only  be  achieved  by   Annual  Food  Safety  Regional  Leadership   public,  private,  civil  society  and   Dinner  Dialogue.     academic  sectors  working  together.         The  2014  Dialogue  was  designed  to   • The  World  Bank  Group  providing  the   explore  how  African  efforts  to  improve   necessary  convening  power  to  support   food  safety  on  the  continent  might  be   a  global  platform  on  food  safety.   expedited  with  momentum  sustained   Participants  recognized  and   through  partnerships  and  expertise   commended  the  growing  level  of   facilitated  by  the  GFSP.     collaboration  and  leveraging  of     expertise  that  the  GFSP  Advisory   A  prestigious  panel  of  experts  was   Groups  from  around  the  globe  bring.   convened  for  the  Dialogue  by  Waters,  the       12                                           World  Bank  and  UNIDO  to  address  the   their  facilitation;   following  topics:         3) New  partnerships  with  NGOs  and   1) The  road  map  to  improved  food     the  private  sector  that  could  be                safety  and  food  commerce  as     explored;  and   identified  by  the  AU  Continental     Workshops  in  2012  and  2013;   4) Ideas  to  sustain  momentum,     building  on  best  practices  learned   2) Ways  these  improvements  might   from  past  experiences.   be  accelerated  and  the  role  of  the     Global  Food  Safety  Partnership       The  Food  Safety  Regional  Dinner  Dialogue  in  Cape  Town  has  given  the  GFSP  and  others  a  wonderful   opportunity  to  listen  to  our  esteemed  panelists  and  to  learn  about  the  changing  face  of  food  safety   in  Africa.  Africa  is  a  massive  continent  with  54  very  diverse  countries  so  dealing  with  ‘food  safety  in   Africa’  is  not  a  ‘one  size  fits  all’  scenario.  The  challenges  are  significant,  and  varied.  However,  much   progress  is  being  made  and  that  must  be  applauded.       As  the  economic  base  changes  in  Africa  with  increased  trade  and  investment  in  the  region,  the   growing  middle  class  will  have  an  incredible  power  to  demand  safe  food.  Governments,  industry,   international  organizations  and  other  interested  parties,  must  respond  to  this  demand  in  a   collaborative  and  coordinated  manner  in  order  to  improve  public  health,  increase  trade   opportunities  and  to  enhance  economic  growth.  In  the  not  too  distant  future,  Africa  could  become  a   net  food  exporter  and  a  ‘bread  basket’  to  the  world  –  lifting  populations  out  of  poverty  and  creating   new  economic  opportunities.  But  this  will  require  continued  progress  on  food  safety.     This  dinner  Dialogue  has  been  an  important  time  to  gather  Africa’s  food  safety  stakeholders  and   leaders  and  reflect  on  the  progress  made  over  the  last  decade,  with  an  eye  on  speeding  progress,   advancing  partnerships,  and  sustaining  momentum.  In  2005  the  FAO/  WHO  Regional  Conference   on  Food  Safety  for  Africa  identified  14  improvements  needed  in  food  safety  on  the  continent  and   the  2012  and  2013  Continental  Workshops  on  Food  Safety  provided  a  road  map  to  achieve  the   continent’s  most  important  food  safety  goals.  These  meetings  and  their  importance  have  been   discussed  elsewhere  in  this  white  paper.  They  are  important  milestones  to  understand  and  even   more  important  benchmarks  to  measure  progress  against.         Through  this  Dialogue,  we  have  heard  about  the  challenges  associated  with  the  technical  aspects  of   food  safety,  where  technical  and  regulatory  guidance  and  involvement  in  Codex  will  be  critical.  We   have  also  discussed  the  immense  challenges  surrounding  the  supply  chain,  including  the   infrastructure  required  to  facilitate  the  efficient  and  effective  movement  of  products  to  market.   Food  safety  capacity  building  is  taking  place  in  many  arenas  with  many  willing  partners  from   within  and  outside  of  Africa  focusing  on  agribusiness,  a  range  of  technical  issues  and  the  food   supply  chain  infrastructure,  including  integration  with  the  retail  sector.  Despite  these  barriers  and   challenges,  progress  is  being  made.       13                                       GFSP  is  involved  because  we  know  that  these  challenges  are  not  ones  that  any  single  government  or   industry  can  solve  alone.  The  GFSP  has  the  convening  power  to  bring  all  relevant  players  together   to  tackle  the  wide-­‐ranging  issues  in  Africa  and  beyond.  A  coordinated,  continent-­‐wide  approach  to   food  safety  will  achieve  the  greatest  result  in  the  fastest  time  and  African  leadership  has  charted  its   own  course  through  the  complicated  landscape  of  food  safety,  across  54  diverse  nations  seeking   integrated  solutions.       Making  the  world’s  food  safer  requires  that  all  relevant  players  come  to  the  table  to  learn  and  to  act.   It  is  critical  that  there  is  coordination,  communication,  technical  advisory  processes,  testing   procedures  and  relevant  and  appropriate  capacity  building  to  improve  food  safety  issues  in  this   vast  continent.  With  this,  both  the  African  continent  and  nations  around  the  globe  will  reap  the   rewards.     Dr.  Paul  Young,  Waters  Corporation     The  following  section  reflects  an  edited   Dr.  Lucia  Anelich  –  Food  Safety,  Food   oral  and  written  transcript  of  the  Global   Microbiology  &  Food  Safety  Management   Food  Safety  Partnership  Annual  Meeting,   Systems  Consultant,  Anelich  Consulting,   South  Africa   Regional  Dialogue  Series,  Cape  Town,     South  Africa,  11  December  2014.     Dr.  Boitshoko  Ntshabele  –  Director,     Food  Safety  and  Quality  Assurance,   The  dialogue  consisted  of  a  panel  of   Department  of  Agriculture,  South  Africa   regional  food  safety  experts  –     representing  UNIDO,  AUC,  African  food   Dr.  Chance  Kabaghe  –  Former  Minister   industry,  and  Government  –moderated  by   for  Agriculture  of  Zambia     Dr.  Paul  Young  from  Waters  Corporation.     Each  of  the  panelists  was  asked  to  briefly     speak  and  give  their  perspective  on  the   Ali  Badarneh  –  Industrial  Development   Officer,  United  Nations  Industrial   African  context  around  food  safety  and   Development  Organization  (UNIDO)   promoting  economic  growth.  Following     the  remarks  are  a  series  of  questions   Dr.  Ian  Goulding  –  Food  Safety  and   posed  by  the  audience  in  attendance  and   Quality  Consultant,  African  Union   answered  by  the  panelists.   Commission     14                                       Panel Discussion   Ali  Badarneh   Industrial  Development  Officer,  United  Nations  Industrial  Development  Organization   (UNIDO)     Mr.   Badarneh   is   currently   working   as   Industrial   Development   Officer   at   the   United   Nations   Industrial   Development   Organization.   UNIDO   provides   a   variety   of   technical   cooperation   activities  to  assist  developing  countries  in  adding  value  to  the  output  of  their  agricultural   sector  and  generate  increased  employment  opportunities.  Thereby,  food  safety  is  one  of  the   key  issues  which  needs  to  be  addressed  in  particular  when  it  comes  to  upgrading  the  trade-­‐ capacity   and   competitiveness   of   developing   countries,   and   countries   in   transition,   in   a   global   trading   system   where   increasingly   stringent   requirements   apply   with   regard   to   product  quality,  safety,  health  and  environmental  impacts.     According  to  Mr.  Badarneh,  Africa  with  its  high  number  of  LDCs  has  always  been  and  will   remain   in   the   foreseeable   future   the   main   geographical   priority   area   of   UNIDO’s   interventions.  In  particular  in  the  area  of  trade  capacity-­‐building  the  difficulties  local  small-­‐ scale   suppliers   (farms   and   SMEs)   are   having   in   adequately   responding   to   market   requirements,  which  in  turn  prevents  them  from  seizing  business  opportunities  with  local,   regional   and   global   buyers   (retailers   and   manufacturers),   remains   one   of   the   biggest   challenges  on  the  continent.     During  the  panel  discussion,  Mr.  Badarneh  sketched  a  model  of  how  SMEs  in  a  number  of   African   countries   could,   through   the   provision   of   technical   assistance,   be   linked   to   the   supply   chains   of   local/international   retailers.   “It's   an   example   of   where   UNIDO   could   make   a  real  difference,  and  hopefully  such  interventions  will  give  the  chance  to  the  SMEs  not  only   to  integrate  into  their  local  supply  chains,  but  to  take  this  as  a  catalytic  step  to  move  into   regional  and  global  markets”,  noted  Mr.  Badarneh.     “In  UNIDO  trade  capacity-­‐building  is  one  of  the  three  main  thematic  areas  as  enhancing  the   capacity  of  developing  countries  and  countries  with  economies  in  transition  to  participate   in  global  trade  is  becoming  increasingly  critical  for  the  economic  growth  of  these  countries.   Interventions   in   this   area   involve   the   upgrading   of   competitive   productive   capacities   for   international  trade  and  the  upgrading  of  quality  and  compliance  infrastructure”,  noted  Mr.   Badarneh.   “As   to   see   any   of   such   initiatives   succeeding   we   need   to   pursue   an   inclusive   and   sustainable   strategy,   we   need   to   partner   with   everyone   possible   on   the   ground,   and   we   need  to  complement  what  others  are  doing”.           15                                         Dr.  Ian  Goulding   Food  Safety  and  Quality  Consultant,  African  Union     Dr.  Ian  Goulding  is  currently  providing  technical  advice  and  support  as  part  of  a  team  of   consultants  working  with  the  African  Union  (AU)  Commission,  particularly  with  the  African   Union  –  Inter-­‐African  Bureau  for  Animal  Resources  (AU-­‐IBAR).  One  AU  Commission   initiative,  Dr  Goulding  has  been  working  on  in  particular,  is  the  African  Union  Food  Safety   Management  Coordination  Mechanism.     According  to  Dr.  Goulding,  while  the  AU  Commission  has  an  animal  health  function  (AU-­‐ IBAR)  and  a  plant  health  function  (the  Inter-­‐African  Phytosanitary  Council),  there  has  been   a  gap  in  terms  of  their  institutional  response  in  food  safety.  To  address  this  gap,  Dr   Goulding  notes  there  has  been  a  series  of  workshops  supported  by  international  partners,   including  the  Food  and  Agriculture  Organization  of  the  United  Nations  (FAO),  the  World   Health  Organization  (WHO),  UNIDO  and  the  European  Union  (EU).  The  workshops  have   been  attended  by  African  member  state  food  safety  officials  and  policymakers  who  are   working  to  develop  a  concept  of  an  African  Union  Food  Safety  Authority  and  a  Rapid  Alert   System  for  food  and  feed.       As  a  result  of  these  workshops,  officials  and  policymakers  have  created  a  document  which   lays  out  the  structure,  functions  and  mission  of  a  future  Food  Safety  Authority  for  Africa.   According  to  Dr.  Goulding,  the  Authority,  at  least  initially,  will  not  be  a  regulatory  body,  but   it  will  focus  on  things  like  coordination,  communication,  advisory,  advice  to  member  states,   and  importantly,  capacity  building  so  as  to  provide  continental-­‐wide  leadership  on   development  of  these  food  safety  issues.     “In  this  respect,  its  aims  are  very  close  to  the  GFSP,  and  one  of  the  exciting  possibilities  is  to   try  and  explore  ways  in  the  future  in  which  this  AU-­‐wide  mechanism  as  a  regional  body  can   interface  with  the  GFSP,  the  various  regional  economic  communities  and  the  member   states,  to  deliver  this  kind  of  continent-­‐wide  leadership,  which  is  so  obviously  and   evidently  in  need  within  the  African  region,”  noted  Dr.  Goulding.     Dr.  Lucia  Anelich     Food  Safety,  Food  Microbiology  &  Food  Safety  Management  Systems  Consultant,  Anelich   Consulting,  South  Africa     Dr.  Lucia  Anelich  began  the  discussion  by  reminding  participants  of  the  sheer  size  of  Africa.   It  consists  of  54  countries;  it  has  1.1  billion  people;  and  it  is  incredibly  diverse—with  many     16                                       challenges  and  many  common  problems.  Additionally,  of  the  1.1  billion  people,  230  million   are  food  insecure.       Meanwhile,  Dr.  Anelich  noted,  around  300  million  people  consist  of  a  growing  middle  class   group  with  swelling  incomes,  access  to  travel,  and  they  want  the  same  things  their   Europeans  and  American  counterparts  have—fancy  smartphones,  iPads  and  better  quality   food.  According  to  Anelich,  this  growing  middle  class  sector  is  going  to  drive  food  safety  to   a  large  extent  in  Africa.     Dr.  Anelich  then  listed  some  practical  challenges  facing  the  continent  that  provided  further   context  and  insight  into  the  biggest  issues  in  food  safety  today  facing  Africa  today:   participants.  For  example,  she  listed  aspects  such  as  identifying  the  needs  regarding  food   safety  and  food  safety  standards;  how  the  continent  handles  the  challenge  of  infrastructure   development;  how  goods  get  to  market?  Transport  infrastructure.  And  since  energy  is  often   inconsistent,  how  would  the  growing  food  industry  and  the  population  run  refrigerators   and  freezers?       Consequently,  Dr.  Anelich  noted  Africa  has  4  billion  U.S.  dollars  in  loss  of  products  because   of  these  issues  that  can't  easily  be  resolved,  so  when  discussing  food  safety  matters,  other   important  aspects  such  as  developing  the  necessary  infrastructure  must  be  taken  into   account.    “I  think  the  World  Bank  is  extremely  well-­‐positioned  to  deal  with  these  multi-­‐ disciplinary  matters  because  it's  not  only  about  food  safety,  but  the  World  Bank  deals  with   other  matters  as  well,  such  as  infrastructure  development,  and  I  think  that's  absolutely   vital  .”       Dr.  Anelich  also  highlighted  a  promising  development  by  the  African  Union—the   development  of  expert  groups  which  are  working  to  develop  common  positions  for  all   countries  in  Africa  that  are  members  of  the  Codex  Alimentarius  Commission.  These  groups   include:  Food  Hygiene,  Pesticide  Residues,  Contaminants  in  Foods,  Food  Additives,  Food   Labeling,  Nutrition  and  Food  for  Special  Dietary  Uses,  Residues  of  Veterinary  Drugs,  Fish   and  Fishery  Products,  Fresh  Fruit  and  Vegetables.  Additionally,  there  are  two  new   proposals  on  the  table  for  new  expert  working  groups—the  Food  Import  and  Export   Inspection  and  Certification  Systems  and  the  Methods  of  Analysis  and  Sampling.       “This  is  a  growing  area.  When  we  meet,  we  develop  country  positions  on  those  particular   Codex  Committee  agenda  items.  These  positions  are  sent  through  to  all  the  Codex  contact   points  on  the  African  continent,  and  the  countries  are  encouraged  to  use  those  positions  as   their  official  position  at  those  particular  meetings,”  noted  Dr  Anelich.  “And  we've  seen  a         17                                       huge  improvement  in  activity  and  particularly  participation  in  the  Codex  Alimentarius   Commission  meetings,  and  I  think  this  is  very  important  progress  that  we've  achieved.”     Dr.  Boitshoko  Ntshabele   Director,  Food  Safety  and  Quality  Assurance,  Department  of  Agriculture     In  his  remarks,  Dr.  Ntshabele  discussed  the  need  for  Africa  to  begin  trading  with  itself,   highlighting  one  recent  project  that  launched  four  years  ago,  the  Tripartite  Trade   Negotiating  Forum,  wherein  different  regional  economic  communities,  including  the   Southern  African  Development  Corporation,  EAC  and  COMESA  are  in  negotiations  for  a   Free  Trade  Area  from  Cape  to  Cairo.     He  noted,  “Amongst  that,  there  has  been  conclusion  of  the  Sanitary  and  Phytosanitary   chapter  of  those  discussions,  but  again  within  the  regulations  themselves,  in  the  regions,   the  regional  communities,  you  will  find  that  there  have  been  division  –  for  instance  the   Southern  African  Development  Community  has  a  SADC  SPS  annex  through  which  work  has   progressed  with  regards  to  guidelines  for  food  safety,  guidelines  for  registration  of  agro-­‐ chemicals,  and  guidelines  for  veterinary  public  health.  And  there  are  annual  meetings  that   take  place  for  the  different  expert  groupings.  So  I  think  they're  going  to  have  the  7th  SPS   Committee  Meeting  in  SADC,  which  is  made  up  of  the  livestock  people,  the  plant  protection   people,  and  food  safety  people,  and  the  three  ultimately,  and  that's  part  of  the  work   towards  harmonization  to  enhance  trade  amongst  each  other.”     Dr.  Ntshabele  also  stressed  the  need  for  Africa  to  develop  smart  partnerships  that  show   value.  “It  really  has  to  be  a  synergistic  relationship  that  we  understand  what  is  the  value  of   having  a  partnership  with  the  GFSP  for  that  recipient  country  and  what  is  the  win-­‐win   situation,  the  1+1  equals  to  5,  and  that's  very  critical  if  we're  going  to  make  success  in  this   discussion,”  said  Dr.  Ntshabele.     “I  also  think  we  need  to  think  beyond  the  discussion  that  we've  had  today,”  said  Dr.   Ntshabele.  “I  think  there  is  a  case  to  be  made  for  the  public  good  nature  of  food  safety.”     Dr.  Chance  Kabaghe   Former  Minister  for  Agriculture  of  Zambia     Dr.  Kabaghe  began  his  remarks  calling  for  African  governments  to  start  prioritizing  and   putting  into  their  budgets  food  security,  food  safety  issues.         18                                       According  to  Dr.  Kabaghe,  the  Common  Market  for  Eastern  and  Southern  Africa  (COMESA)   has  called  for  10  percent  of  government  budgets  should  go  to  agriculture.  “I  would  like  us   to  go  further.  We  should  say  of  that  10  percent,  some  percentage,  perfectly  calculated,     should  go  to  food  safety  because  to  tell  you  the  truth,  as  a  former  minister,  I  know  safety  is   not  something  that  will  be  budgeted  for.  If  it  is,  it's  by  chance,”  said  Dr  Kabaghe.     Dr.  Kabaghe  also  highlighted  the  changing  and  shifting  political  candidates  and  a  need  to   keep  in  mind  the  political  economy  of  agriculture.  “I  think  African  governments  have  now   developed  professionalism.  We  have  so  many  candidates  who  are  really  professional  in   their  jobs.  I  would  advise  this  kind  of  what  we  are  doing  is  really  political  economy  of   agriculture.  We  need  to  talk  to  the  ministers  of  agriculture,  the  ministers  of  health  and   ministers  of  local  government.  We  have  to  speak  to  committees  of  parliament  for  this  kind   of  work,”  said  Dr.  Kabaghe.     But  how  can  all  of  this  work  be  done  to  see  effective  results  on  the  ground?  According  to  Dr.   Kabaghe,  all  partners  need  to  consistently  ask:  “How  can  we  do  this  best?”  “Who  are  the   champions?”  “Who  is  going  to  convince  the  minister  of  agriculture  and  convince  the   president  of  a  country  so  that  this  particular  aspect  of  food  safety  takes  prominence?"       “I  think  to  me,  those  are  things  that  we  as  professionals,  we  as  technicians  should  be   domesticating.  Come  2025,  if  we  find  that  we  are  not  tripling  that,  and  to  me  it  should  not   only  be  inter-­‐African  but  it  should  also  Africa  with  the  whole  world,  but  the  onus  is  on  each   one  of  us  to  convince  and  domesticate  the  whole  system,”  said  Dr.  Kabaghe.       19                                       Questions and Answers from the Audience   Q:  When  you  look  at  the  global  Food  Security  Index,  there  are  about  109  countries   that  are  ranked  according  to  food  security.  You  will  find  that  the  African  countries,   some  of  them  are  doing  better  in  terms  of  food  safety  and  quality,  but  the   accessibility  and  affordability  is  poor,  so  how  do  you  tackle  the  problem  of  food   safety  without  maybe  considering  the  issue  of  food  security?     A:  [Mr.  Badarneh  I  would  like  to  make  a  quick  reference  to  the  3ADI  initiative  which  aims  at   accelerating  the  development  of  the  agribusiness  and  agro-­‐industries  to  ensure  value-­‐ addition  to  agricultural  products.  The  leading  agencies:  Food  and  Agriculture   Organization  (FAO),  International  Fund  for  Agricultural  Development  (IFAD)  and  the   United  Nations  Industrial  Development  Organization  (UNIDO),  joined  forces  to  support   a  well-­‐coordinated  effort  to  enhance  development  impacts.  The  cooperation  builds  on   sharing  knowledge  and  harmonizing  programs  in  ways  that  capture  synergies,  avoid   fragmented  efforts,  and  enhance  developmental  impacts.  This  is  a  comprehensive  initiative   which  addresses  food  security,  and  you  have  the  rest  of  the  elements  such  as  food  safety   and  others  well  integrated  because  I  fully  agree  with  you,  it  doesn't  make  sense  that  you   have  a  food  safety  policy  framework  or  a  strategy  in  a  country  isolated  from  your  overall   food  security  strategy.     A:  [Dr.  Kabaghe]:  It’s  true  that  most  African  countries  are  struggling  to  have  food  security,   there  is  no  doubt  about  it,  and  this  is  why  I  keep  on  saying  that  food  safety  has  been  an  off-­‐ front  area,  but  if  our  presidents,  when  they  met  in  Malabo,  they  said  that  they  needed  to  see   intra-­‐African  trade,  and  most  of  it  was  agriculture.  They  wanted  to  triple.  That  means  that   many  countries  now  in  Africa  are  reaching  self-­‐sufficiency.  One  of  the  countries  leading  for   the  region  is  Zambia.  We  are  producing  enough  maize  than  we  need,  soyas,  wheat,  and   what  have  you.  We  are  now  exporting.  We  need  now  to  start  looking  at  safety  issues.  We   may  not  all  grow  at  the  same  level  but  to  tell  you  the  truth,  right  now  to  me  whether  you   are  food  secure  or  not,  issues  of  safety  of  whatever  you  produce  should  be  taken  into   consideration.     A:  [Dr.  Ntshabele]  I  just  wanted  to  say  that  one  of  the  issues  that  becomes  very  important  is   to  integrate  your  food  security  objective  with  the  market  requirements  in  mind  so  that  you   produce  a  tradable  commodity,  and  therein  you  improve  incomes,  and  that  would  deal  with   that  once  you  food  security,  you  are  able  to  trade  in  those  commodities  that  you've   produced  and  people  are  able  to  earn  incomes,  and  that  way  you  improve  the  ability  of   your  people  to  access  food  if  it's  an  issue  of  affordability.       20                                           A:  [Dr.  Goulding]  I  think  it's  important  to  recognize  that  it's  not  a  question  of  either  food   security  or  food  safety.  They  are  essentially  intimately  combined  in  that  your  food  safety  is   an  integral  part  of  any  food  security  policy,  and  a  food  security  policy  should  have  sections   in  it  which  deal  with  how  food  is  going  to  be  made  safe,  because  without  that,  you  can't   have  secure  supplies.  But  I  think  what's  interesting  in  the  African  context  particularly  is  the   food  supply  system  is  so  dependent  on  vast  numbers  of  very,  very  small  businesses,  small   farmers,  small  processors,  small  distributors,  even  down  to  chop  bars  and  small   restaurants,  all  of  which  play  their  role  in  delivering  adequate  nutrition  and  food  to  people   on  a  daily  basis.     And  the  real  challenge  presented  by  Africa  in  the  context  of  what  we're  trying  to  do  in  this   meeting,  I  think,  is  how  to  bring  about  the  changes  in  what  those  operators  do  because   that's  where  you  get  food  safety  conditions  improving,  by  altering,  by  changing  the  acts  or   omissions  of  those  operators.  That's  the  real  challenge  in  how  to  reflect  the  importance  of   food  safety  within  that  system  without  disturbing  the  food  security  impacts  which  they   have,  because  the  last  thing  you  want  to  do  is  come  in  with  heavy-­‐handed  regulations  and   close  down  half  of  your  food  supply  chain  because  of  non-­‐compliance.  It  means  there  has  to   be  commensurate  support  measures  for  them  to  be  able  to  make  investments  in  order  to   adapt  their  systems  to  make  sure  that  the  food  is  safe  at  the  same  time.       A:  [Dr.  Anelich]  I  think  a  lot  of  it  has  already  been  said  but  absolutely,  the  work  that  has   also  been  done  at  street  food  vending  level  has  shown  that  the  street  food  market  is  a  huge   market  in  Africa,  and  it  creates  a  lot  of  employment  as  well,  so  coming  back  to  what  Ian  was   saying,  we  have  to  be  very  careful.  We  have  to  balance  food  security  and  food  safety,  of   course,  but  also  not  coming  with  heavy-­‐handed  regulations  so  that  one  shuts  down  these   businesses  because  a  lot  of  people  are  dependent  on  that  one  person  who  is  running  that   street  food  stall  as  the  sole  income  provider.    That  one  person  is  often  the  only  person  able   to  bring  home  money  that  night  to  buy  food  for  another  day,  and  we  really  have  to  be  very   aware  of  that.       Q:  Looking  at  the  title  of  today's  dialogue,  "Food  Safety  Regional  Dialogue,"  and   reflecting  on  the  opening  remarks  that  Africa  is  a  continent  of  54,  55  countries,  and   all  are  as  diverse  as  this  group  is,  I’m  wondering,  we're  all  here  to  have  some   common  objective,  and  I  think  regional  focus,  if  we  wanted  to  maintain  a  regional   focus,  would  be  something  like  a  common  goal  that  we  could  drive  to,  and  I'm   wondering  what  would  be  the  entry  points  for  a  group  like  this  with  the  focus  on   food  safety  to  enter  on  a  regional  basis  on  this  continent?  Are  there  any  common   entry  points  to  focus  regionally,  and  what  we  can  take  away  from  this?       21                                           A:  [Dr.  Kabaghe]  Working  for  the  CBC,  the  COMESA  Business  Council,  just  two  weeks  ago   we  had  a  very  key  meeting  in  Kampala  where  some  of  my  members  of  staff  from  my  fishing   company,  they  were  there.  This  was  organized  by  CBC  with  the  initiative  from  COMESA,   and  this  is  where  we  had  the  hospitality  industry  hotels,  you  know,  Serena  Hotel,  Protea   Hotel,  and  they  were  talking  to  suppliers  of  fish  and  other  product  to  their  hotels.  So   COMESA  organized  that,  and  looking  at  safety  issues,  and  after  the  meeting,  those   companies  were  guaranteed  with  specification  on  safety,  food  safety  requirements  for  them   to  supply  to  those  hotels.  This  is  but  one  of  the  many  examples.       To  me,  I  think  the  entry  point,  to  me  really,  are  our  regional  groupings,  and  for  now  we   have  the  COMESA,  and  have  done  so  well  with  the  harmonization  of  the  seed  industry,  the   rules  and  regulations  of  the  seed  industry.  I  cannot  see  how  they  can  also  fail  to  do  the   harmonization,  and  make  sure  that  food  safety  issues,  because  they  are  working  very,  very,   very  hard  to  have  open  borders.  You  can't  open  borders  if  issues  of  SPSs  are  not  taken  into   consideration,  so  me  that,  Arta,  would  be  the  right  entry  point.  Thank  you.     A:  [Dr.  Anelich]  I'd  like  to  say,  one  of  the  discussions  we've  been  having  is  a  similar  one  in   terms  of  regions,  i.e.  how  we  divide  regions  into  groups  and  what  would  be  the  best   approach  for  risk  assessment  training,  for  example,  and  if  one  takes  SADC  into   consideration,  which  consists  of  15  countries  in  the  southern  hemisphere,  one  of  them  is   Tanzania;  however  Tanzania  trades  largely  with  Kenya  and  Rwanda  and  other  countries  in   the  eastern  African  region,  so  one  would  have  to  review  that  and  say,  well,  perhaps  we   don't  include  Tanzania  in  this  particular  case  in  the  SADC  region.  So  in  some  cases,  these   divisions  are  almost  artificial,    and  it  is  sometimes  a  good  idea  to  look  at  the  trading  sector   and  then  at  that  group  of  countries  that  trade  most  with  one  other  -­‐  that  might  be  an  entry   point.     A:  [Mr..  Badarneh]:  I  wanted  to  reflect  on  what  Ian  said  on  this  AU  initiative,  and  I  see  that   the  region  has  decided  to  establish  an  African  Food  Safety  Coordination  Mechanism,  which   will  shape  the  way  Africa  will  address  food  safety.  In  this  regard  I  think  it  is  a  perfect   opportunity  to  learn  from  the  GFSP  concept  and  to  establish  a  kind  of  “mirror  mechanism”   which  involves  from  day  one  the  academia,  African  food  businesses,  multinationals   investing  in  Africa,  and  relevant  multilateral  organizations  which  will  all  together  define  an   inclusive  and  sustainable  food  safety  framework  for  Africa.  I  am  positive  that  the  Global   Food  Safety  Partnership  would  be  very  willing  to  advise  on  such  a  mechanism  and  the   approach  to  be  taken.         22                                           A:  [Dr.  Ntshabele]  My  comment  would  be  that  each  of  these  regions,  has  a  secretariat,  so   there  is  a  formal  institution  that  exists  that  you  can  engage  with.  Similarly,  the  African   Union  in  itself,  there  is  a  system  that's  been  set  up  that  is  responsible  for  food  safety   entirely  for  Africa,  and  I  think  that  would  be,  in  my  opinion,  the  best  entry  points.  You   should  realize  also  that  as  Ian  mentioned,  that's  there  is  a  coordination  –  I  think  Lucia  also   said  the  same  thing  –  with  regards  to  Codex  activities,  so  it's  almost  a  dynamic.  It's  not   static  that  you  can  only  have  that  entry.  You  should  understand  that  there  would  be   multiple  entry  points  for  a  particular,  I  think,  activity  that's  envisaged       A:  [Dr.  Goulding]  Yes.  In  the  discussion  paper,  you  will  see  the  10  main  missions  that  the   African  Union  Commission  has  decided  should  be  the  activities  of  this  new  organization,   this  new  institutional  setup  for  food  safety  under  the  AU,  and  you'll  there  that  many  of  the   activities  are  very  close  to  the  aims  and  objectives  of  the  GFSP,  and  I  think  it's  a  question  of   finding  out  where  there  is  a  match-­‐up  to  be  able  to  identify  those  activities  which  can  form   the  partnership.       I  think  there  are  still  many  issues  to  be  decided  as  to  which  is  the  best  level  for  certain   activities,  so  between  the  regional  and  economic  communities  and  the  AU,  there's  still  a  lot   of  policy  work  required  to  decide  where  best  to  locate  things.  So  for  example,  issues  on   border  controls,  for  example,  might  best  dealt  within  the  regional  economic  communities,   whereas  the  African  Union  might  deal  with  things  like  regional  centers  of  excellence  for   education  and  training  in  food  safety,  so  there  needs  to  be  some  teasing  out  of  the  exact   level  where  these  things  need  to  be  addressed.  But  I  think  within  this  framework,  there  are   going  to  be  plenty  of  opportunities  for  identifying  the  entry  point  within  this  emerging   framework.       Q:  If  I  just  take  one  commodity  called  sugar,  if  you  want  to  trade  it  across,  there  have   been  a  lot  of  conflicts  that  one  country  does  not  allow  inter-­‐regional  trade.  How  do   you  go  about  this  in  terms  of  facilitating  trade?  And  of  course  when  you  are  talking  of   goods  trade,  you  are  talking  about  safety  in  this  equation.       A:  [Dr.  Kabaghe]  Thank  you.  I  am  very  much  aware  of  the  sugar  problem.  In  fact,  I  think  it   started  from  Zambia  who  were  exporting,  and  it  was  marooned  at  some  border  in  spite  of   meeting  the  necessarily  standards.  I  know  we  are  already  having  problems  with  milk  which   is  supposed  to  be  coming  from  Kenya,  and  so  on  and  so  forth.  I  think,  colleagues,  the   problem  that  we  have  is  that  we  have  not  done  enough  work  in  the  awareness,  in  teaching   our  own  people  to  understand,  the  politicians,  and  everybody  in  the  whole  value  chain.  I     23                                       think  once  we  have  done  with  this  and  people  start  accepting  the  rules  of  the  game,  this   will  be  an  issue  of  the  past.       This  morning  we  are  discussing  to  say,  okay  –  in  fact,  just  as  this  question  came,  we  are  just   discussing  it.  Supposing  now  you  have  COMESA  agreed,  harmonized.  What  about  ECOWAS   in  West  Africa?  How  do  you  now  cross  them  to  have  an  African  harmonized  system?  I  was   in  Ethiopia,  in  Addis  at  the  AU  –  no,  actually  it  was  in  Cairo,  a  few  weeks  ago,  we  were   discussing  about  forming  the  African  Business  Council  which  now  superintends  over  all  the   blocs.  Once  a  particular  standard  or  set  of  standards  is  agreed  at  the  Africa  Business   Council,  it  permeates  throughout  the  whole  system,  but  we  have  to  start  from  some  point.   It  won't  be  perfect  but  to  me,  that's  the  best  entry  point  for  now,  but  we  have  to  do  our   work  in  sensitizing  that  all  of  us  understand  what  food  safety  is  all  about.       Q:  Is  it  relevant  for  GFSP  to  get  involved  in  the  discussion  about  GMOs?  Do  any  of  the   panelists  have  an  opinion?     A:  [Dr.  Anelich]  I  certainly  do.  I  think  we  must  be  very  careful  because  GMOs  are  not  a  food   safety  issue  as  far  as  we  know.  In  the  past  20  years  of  GMOs  existence,  whether  we  agree   with  it  or  whether  we  don't,  there  is  no  scientific  evidence  to  show  that  GMOs  are  a  food   safety  issue,  so  as  far  as  I'm  concerned,  I  do  not  think  it  should  be  within  the  mandate  of  the   GFSP  to  discuss  GMOs.       A:  [Dr.  Kabaghe]  I  can  explain  the  COMESA  position  on  GMO  because  presidents  of  COMESA   discussed  the  GMO  position.  They  have  said  that  each  country  would  decide  on  the  GMO  as   they  wish  because  there  was  so  much  controversy  among  different  countries,  just  like  there   is  controversy  right  now  between  Europe  and  America.  That's  a  known  problem.  So  they   have  said  the  position  for  COMESA  countries,  19  countries,  is  that  a  country  would  decide   on  what  to  do  with  the  issues  of  GMO.       Q:  We  have  a  very  complex  competing  public  health  environment,  where  they're   looking  at  Ebola  or  maternal  mortality  or  HIV-­‐AIDS,  with  the  growing  I  think  issue   around  NCDs.  But  from  where  all  of  you  sit,  because  you're  in  very  strategic   positions,  could  you  talk  a  little  bit  about  how  we  as  a  group  can  help  in  this   competing  environment  to  really  insert  and  position  food  safety  as  that  kind  of  a   major  public  health  issue,  and  one  which  we  all  need  to  rally  around?       A:  [Mr.  Badarneh]  Like  I  said  in  my  opening  remarks,  although  it  is  a  challenge,  but  you   really  have  to  define  the  value  of  having  a  rigorous  food  safety  or  regulatory  system,  and  be   able  to  translate  that  to  some  tangible  values  for  the  Ministry  of  Health,  or  your     24                                       government  in  general.  For  instance,  one  of  the  best  selling  points  will  be  to  show  the   opportunity  costs  arising  from  a  poor  food  safety  system/environment.  Meaning,  you  need   to  give  the  fact  that  you  are  not  able  to  participate  in  global  trade  a  price  tag,  and  need  to         show  the  long-­‐term  effect  of  chronic  diseases.  For  sure  this  is  not  always  an  easy  sell   because  governments  don’t  like  to  deal  with  opportunity  costs  in  the  short  term,  and   beyond  their  legislative  period.           A:  [Dr.  Goulding]  I  think  if  I  could  come  in  there,  it's  obviously  a  sovereign  decision  for  any   country  as  to  how  they  allocate  their  political  priorities  across  any  area,  but  I  think  one  of   the  unique  things  about  food  safety,  it  is  this  nexus  of  health,  trade,  and  economic   development  driven  by  agro  food  businesses,  so  there  are  other  imperatives  which  operate   other  than  the  public  health  one.  And  I  think  that  actually  raising  awareness  of  the  role  of   better  regulation  as  even  a  driver  for  economic  development,  because  it  goes  directly   towards  the  investment  environment,  so  that  unless  a  food  business  operator  sees  that  his   investment  in  improved  food  safety  activities  –  whether  it's  upgrading  his  water  supply,  or   putting  in  a  new  floor  or  something  like  this,  or  training  staff,  or  putting  in  better  process   controls  –  whatever  that  investment  is,  if  he  sees  his  neighbor  not  making  that  investment   and  he's  allowed  to  continue  operating,  it  puts  him  at  a  disadvantage  so  he's  not  going  to  do   it,  so  effective  regulation  also  has  a  good,  clear  role  in  terms  of  the  investment   environment.     And  the  other  aspect  of  this,  I  think,  which  is  not  widely  recognized  is  the  role  of  risk   assessment  here  because  proper  risk  assessment  has  a  lot  of  advantages  for  resource-­‐ limited  control  systems  because  it  means  you  can  use  your  risk  assessment  to  drive  the   focus  of  your  controls,  and  there's  no  reason  why  you  can't  also  build  in  to  your  public   health  risk  assessment  other  agents,  non-­‐food-­‐related  hazards,  to  work  out  the  most  cost-­‐ effective,  economically  cost-­‐effective  way  of  improving  people's  livelihoods.  So  I  think  risk   assessment  can  answer  some  of  those  questions,  and  we  don't  have  the  mechanisms  in   place  yet  within  Africa  because  we  don't  understand  the  full  set  of  risks  there.  There  are   unique  products,  unique  processes,  wide  regional  differences,  and  we  don't  have  the   consumption  data  to  make  the  proper  risk  assessments.       Q:  How  can  GFSP  help?       A:  [Dr.  Goulding]  One  thing  that's  very  important  is  in  April  of  this  year,  there  was  a  summit   with  African  Union  Heads  of  State  and  the  European  Union  at  which  they  agreed  on  a  new   phase  of  their  partnership  for  development,  and  one  of  the  issues  that  was  specifically   mentioned  in  that  communiqué  was  support  for  the  new  Food  Safety  Mechanism,  so  there     25                                       will  be  a  funding  stream  coming  from  the  European  Union,  and  that  should  be  used  for  two   things,  broadly.  One  is  building  the  capacities  of  the  regional  bodies,  both  the  AU  and  the   RECs,  to  be  able  to  implement  the  wide  range  of  tools  necessarily  to  bring  about  this  sea   change.  The  other  will  be,  as  a  channel,  it  will  be  channeled  to  member  states  to  allow  them   to  undertake  the  necessary  investments,  so  there  will  be  donor  support,  strong  donor         support  coming  through  for  that,  and  I  think  that's  going  to  make  a  major  difference.  What   we  need,  of  course,  is  the  software  in  terms  of  the  tool  boxes,  which  maybe  GFSP  will  be  a   major  contributor  to  that  to  make  it  happen.       A:  [Dr.  Anelich]  On  a  slightly  separate  point,  the  AU  has  been  funded  currently  to  run  all   these  Codex  committees,  and  part  of  that  is  to  fund  the  food  safety  experts  in  those  Codex   committees,  as  well  as  the  other  experts  in  the  relevant  Codex  mirror  committees  to  attend   those  particular  Codex  committee  meetings  together  with  their  country  delegations.  That's   been  going  on  for  around  4  years  or  5  years.  .  That  external  funding  source  is  coming  to  an   end  but  the  wonderful  thing  about  that  is  that  African  Union  members  have  committed  to   continue  the  funding  on  their  own  for  these  Codex  committees  because  they've  seen  the   benefit,  which  is  exactly  what  we  need.  We  need  Africa  to  find  solutions  for  Africa,  and  this   is  what  is  currently  happening  in  that  space.       A:  [Dr.  Kabaghe]  I  think  that  African  governments  have  the  capacity.  They  can  also  raise   resources  to  prioritize  food  safety  as  a  key  item  for  them  to  budget  for.  I'm  saying  so   because  we  have  all  sorts  of  subsidizes,  be  it  on  inputs,  be  it  on  maize,  and  many  of  them  do   not  produce  the  required  results.  If  our  governments  can  really  understand,  have  proper   awareness  the  importance  of  food  safety  in  terms  of  trade,  in  terms  of  health,  in  terms  of   maybe  just  being  comfortable  to  move  crops  around,  they  should  be  able  out  of  their   budgets  to  put  in  money.  With  that,  donors  can  help  technically  because  we  are  now   developing  our  University  for  Food  Security  and  Technology  and  what  have  you,  but  I  think   we  should,  as  African  governments,  be  able  to  raise  enough  money  to  meet  the   requirements  in  terms  of  food  safety  if  the  awareness  is  right.         26                                         References   1. African  Union.  “Recommendations  for  the  Missions,  Functions  and  Structure  of   African  Union  Food  Safety  Authority  and  a  Rapid  Alert  System  for  Food  and  Feed.”   2014   http://www.au-­‐ibar.org/pan-­‐spso/399-­‐second-­‐continental-­‐workshop-­‐on-­‐the-­‐ missions-­‐functions-­‐and-­‐structure-­‐of-­‐african-­‐union-­‐food-­‐safety-­‐authority-­‐and-­‐a-­‐ rapid-­‐alert-­‐system-­‐for-­‐food-­‐and-­‐feed   2. Anelich,  Lucia.  “African  Perspectives  on  the  need  for  global  harmonization  of  food   safety  regulations.”  Journal  of  the  Science  of  Food  and  Agriculture.  2013.   3. European  Council.  “Fourth  EU-­‐Africa  Summit:  Roadmap  2014-­‐2017”  2014.   http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/14209 4.pdf   4. FAO.  “Why  Has  Africa  Become  a  Net  Food  Importer”  2011.   http://www.fao.org/docrep/015/i2497e/i2497e00.pdf   5. FAO.  “FAO/WHO  Regional  Conference  on  Food  Safety  for  Africa:  National  Food   Safety  Systems  in  Africa  –  A  Situational  Analysis”  2005.   http://www.fao.org/docrep/meeting/010/a0215e/A0215E24.htm#ann9     6. UNIDO.  “Agribusiness  for  Africa’s  Prosperity.”  2011.   http://www.unido.org/en/resources/publications/poverty-­‐reduction-­‐through-­‐ productive-­‐activities/agribusiness-­‐and-­‐rural-­‐entrepreneurship/agribusiness-­‐for-­‐ africas-­‐prosperity.html     7. World  Bank  Group.  “Africa  Can  Help  Feed  Africa:  Removing  Barriers  to  Regional   Trade  in  Food  Supplies.”  2012   http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTAFRICA/Resources/Africa-­‐Can-­‐Feed-­‐ Africa-­‐Report.pdf     8. World  Bank  Group.  “Growing  Africa:  Unlocking  the  Potential  for  Agribusiness”  2013.   http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTAFRICA/Resources/africa-­‐agribusiness-­‐ report-­‐2013.pdf                   27