rural communities in direct investment and maintenance of roads. The value of increasing the density of rural and feeder road networks cannot be underestimated. Lessons must be drawn on innovate public-private partnership (e.g., through taxation and public financing) for feasible domestic action in this regard.

Improving the performance of domestic markets. This calls for an understanding of current realities and future trends in the structure and magnitude of effective demand for agricultural products. In this regard, African governments must intensify and complete agricultural policy reforms and market restructuring processes, most of which are underway with a view to putting in place institutional, legal and financial frameworks that promote private investment in agribusiness and agro-industrial enterprises. It would be practical to put emphasis on small-scale industries, capable of diversifying food and agricultural products, supplying effectively agricultural inputs, and providing basic transport and marketing services. Responding to consumers and other marketing agents requires the enactment of appropriate regulations on product standards to improve the quality and increase the competitiveness of food and agricultural products.

 Viable strategies to promote the development of strong and effective market information systems would help to complement other strategies to facilitate market access, including the provision of financial support and the mobilization of private participation for strengthening national market information collection systems. Africa must take advantage of ICT to put in place functional subregional and regional networks of Agricultural Market Information Systems (AMIS).

Regional integration to facilitate intra-African trade. The potential benefits of regional integration in Africa have been accepted by African governments as demonstrated in their adoption of the Lagos Plan of Action in 1980 at the OAU Extraordinary Summit. The Lagos Plan of Action highlighted the goal of regional integration, which was further concretized in the signing of the Abuja Treaty, establishing the African Economic Community (AEC) in 1991 and ratified in 1994. The Abuja Treaty outlined a gradual process for establishing regional economic communities (RECs) to act as the building blocs for the AEC as follows: AMU (The Arab Magreb Union), ECCAS (Economic Community of Central African States), COMESA (Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa) SADC (Southern African Development Community) and ECOWAS (Economic Community of West Africa). The Treaty envisaged a process that would culminate in the establishment of the AEC by 2008, including the strengthening of the RECs, removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers, the establishment of free-trade areas
and the formation of an African common market. African governments, by signing the treaty, committed to promoting the integration of production structures, processing, trade and marketing systems in order to speed up agricultural development and food production. A renewed commitment by African States under NEPAD and trends toward strengthening regional integration under the existing subregional commissions are a welcome sign, but more needs to be done to ensure a successful integration of Africa’s

market. Some alternative adaptations include implementing existing regional integration agreements and targets set within each agreement; improving procedures for customs and harmonizing national taxation and support policies for more efficient cross-border trade; creating, through publicprivate partnerships, subregional marketing mechanisms and institutions to develop marketing strategies for African products; removing infrastructural and institutional barriers (both legal and illegal) to investment promotion and free movement of commodities across borders; and rationalization of the regional economic communities.

 Current efforts are being made by the African Union (AU), Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and African Development Bank (ADB) to assist in the rationalization of the Regional Economic Communities. It would be useful for the three continental institutions to also support these efforts by putting in place a mechanism for peer review and learning, as well as monitoring the implementation of various commitments with regard to market integration, within the framework of the African Peer Review Mechanism.Increasing access to global markets. Improving the access of Africa’s agricultural products to global market calls for action at the national and subregional levels. Capacity for policy research on the impact and implications of the various requirements of WTO agreements for African agriculture could be strengthened to provide vital information for African trade negotiators. To better meet WTO requirements and the needs of African countries, the establishment of technical committees (or standards bureaus) involving key stakeholders would be helpful for the development of
appropriate regional and international product standards and technology regulations. With current trends in globalization and trade liberalization increasing the demand for high quality standards, the selection of appropriate means (technical seminars, training workshops, ICT, extension networks, etc.) for informing and educating farmers and private agribusiness entrepreneurs on acceptable product standards becomes important. At the global level, African governments could benefit from high-level forums (e.g., ministerial workshops) in which African countries collectively develop capacity to engage in multilateral trade negotiations, including phytosanitary and other agricultural trade regulations. This can be done under the aegis of AU and with support from the ECA and ADB. In such a case, OECD policies regarding subsidies and market access, which constrain trade opportunities for major agricultural commodities and products from Africa, would likely become prominent issues.

5.4 Enhancing the Contribution of Women to Agriculture
Women account for approximately 70% of agricultural workers and 80% of food processors in SSA; they are more likely than men to be managers of natural resources and often maintain and share traditional practices. Yet women typically are disadvantaged relative to men in terms of access to education, extension services, credit (due in part to women’s higher illiteracy rates), irrigation and land ownership rights. Moreover, women are poorly represented in the supply of AKST, whether as researchers or extension agents—for example, in 2000, just 18% of African agri-