Regional trade and food security in SADC
Abstract A number of pertinent questions on regional trade and food security in southern Africa is addressed in this paper, namely: Should a country go it alone or should it belong to a regional trade bloc? Within the SADC region, should countries be content to be cereal importers? How can free trade be phased in? How can intra-SADC trade be expanded? Potentially sensitive agricultural products are listed and the sensitivity in grain milling and cereals is discussed in detail. The major conclusion is that trade in the region can contribute substantially to provide improved food security. There is also considerable scope for greater intra-regional trade in grain and other food products, and for greater cross-border investment in agriculture and agro-industry.
How important is a regional free trade area for Southern Africa?: Potential impacts and structural constraints
"We develop a detailed trade analysis to assess the potential welfare impacts of a free trade agreement (FTA) on the agricultural sector of southern African countries and to determine opportunities and challenges faced by the region as a consequence of the agreement. Our approach combines an in-depth look at the current trading patterns of southern African countries with the application of a partial equilibrium analysis that uses bilateral trade data at the four-digit standard international trade classification (SITC) level for 193 agricultural industries in 14 southern African countries. Low diversification of agricultural exports in most southern African countries seems to be a major constraint for promoting regional trade. In most countries, overall welfare effects of an FTA would be positive but small. Inefficient agricultural producers with a regional comparative advantage for agriculture would benefit from trade creation with the rest of the world. Welfare results for regional importers would be negative because of increased imports from inefficient regional producers. These results suggest that the region should be looking at regional policies and interventions beyond trade arrangements, such as those targeting investment, agricultural productivity, and diversification, to enhance benefits of regional trade liberalization." from authors' abstract
Agricultural Comparative Advantages In Development Region G Of South Africa: An Application Of A Regional Linear Programming Model
Abstract The purpose of this article is to model the agricultural production sector of Region G to determine whether Development Region G of South Africa has comparative advantages with respect to the production of certain agricultural commodities. The analysis is based on an application of an advanced regional linear programming model. With the present marketing system production of fruit and vegetables, livestock and livestock products, and animal feeds, e.g. soya beans, should be expanded. On the other hand, production of staples, e.g. maize and wheat, and other summer cash crops should be scaled down. Under a free market system there also seems to be, apart from the commodities already mentioned above, a comparative advantage for specifically dryland staple food production.