The Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), which the European Union (EU) is currently in the process of negotiating with 77 countries in Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP), is thought to have a detrimental effect on African agriculture due to unfair competition.

For the past three decades, the ACP countries have enjoyed preferential access to the European market under the Lomé and Cotonou and EPAs will dramatically change this relationship.

They will essentially be free trade agreements, creating a free trade area between the EU and the ACPs countries without duties or quotas on all customs trade between these regions.

Thus, in order to continue to benefit from free access to the European market, Africa is expected to open its own markets in return.

According to the agenda of negotiations, EPAs should enter into force on January 1, 2008 EPA are based on the principle of reciprocity, they are legally binding, without date. They thus represent a point of no return.

Food Sovereignty: the hope of African agriculture

Agriculture is the backbone of the African economy and the livelihood of the majority of its population. It is the main activity of more than 60 per cent of the population of sub-Saharan Africa and accounts for more than half of the GDP of some countries.

Small farmers provide most of the agricultural production in the continent, especially food products that are the basis of food security. Since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, the human right to food is a binding obligation in the States.

Since then, the need for food security in Africa has been integrated into the development discourse. It is only during the last decade that the peasant movements and civil society began to appeal to food sovereignty.

Food sovereignty proposes a set of specific policy measures, focusing on food for communities, rewarding producers, bringing food systems to their local dimension and control of resources and strengthening the knowledge and skills in harmony with nature.

African governments have few policy tools to support their agriculture and generate income for public spending: tariffs on imports are the main tool.

EPAs will require African countries to substantially eliminate tariffs on all imports from the EU to Africa, thus depriving them of a basic tool to protect their farmers and economies as well as the financing of public policy.

Economic Commission for Africa United Nations estimates that the governments of sub-Saharan Africa will have a shortfall of 1.516 billion euros per year in tariff revenue with the full implementation of such contemplated by EPA and the EU.

Unfair competition for African Producers

The blow by the EPAs on African agriculture will be felt by all communities. It will mean unfair competition for many African farmers, who have already suffered from the phenomenon of “dumping” (the flooding of markets by subsidized and cheap European products.

Cameroon poultry farmers could not compete with imported chickens parcelled and sold at a ridiculous price on the local market. Ghanaian factories canning tomatoes had to close due to unfair competition from Europe. And Kenya operators of dairy farms were flooded with milk powder from Europe.

They were able to get back their market only when their government increased the price rates of milk imports, a protection that they will not have any more with the EPA.