Reuters/Akintunde Akinleye Nigeria is a major tomato importer, despite having enough land to grow them.
This week’s most important headlines out of and about Africa.
In this week’s news, countries in Africa are limiting imports to support economic growth, and all African delegates denied visas for Africa Summit held in U.S.
African Nations Propose Limits to Imports into their Countries
Kenya and Ethiopia are among the countries that are taking measures to restrict international imports into their nations. This strategy is to boost internal revenue markets and incentivize citizens to shop local.
The African continent imports billions of dollars worth of grains annually. This includes maize, wheat and rice. The increase in imports is partly because of population increase in the urban centers, insufficient infrastructure for vast plots of farm land and sporadic climate changes that have cause droughts.
Also, some of the countries that are starting to make the limitations have relied on trade partners to support their economies because they lack the self-sufficiency to produce their own goods and become dependent.
Ethiopia for example launched its Agricultural Extension Plan to sustain a market-led and pluralistic extension system that improve the lives and livelihoods of Ethiopian smallholder farmers, agro-pastoralists and pastoralists.
The African Development Bank is set to meet this May to discuss investment and poverty reduction. ADB seeks to mobilize and allocate resources for investment to spur sustainable economic development and social progress.
No African Delegates In Attendance at Summit about the Continent
The African Global Economic and Development Summit (AGED Summit) was established to foster global partnerships across the continents. The intention of the AGED Summit is to promote bilateral Foreign Direct Investment, International Trade, Cultural Exchange and Tourism of and with the 54 individual countries of the African continent.
In preparation for this year’s summit, the United States denied visa applications to delegates from the African continent. The conference went on as scheduled with over 60 African delegates missing.
“Some are now questioning whether the denials to attend the Los Angeles event are tied to President Trump’s anti-immigration policies. The president is pushing forward with a travel ban against six Muslim-majority countries despite ongoing legal challenges,” according to the Richmond Free Press
The U.S. State Department has not issued an official statement.
The three-day conference held at the University of Southern California invited delegates from around the world to discuss climate change, poverty reduction and clean energy.
