Charms, Cashew and Continental Trade
I’ve only ever known him as “ Bro. Oliver”. He trained on my mother’s maize and poultry farm. I had just entered teenagerhood then. As we worked together on the farm, he showed me quicker ways of deshelling maize. He quizzed me on the planting distance between the rows and columns. I would blurt out a number and with a shake of his head he would say “Mark it out right here on the field and let me see”. Practical application over theory.
As the African Continental Free Trade Area(AfCTA) kicks in I wonder: Why should Bro. Oliver, who is now 32 and farms in Sampa, on the border between Ghana and Ivory Coast be bothered? Why should Chidinma, in Lagos, care? I met Chidinma over the Internet. She introduced herself as the Creative Director of Charamie, where she makes exquisitely beautiful handcrafted purses. I just stored her contact as “Chidinma, Charms”. As we became good penpals, I realized she was also the CEO, CFO, CTO, and I daresay, sole employee. I promised to purchase a few of her products — not only was I in love with them, but also it would be a token of friendship. She sent the invoice. One glance at the delivery fee and my excitement waned. She got disappointed and our conversation, and hence friendship, stalled.
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I can clearly see how AfCTA would benefit the ‘big boys’. My question is: what’s in it for Bro. Oliver, Chidinma, me and the other 226 million young people on the continent. I see various articles and finely-crafted sentences that attempt to answer: “The AfCTA Agreement is the principal catalytic framework through which Africa’s youth will be able to effectively harness productive economic opportunities, businesses and new methods of service delivery.”
The early farming lesson I learned echoes “ Apply it practically!”
I would like to see AfCTA truly reducing steep border tariffs that could prevent Bro. Oliver from sending his cashew produce into Ivory Coast for processing. If it could further dismantle the invisible borders: palms that must be greased, inspectors who must be bribed, tiresome and unnecessary bureaucratic processes, then it would indeed be ‘THE policy thar rules them all”. Perhaps, AfCTA would mean courier services between Kumasi and Lagos, would be cheaper than between Kumasi and California, and then Chidinma can effectively access markets beyond her city. Then, when I visit bro. Oliver’s farm, I could send along a few of Charms’ purses for his wife and daughter, and after the bowl of yam fufu he promised, we could sit in the shade of cocoa and cashew trees, and discuss how AfCTA makes a bright future in Africa beyond possible:
Realistic.
