During the fourth conference on women in agribusiness in Durban, women in agribusiness were to urged maximise utilisation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

South Africa Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Nomalungelo Gina said her ministry are working on how to secure African countries during the trade agreement. “You know issues of origin of goods during trade are crucial. We need to tighten up all these loopholes so that others do not use this free trade area to bring products from outside,” she said at the conference.

On the other hand, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad) Director of program implementation and coordination Estherine Fotabong hailed the agribusiness platform as a means for women to find solutions to challenges in their enterprises. The platform also addressed the need for climate-smart Agriculture.