From Costly Compliance to Safer Food and Stronger Trade: Why Africa Must Invest in SPS Systems

By Tsitsi Makombe, John Oppong-Otoo, and Diana Akullo Ogwal

06/15/2026

Every year, unsafe food takes a devastating toll on Africa's people and economies. Foodborne illnesses and hazards cause an estimated 137,000 deaths and 91 million cases of acute illness annually across the continent, disproportionately affecting children under five. Yet despite these staggering numbers, investments in food safety systems remain inadequate, fragmented, and under-prioritized. The result is a vicious cycle: weak sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) systems raise the cost of SPS compliance, increase public health risks, and constrain participation in regional and global markets, thereby limiting the resources and incentives needed to strengthen SPS systems.

 

At a time when Africa is seeking to expand intra-African trade through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and transform its agrifood systems by implementing the Kampala CAADP Declaration, SPS systems can no longer be treated as a technical afterthought. They must be recognized as a strategic investment in public health, economic transformation, and trade competitiveness.

 

This message was reinforced during the fifth session of the CAADP Kampala Webinar series, held on May 21, 2026, which brought together policymakers, technical experts, and development partners to discuss how to mobilize investments for stronger SPS systems in Africa. The webinar was organized by AKADEMIYA2063 in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA-FAS).

 

Why Strong SPS Systems Matter

 

The timing of this conversation could not be more important.

 

The Kampala CAADP Declaration has renewed Africa's commitment to agrifood systems transformation, while the implementation of AfCFTA is creating unprecedented opportunities for regional trade. However, these ambitions will not be realized if countries cannot meet the food safety and animal and plant health standards required for products to move across borders.

 

As John Oppong-Otoo of AU-IBAR emphasized during the webinar, “Africa does not simply have a production problem—it also has an SPS problem.” Producing more food is not enough if disease outbreaks, aflatoxin contamination, weak inspection systems, or inconsistent standards prevent products from reaching consumers safely or accessing markets competitively. He added that, “SPS issues have become the currency for trade.” In an increasingly integrated African market, the ability to meet food safety and animal and plant health requirements is becoming a prerequisite for market participation rather than a technical add-on. Countries that fail to invest in SPS systems risk being left behind as regional and global standards continue to evolve.

 

Strong SPS systems support safer food, healthier populations, more resilient value chains, and greater confidence among traders and consumers. They also help reduce costly export rejections, facilitate market access, and strengthen Africa's position in international trade.

 

The High Cost of  SPS Compliance

 

The webinar drew on a recent study conducted by AKADEMIYA2063 in Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria, and Rwanda, which examined the costs of SPS compliance and the investments needed to strengthen national systems. The findings reveal that compliance remains expensive, particularly for smallholder farmers and small and medium-sized enterprises. Farmers often bear the heaviest burden because they lack economies of scale, have limited access to finance, and receive insufficient technical support. Key compliance costs include pesticide management, fertilizer management, certified seed use, and aflatoxin control. The problem is compounded by persistent gaps in SPS infrastructure, which increase compliance costs and make it harder for producers and businesses to meet standards consistently.

 

Perhaps most concerning is that compliance is often financed largely by private actors themselves, while public support, donor financing, and commercial credit remain limited. As a result, many businesses view SPS compliance as a barrier rather than a long-term investment.

 

 

What Is Holding Africa Back?

 

First, infrastructure gaps remain significant. Many countries continue to face inadequate laboratory capacity, weak surveillance systems, limited testing facilities, poor cold-chain infrastructure, and unreliable power supply. Second, public investment remains insufficient, with SPS systems often competing unsuccessfully against other budget priorities. Third, technical and institutional capacity constraints limit the effectiveness of inspection, certification, risk assessment, and enforcement systems. Fourth, fragmented governance arrangements create coordination challenges among ministries and agencies responsible for food safety, animal and plant health, and trade. Finally, many private sector actors lack awareness, financing, and technical support to comply effectively with SPS requirements.

 

The webinar poll reinforced these concerns. Participants identified weak technical and institutional capacity, limited government funding, and low awareness of SPS benefits as among the most important barriers to building strong SPS systems.

 

These challenges underscore the need to better integrate SPS considerations into broader agrifood planning and accountability systems. As John Ulimwengu of IFPRI observed, "SPS issues are really a fundamental cross-cutting issue to CAADP and should be treated as such." He also emphasized the importance of more streamlined and actionable SPS indicators to strengthen reporting and accountability.

 

From Compliance to Competitiveness

 

Too often, SPS is viewed solely through the lens of regulation and compliance. However, as Oppong-Otoo argued, "SPS issues are more than a compliance issue, but a market infrastructure and livelihood issue." Strong SPS systems support food safety, market participation, and broader development outcomes, including income generation and livelihood resilience.

 

This is particularly important for Africa’s domestic and informal food markets, where most consumers access food and where small producers and traders require practical, affordable, and incentive-compatible pathways to safer food rather than compliance models that exclude them from markets.

 

AfCFTA implementation makes this especially urgent. Inconsistent standards, fragmented procedures, uneven enforcement, and weak institutional capacity continue to create barriers to regional integration. As Diana Akullo Ogwal of the AfCFTA Secretariat noted, "…inconsistency is not the language of economic integration." For countries to capitalize on the opportunities offered by a continent-wide market, SPS systems must become more harmonized, predictable, and effective. Countries should adopt and promote the use of digital tools to strengthen SPS systems. At the same time, priority should be given to enhancing private sector capacity to effectively engage in and benefit from the SPS ecosystem, enabling businesses to fully harness available market opportunities.

 

 

A Call to Action

 

The path forward is clear.

 

1. African Union institutions and Member States should position SPS systems as a core pillar of CAADP Kampala implementation. Investments in food safety, animal health, and plant health must be systematically integrated into NASIPs, national budgets, and performance monitoring frameworks. As the CAADP Kampala Results Framework is finalized and streamlined, practical SPS indicators should be adopted to strengthen reporting, improve accountability, and enable countries to better track progress in building strong SPS systems.

 

2. Countries should prioritize foundational SPS infrastructure, including laboratories, surveillance systems, cold chains, digital traceability platforms, and certification services that reduce compliance costs and strengthen market confidence.

 

3. Governments and development partners should invest in technical capacity, coordination mechanisms, and awareness campaigns that help producers and agribusinesses understand the benefits of compliance and access the support they need.

 

4. The private sector must be recognized not merely as a regulated entity but as a partner in building stronger SPS systems. Creating an enabling policy environment and expanding access to finance, technical assistance, and market incentives can accelerate compliance and innovation.

 

5. Policymakers must improve the investment case for SPS by distinguishing between public-good functions that require sustained public financing—such as surveillance, risk assessment, emergency response and regulatory oversight—and commercially viable services such as laboratories, traceability systems, cold chains and certification, where blended finance and private investment can be mobilized.

 

The Kampala Declaration and AfCFTA have created a rare policy window to reposition SPS systems as strategic investments rather than regulatory obligations. The message emerging from the Kampala webinar was clear: SPS is not merely about compliance. It is about public health, market access, competitiveness, livelihoods, agrifood systems, and economic transformation. If SPS has indeed become the currency of trade, then Africa must invest accordingly. The countries that embed SPS issues at the center of their CAADP implementation strategies today will be best positioned to deliver safer food, stronger trade, and more resilient agrifood systems tomorrow.