Since implementation in 2001, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) has boosted two-way trade between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa while opening U.S. markets to duty-free imports of African goods. Products from AGOA countries have broadened in scope from traditional commodities like cocoa beans to high-value items like fresh citrus and fresh-cut flowers. Moreover, more than 98 percent of U.S. imports from AGOA-eligible countries entered the United States duty-free in 2006. At the same time, U.S. total exports to sub-Saharan Africa rose by 17 percent over 2005, to $12.1 billion, while total U.S. imports under AGOA were $44.2 billion, 16 percent more than in 2005. U.S. imports of agricultural products from AGOA-eligible countries were $746 million, as growth among West African countries was relatively strong due to an agricultural recovery. Agricultural trade with the United States has accelerated by 2.5 times the pre-AGOA annual growth rates. AGOA’s 38 member-countries also benefit from investment, market linkages, trade capacity building and technical assistance programs to support regional and international trade. Highlights include:

Growth.  Average annual growth rates for the top-four products exported to the United States have grown dramatically (pre-AGOA to 2006): cocoa beans, 6.8 to 16.8 percent; unroasted coffee, 0.5 to 19.9 percent; raw sugar cane, -3.2 to 9.8 percent; and oranges, NA to 25.8 percent.

New Products.  New products have been approved for export to the United States, including table grapes from Namibia, baby corn and baby carrots from Zambia, and shelled peas from Kenya.

Equivalency Training.  In 2006 and early 2007, USDA conducted an initial assessment and report of Namibia’s regulatory system for meat products. USDA is currently training Namibians on the U.S. equivalency system and U.S. sanitary and hygiene standards. With training and guidance from the assessment, Namibia can work to improve conditions in slaughterhouses, laboratories and monitoring systems to U.S. standards.

Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures.  In late 2006, USDA and USAID launched a 5-year, $11.5-million AGOA sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) program to build capacity in plant and animal health and food safety systems. The collaborative effort is helping officials from Senegal and Mali develop more stringent protocols for processed foods inspections; it is supporting Ghanaian officials as they institute and manage a successful systems approach to combating whitefly infestations; and it is helping four East African countries develop specialists to manage a country specific plant pest database with global positioning system capabilities.

Pest Risk Assessments.  Under similar collaborative efforts through 2006, USDA trained more than 400 people from 35 countries in sub-Saharan Africa on a wide variety of issues related to pest risk assessment (PRA). USDA experts also evaluated Kenya’s packhouses and assisted the country’s efforts to export fine beans to the United States; conducted pest mitigation activities in Senegal; and helped Madagascar on plant pest surveillance and mitigation techniques to help improve regulatory and trade capacity.

Fellowships.  In 2006, the USDA Cochran Fellowship Program provided training in the United States to 61 participants from 10 AGOA countries. The program provides short-term agricultural training for mid- and senior-level public or private professionals in areas of agricultural trade, marketing, management, policy, food safety, and technology transfer. The USDA Borlaug Fellowship Program reached out to 48 recipients from 10 AGOA countries. The Borlaug Women in Science program, initiated and administered by FAS in partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is open to female agricultural scientists from Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia, Niger, and Malawi. Scientists, private sector agribusiness professionals, government officials, researchers, and policymakers apply for collaborative research and training opportunities. Training venues include U.S. universities, government agencies, and international agricultural research centers. Since 2006, USDA has provided 22 Women in Science fellowships.

Trade and Investment Mission.  In February 2007, FAS Administrator Michael Yost led a trade and investment mission to the East Africa region. Thirteen U.S. agribusinesses participated in the trade mission, representing importers and exporters of seafood, horticulture, livestock genetics, agriculture processing, poultry, agriculture equipment, seed industry and general food. A total of 40 African companies from Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia attended events during the mission. The purpose of the trade and investment mission was to promote U.S.-Africa agribusiness cooperation and two-way trade and investment. Initial reports of sales to the United States from participating countries include fruit juice, processed nuts and seafood (lobster, shrimp and frozen fish) valued at more than $750,000.