United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and Republic of Congo explore e-commerce solutions to strengthen agricultural value chains and combat hunger

 

Achieving the African Union’s goal of ending hunger by 2025 and the global target of Zero Hunger by 2030 remains a significant challenge for the continent.

In the Republic of Congo, despite continued government efforts to enhance domestic food production and distribution, only 4% of arable land is currently being cultivated. Food access remains constrained by inadequate infrastructure and stark imbalances between supply and demand, leaving an estimated 455,000 people in food and nutrition insecurity.

To address these challenges, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), through its Sub-Regional Offices for Eastern and Central Africa, conducted a fact-finding mission in collaboration with the Ministry of Trade. Held from 30 June to 4 July 2025, in Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire, the mission aimed to explore how e-commerce and digital tools can accelerate food trade and improve access—particularly for vulnerable populations—while strengthening national and regional agricultural value chains.

This initiative is part of ECA’s flagship program, “Innovative Digital Trade under the AfCFTA for Promoting Food Security and Agricultural Value Chains in Africa.”

Strengthening E-Commerce for Agricultural Development

During the mission, ECA engaged with nearly 200 stakeholders, including three ministers: the Minister of Trade, Supplies and Consumer Affairs; the Minister of Agriculture; and the Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises, Handicrafts, and the Informal Sector. Senior officials from the Ministries of Agriculture, Telecommunications, and the Digital Economy also participated, alongside representatives from MTN, Airtel, the Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications, the Congolese Agency for Quality and Standardization, commercial banks, agribusinesses, and development partners such as the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office, FAO, and WFP.

The mission focused on assessing how digital trade can support national food development strategies and how food e-commerce can be scaled to enhance food security and agricultural value chains.

“If current trends continue, Africa risks missing Sustainable Development Goal 2 – Zero Hunger – by 2030,” said Simone Assah Kuete, Economic Affairs Officer at ECA’s Office for Eastern Africa.

“Food products are highly perishable and require specialized infrastructure for handling, storage, and distribution. Without reliable cold chains and efficient logistics, maintaining food quality from farm to table becomes virtually impossible.”

She highlighted that In 2023, an alarming 20% of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa faced severe malnourishment—compared to 8.1% in Asia, 7.3% in Oceania, and 6.2% in Latin America. Moreover from 2019 to 2023, the number of food-insecure people in Sub-Saharan Africa rose from 258 million to 358 million—a 39% increase—while other regions saw declines. “In this context, leveraging digital tools to reduce market information asymmetries and strengthen food systems is no longer optional—it is an urgent imperative,” she added.

National Commitment to E-Commerce Reform

Lenda Sitou Milandou, Special Adviser to the Ministry of Trade, welcomed the mission and praised the strong collaboration that made it a success.

“Food security remains a top priority in our national development agenda,” she affirmed. “To achieve it, we must develop robust legal, regulatory, and institutional frameworks to enable the growth of e-trade in food products.”

Key Outcomes and Next Steps

The mission identified high-demand national food products and assessed the current use of e-commerce platforms in the Republic of Congo. It also explored opportunities to enhance digital payment systems—currently limited—through partnerships with commercial banks and mobile network operators.

The dialogue revealed critical challenges in food production and trade, policy gaps, infrastructure and capacity needs, and the potential role of digital intermediaries in improving food systems.

This initiative marks a pivotal step toward aligning e-commerce strategies with agricultural transformation in the Republic of Congo. It reflects ECA’s ongoing commitment to supporting member states in leveraging innovation to foster sustainable, inclusive growth.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).