By Urban Shihemi, February 26, 2026

Cross-border agricultural trade is increasingly being recognized as a powerful driver of food security, livelihoods, and economic resilience in the Horn of Africa. Yet despite strong regional and continental demand, agrifood systems across the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) region continue to face deep-rooted structural constraints that limit their participation in high-value markets.

Experts note that while regional integration frameworks have created new opportunities, persistent bottlenecks continue to undermine trade efficiency. Weak compliance with Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) standards, fragmented trade governance, inadequate testing and certification infrastructure, poor traceability systems, inefficient border procedures, and limited information sharing remain major obstacles.

These systemic gaps often result in export rejections, prolonged delays at border posts, high transaction costs, and significant post-harvest losses. The burden falls disproportionately on smallholder farmers, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), women, youth, and informal cross-border traders groups that form the backbone of agricultural production and regional food supply chains.

Speaking at the closing session, Kenya’s Ambassador to Djibouti and accredited representative to IGAD, George Macgoye, underscored both the immense potential and the persistent challenges facing cross-border agricultural trade.

He called for the urgent adoption of digital systems at border points across the region to ease the movement of goods and services.

“We must embrace digital solutions at our cross-border points to facilitate the smooth and efficient movement of goods and services. By deploying interoperable digital platforms, electronic certification, and automated customs procedures, we can significantly reduce delays, lower transaction costs, and create a more predictable trading environment for our farmers, traders, and businesses,” Ambassador Macgoye said.

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), particularly its Protocol on Digital Trade, is being positioned as a strategic instrument to address these constraints. By promoting the use of digital technologies to facilitate trade, enhance transparency, and strengthen regulatory cooperation, the framework seeks to enable inclusive participation in regional and continental markets.

Across Africa, rapid growth in mobile connectivity, digital financial services, and platform-based commerce is creating unprecedented opportunities to transform agricultural markets. In the IGAD region, expanding digital access among farmers, traders, and MSMEs offers a foundation for scaling digital trade solutions that improve coordination, transparency, and cross-border integration in line with AfCFTA objectives.

IGAD’s Director, Dr. Mohi Tahomi, emphasized that embracing digital systems at cross-border points is critical to unlocking seamless trade across Member States.

“The use of interoperable digital platforms at our cross-border points is no longer optional it is essential for facilitating efficient and transparent business across IGAD Member States. By digitizing customs procedures, certification processes, and trade information systems, we can reduce delays, enhance regulatory cooperation, and create a predictable environment where businesses, farmers, and traders can move goods and services with confidence across our region,” Dr. Tahomi said.

Digital trade solutions are increasingly viewed as a transformative pathway for overcoming persistent cross-border trade bottlenecks. Innovations such as digital farmer and herder identification systems, electronic certification, and interoperable trade information platforms are improving efficiency and market access.

Practical tools already demonstrating measurable impact include electronic trade portals, simplified digital customs procedures, e-documentation systems, digital marketplaces, trade tracking dashboards, and mobile-based services for traders and cooperatives. These solutions have been shown to reduce delays, cut transaction costs, minimize waste, and strengthen disaster response mechanisms—ultimately enhancing food system resilience.

However, despite their promise, many of these innovations remain fragmented and unevenly implemented across member states. The lack of harmonization limits their full potential, underscoring the need for coordinated regional action.

Under Component Three—“Getting to Market”—of the Food Systems Resilience Program (FSRP), IGAD is now seeking to move beyond policy commitments toward practical, implementable digital trade solutions that deliver measurable results at border posts and along key trade corridors.

Regional policymakers and stakeholders say such coordinated efforts are essential to harmonize systems, integrate platforms, and scale solutions that support inclusive and sustainable growth.