1. It’s important for currency stabilization.

If countries like Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda increased their efforts to supply each other certain goods which would otherwise have been sourced from abroad (and paid for in US dollars or Euros), they would be saving on Forex externalization which is good for our countries’ economies, since among the many factors hurting or economies Forex externalization is chief of them. This also means it should be standard for our countries to pay for goods in our own currencies. It’s important because it will strengthen regional trade and reduce our dependence on US dollars/ Euros.

2. It will create opportunities for local businesses.

Protectionist measures by one African country against another can only hurt local industries. In the present connected world, it should be a standard practice for sub-Saharan African countries to audit each other’s strength and weaknesses and ascertain where they could add value (or where they could benefit from another country’s advantages / strengths). For example if Zambia has a Cement Manufacturer who has capacity to produce 20% to 30% more than they currently do; and export that surplus to Malawi, then Malawian authorities should not levy high input duties on such an important commodity when it is the case that cement has become scarce (Yahoo Finance), and prices in Malawi are currently very high (and have increased by ~150% in the last 3 years).

3. It will increase regional food security.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a report in July 2023 which stated that Zambia’s production of corn was expected to grow by 23% to 3.3 million metric tons (MMT) in the 2023 /24 year due to an increase in planted crop. This means that Zambia now has the capacity to export at least 400,000 metric tons of corn which although less than the 2022/23 season is nevertheless still a surplus.

But that’s just corn.

What about other produce like groundnuts, sweet potatoes, and cassava? What about the Innovations which young farmers not just in Zambia, but in Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and Uganda are adopting to increase yield or protect against pests?

Aren’t all these opportunities for learning which should be exchanged readily between our countries in Sub-Saharan Africa?

By the way, these sources of good practices need not be exclusively birthed in Sub-Saharan Africa. For example the other day I read about a tree planting exercise in a North African country (I forget which), that is helping stem the encouragement of desertification in that country. Similarly I recently read about this project in Togo about solar irrigation pumps and the incredible effect on the farm yields of subsistence farmers.

4. It will improve Healthcare outcomes

If Kenya or Uganda have better collaboration between Healthcare and social services but Zambia does not currently have the same degree of collaboration, isn’t this something that Uganda and Kenya can help Zambia achieve?

Similarly if Tanzania has reduced Health Inequalities in its rural population by a certain percentage within the last two years, and Zimbabwe and Malawi haven’t achieved similar results in the same time-frame, this too is something worth learning from.

My point is, as Africans there is quite a lot we can learn from each other but until we start asking these questions regarding specific sectors, and looking much closer to what our neighbours are doing, and not just within Healthcare, there will be good practices nearby which can help inform local practice but which we never get to benefit from.

5. It will boost our capacity to find local solutions to local problems.

Any significant increase in economic collaboration between African countries will help consolidate the idea that African countries have little choice but to rely more on each other than on external countries or aid finance institutions, if they truly want to thrive and not be left behind each time there’s a global crisis. I know it’s a long way to go from where we are at the moment, but think about it, what did the Covid-19 pandemic (and more recently the Ukrainian war) for example show us other than that we have to be more self-reliant?

Vaccine nationalism rings any bells? A shortage of wheat or grain… (which the African Union back in 2022 warned that it would cause a catastrophic scenario of food shortages and price rises) ?

Thus, it is abundantly clear that given these two examples, our interests are very much best served by greater economic collaboration amongst ourselves. Because while it may be harder for a small country like Malawi or Uganda to independently mobilize all the resources necessary for vaccine research, a pool of African countries working together towards such an end (perhaps with the help of historical friends like India and Cuba) can achieve such ends much more easily.

And don’t take it from me alone. Even during the pandemic, others were already calling for independent African vaccine research.