EU project STREAMING: Sustainable trade between Africa and Europe

The African continent is rich in natural resources, but trade barriers, logistical deficits and climatic challenges hinder food security and economic growth. This is where the EU project STREAMING comes in, developing strategies for fair, healthy and sustainable food systems and helping to strengthen trade between Africa and Europe.

Challenges facing the African food trade

Despite fertile soils and rich ecosystems, the African food trade faces the following challenges:

• Logistical deficits: Weak infrastructure can lead to high crop losses.
• Market access: Customs barriers, trade regulations and red tape slow down intra-African and intercontinental exports between Africa and Europe.
• Labour market: High unemployment forces many into jobs with subsistence-level jobs, often in the informal sector, i.e. economic activities that are not recorded, regulated or controlled by the state. Due to various technical, economic, institutional and social constraints, such as difficult access to finance, markets have limited growth potential.
• Food insecurity: Healthy and adequate nutrition for all remains an important issue.
• Climate change: Extreme weather events and environmental degradation threaten agriculture.

STREAMING as a solution: Trade Facilitation, Knowledge Transfer and Sustainability

The project is based on three main pillars:

1. Removal of non-tariff trade barriers: STREAMING analyses international trade barriers that are not levied in the form of tariffs, such as different product standards or consumer protection regulations. STREAMING develops solutions to facilitate African producers' access to international markets.
2. Fostering innovation and knowledge transfer: STREAMING strengthens entrepreneurship through initiatives such as networking platforms, seed financing and the creation of innovation hubs to effectively provide support start-ups.
3. Sustainable food systems: STREAMING provides training for farmers and promotes the cultivation of climate-resilient crops and alternative protein sources.

EU-Africa Trade: New Opportunities through STREAMING

Through applied research and policy analysis, STREAMING provides a deeper understanding of the trade barriers between the European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU). A participatory approach involving farmers, innovators and trade organisations ensures that research results are translated into practical action. This will enable the removal of existing barriers.

Conclusion: a necessary turning point for African food trade

STREAMING brings together science, business, agriculture and trade to make food trade fairer, more efficient and more sustainable. It supports all stakeholders with financial and technological solutions.