Competence Centre for Food and Agriculture

The Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) has commissioned the German-South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry to establish a "Centre of Excellence for Food and Agriculture" for South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe as of 1 October 2021. The competence centre is to promote economic and entrepreneurial cooperation in the field of food and agriculture (processed and unprocessed food) as well as agricultural technology between Germany and the four countries in southern Africa. The BMEL finances the services of the competence centre in order to make them more accessible and cost-effective for German enterprises.

Competence Centre for Food and Agriculture

Background 

The food and agriculture sector is one of the main sectors in South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The topic of "food security" plays an important role in these Southern African countries. The four countries are members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Free Trade Agreement, which allow duty-free trade among its members. The countries have different trade agreements in place with the EU, which offer great opportunities for cooperation between the countries and the EU.
The EU signed an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with South Africa and Mozambique and an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) under the Eastern and Southern African (ESA) for Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The Competence Centre serves as an information, networking and advisory platform, as well as a central contact point for the business community from the agricultural technology and the entire food sector.  

The main tasks of the competence centre include: 

  • Creation of market transparency (information collection, evaluation, communication) for German companies 
  • Support through services in the areas of market information and market entry for German companies
  • Promotion of German agricultural technology and food on the markets (events, activities, projects)
  • Communication and cooperation platform with local partners (network, exchange) and expansion of own database