Source: LE MATIN.MA ( Le Matin – The five pillars of the circular economy in Africa )

The African Circular Economy Alliance and the World Economic Forum have identified five main sectors on which any strategy to promote an economy based on rational consumption of natural resources and recycling of all that can be articulated must be articulated. ‘to be.

E-waste, textiles, packaging, construction and food systems are the five pillars of the circular economy in Africa, believe the African Circular Economy Alliance and the World Economic Forum in their report. April. According to him, Africa’s food systems are not with a paradox. Agriculture contributes around 23% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs nearly 60% of the workforce. The World Bank estimates that the continent’s food market could generate up to $ 1,000 billion in sales by 2030. And yet, recalls a joint study by the African Circular Economy Alliance and the World Economic Forum, 250 million Africans suffer from food insecurity.
And this is the reason why this study, published in April, placed food systems at the head of the five priority sectors to establish the foundations of a circular economy in Africa whose GDP fell by 3.7% in 2020. due to the pandemic.
One of the major challenges, according to the study, will be to tackle food waste, which represents 49% of all residues, from all origins, produced on the continent. In addition, around 35% of arable land is threatened with desertification and degradation. Restoring these soils is the other obstacle to overcome for more resilient food systems in Africa. “By 2030, the market could be worth $ 1,000 billion in sales with the creation of millions of inclusive green jobs through a circular food system,” the report argues. For the four other sectors identified, the report proceeded in the same way: inventory and recommendations. As an example, the report cites the installation of an electronic waste recycling unit, opened in 2017 in Rwanda, which has created 400 green jobs. A similar establishment in Kenya created some 2,000 green jobs in 2013 in its first four years of operation. “Restructuring economies to become more circular will require additional efforts, with changes in industrial processes that should be high on government priorities,” suggests the report. Finally, only a minority of Africans (30%) live in “formal built” environments, which is the other building block for an African circular economy.