May 29, 2026
Washington, D.C. | Online
From Barriers to Opportunities: Leveraging Standards in Africa’s Agrifood Systems
Standards shape how economies function—often behind the scenes, but with far‑reaching consequences. From food safety and plant health to sustainability, labor practices, and traceability, standards determine who can access markets, compete effectively, and move up the value chain. As highlighted in the World Development Report 2025: Standards for Development (WDR 25), nearly 90 percent of global trade is affected by non‑tariff measures linked to standards, making them a critical part of the “hidden infrastructure” that underpins productivity, trade, and inclusion.
The Institute for Economic Development is pleased to invite you to the event From Barriers to Opportunities: Leveraging Standards in Africa’s Agrifood Systems, which brings together World Bank Group experts and partners to discuss the implications of the WDR 25 report for agrifood systems, with a particular focus on Africa.
The discussion will explore:
- How standards shape trade, food safety, sustainability, competitiveness, and inclusion in agriculture, forestry, and natural-fiber value chains from input to plate.
- The specific challenges and opportunities for smallholders and SMEs in Africa
- The rationale, scope, and priorities for a potential companion report on agrifood standards
Join us on May 29, 2026, at 11 am ET for a forward-looking conversation on how standards can better support market access, competitiveness, and inclusion across agriculture, forestry, and natural‑fiber value chains.
The World Bank Group is currently preparing a companion report to the WDR 25 focusing specifically on agrifood systems to better understand how food safety, animal health, and phytosanitary standards affect market access, productivity, and inclusion—particularly for low- and middle-income countries and small-scale producers. We greatly welcome your insights and experience to ensure that the report is practical and useful for policymakers and practitioners.
Your feedback will help us identify priority gaps, key challenges, and areas where further analysis or guidance could support more effective implementation of standards in agrifood systems.
Standards make everyday life run smoothly—often invisibly. When they work, they build trust and allow people and firms to trade, innovate, and grow; when they fail, disruptions are immediate and costly. Standards are the hidden foundations of prosperity: nearly 90 percent of world trade is now shaped by nontariff measures - most linked to standards - many of which directly affect agrifood products. This makes the ability of food producers to adapt, align, and participate in international standard‑setting essential for maintaining market access and competitiveness. Standards are a form of hidden infrastructure, and their importance is rising as countries navigate increasingly complex requirements linked to globalization, technology, and growing expectations around safety, sustainability, and transparency.
The World Bank World Development Report 2025: Standards for Development offers a comprehensive assessment of today’s global standards landscape and a practical framework for how countries can adapt, align with, and shape standards to accelerate economic development.
Standards are particularly critical for agrifood systems—including agriculture, food processing and distribution, forestry, and natural-fiber textiles—where a large share of global trade is shaped by non-tariff measures linked to standards. For many low- and middle-income countries, the challenge lies not only in adopting standards but in building laboratories, inspection services, certification bodies, and traceability systems that allow standards to enable rather than constrain inclusive growth.
