Tariff and Non‐Tariff Barriers for Intra‐African Agricultural Trade and the Role of Governance Quality in Sub‐Saharan Africa

ABSTRACT Intra‐African agricultural trade (IAAT) is a critical driver of national income, food security, and demand‐supply stabilization across the continent. Despite initiatives like the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) designed to promote regional trade, IAAT remains below 20% of Africa's total agricultural trade. This study investigates the determinants of this persistent gap, focusing specifically on the relative impact of tariff measures (TMs), non‐tariff measures (NTMs), and governance indicators. Using an unbalanced panel dataset from 26 Sub‐Saharan African countries (2003–2023), the analysis employs the Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR) to account for substantial cross‐country heterogeneity, with robustness checks conducted using Powell's conditional quantile regression. The findings demonstrate that NTMs are the most significant barrier to IAAT. A 1% increase in NTMs reduces agricultural exports (IAAE) by 0.71%–0.83% and imports (IAAI) by 0.43%–0.83% across the quantile distribution. The effect of TMs is less consistent, showing a significant but smaller negative impact only on imports. Governance quality exhibits a complex role: regulatory quality consistently enhances IAAE (0.58%–0.83%), whereas government effectiveness shows a negative relationship with trade flows. Furthermore, the analysis reveals significant heterogeneity in these effects across Regional Economic Communities (RECs), to consider the region‐specific nature of trade barriers. The study concludes that policies aimed at enhancing IAAT must prioritize the reduction and harmonization of NTMs over mere tariff liberalization. Additionally, targeted improvements in regulatory governance and regionally tailored strategies are essential to unlocking the full potential of intra‐African agricultural trade.