In a bid to upscale its activities in the honey sector among the countries in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa (ACTESA) will host the APITRADE AFRICA/APIEXPO 2010 in Zambia 26-29 October, according to the latest edition of ACTESA newsletter.

The theme for the conference, which is being organisedin partnership with the private sector in the region, is: 'The role of honey in attaining food security in Africa.', according to the newsletter, made available to PANA here Sunday.

'Following the request by COMESA Ministers of Agriculture in July 2010 for ACTESA to upscale its activities in the honey sector, ACTESA will, in partnership with the private sector in the region, host the APITRADE AFRICA APIEXPO 2010”, the Newsletter said.

Meanwhile, preparations for the fourth ACTESA Partner and Stakeholders' Forum, which holds 9-11 November in Entebbe, Uganda, have reached an advanced stage.

During the meeting, cooperating partners of ACTESA, national and regional farmer organisations, trade associations, governmental officials and other key stakeholders will deliberate on important trade and development priorities.

In a related development, ACTESA has reiterated its commitments in assisting member countries to benefit more from the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA), the organisation's Chief Executive Officer, Cris Muyunda, said in the Newsletter.

'In its quest to ensure eligible COMESA member states benefit more from the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA), the Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa (ACTESA) is committed to assisting countries to share lessons on approaches for succeeding in the United States Market,' the Newsletter said.

Muyunga was also quoted as saying that there were commodity opportunities and actions where more could be done to achieve meaningful impact in the short term.

He disclosed that Malawi, Kenya and Ethiopia were some of the countries that had fared well in AGOA, and that their experiences could be used to help other countries to succeed as well.