IT must be clear by now even to the most fervent optimists that the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) initiative has not turned out the way it was supposed to.

The AGOA initiative which came into being in 2000 was set to provide countries in sub Saharan Africa with the most liberal access to the U.S. market.

The initiative facilitated an exhaustive list of products which would be eligible for export to the U.S. subject to zero import duty under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP).

AGOA also has provisions under which countries like Zambia could export agricultural produce like peas, beans, grains vegetables and other farm produce.

This appeared to have been a chance for Zambian agriculture and the manufacturing sector to hitch onto the band wagon and boost export earnings.

But to date things have not turned out as expected.