South africa and the southern region trade opportunities

With South Africa being one of the emerging BRIC countries among Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, it is no telling, how this country will benefit from recognition world wide and improve its trade relations with neighbours and the world. According to http://www.southafrica.info/business/economy/ the key sectors of growth being the tourism, mining and minerals and internet communications in African markets has placed this country in a strategic position for long term growth.  Local industries and growth opportunities seems to be on the rise. The south african business info site went on further to indicate that,  “South Africa will launch an ambitious project aimed at boosting its "green" economy and reducing the country's carbon footprint during the UN Climate Change Conference starting in Durban on 28 November. “ On this note the country is doing well, however, like most regions the Southern Africa Development Community consisting of 9 countries in that region according to http://www.hedprogram.org/tabid/225/itemid/115/Seed-Trade-In-Southern-Africa.aspx recognize that “Most small-scale Southern African farmers have little or no access to high quality seeds.  Forced to make do with inferior seeds, their productivity suffers.  Poor roads and distribution systems, fragmented national seed policies, inappropriate regulations, and dysfunctional regulatory institutions all conspire to limit the movement of seeds and their availability within and between countries in Southern Africa”.
This I believe is an area to explore since being a member of the region this can force lots of migration to one country forcing the need to enact laws that would inhibit migration in large numbers and subsequently defeating the whole purpose behind any regional alliances. But with that said, south africa is not without its social political and economic issues. With potential in the wool industry. Local farmers are still struggling to meet the competition and demand, being that subsistent farming is a part of life in this part of the world. There are programs in place to improve the lives of farmers.. One example mentioned by http://www.southafrica.info/business/economy/ is in the wool industry is that “On their own, these farmers would struggle to make a sustainable living but thanks to a mentorship and support programme offered by the National Wool Growers Association of South Africa (NWGA), these same farmers are now serious players in the wool export industry. As a policy recommendation, this presents a window of opportunity for the government in partnership with regional body to look into ways of working collectively in all industries where they could improve their competitive advantage, perhaps things like monetary policies would not fit in now. According to http://www.uneca.org/srdc/sa/publications/ECA_SA-Newsletter_Issue3-07.pdf, “The mining sector has always been the bedrock on which much of the southern African economy is founded. The sector accounts for 60% of the region’s foreign exchange earnings and is a significant employer.”It does occur to me that using a region’s strength can be a bargaining chip in overcoming weakness. As another policy, I would deem it fit for south Africa and other nations in the region to look into trade agreements with nations whose competitive advantage is in areas they are weaker in to bring in and train expertise for strengthening those weaker industries in south Africa and the region.