Accra, Ghana, 12 August 2010 - African heads of state, industry representatives, the international donor community and farmers will meet in Ghana at the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) in the first week of September. Delegates will create an action plan on the acceleration of a Green Revolution in Africa. Chaired by Kofi Annan, chair of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), this is the first time the forum will be held in Africa. It is expected to be one of the continent’s major gatherings of both public and private players to focus solely on agriculture development.

“We will be looking to governments for leadership to create an environment that will enable agriculture to prosper and grow and we will be looking to the private sector to drive and sustain that growth,” says Kofi Annan. “Working together we can achieve a food secure and prosperous Africa.”

The AGRF promotes investments and policy initiatives that will drive income growth for African farmers in an environmentally sustainable way. The AGRF will also show progress in unlocking Africa’s agricultural potential and facilitating sustainable economic growth thanks to new investment and public-private partnerships.

“As Secretary General of the United Nations, I called for a uniquely green revolution in Africa to meet the Millennium Development Goal of halving hunger by 2015. And six years later, I am encouraged to see that the Green Revolution has taken hold and is gaining momentum. We have reached global consensus that agriculture is Africa’s lifeline and, from that realization, we are gaining global support and funding commitments as well as the support of African governments and the attention of the private sector. But we need an action plan to translate this momentum into tangible support for Africa’s famers,” says Mr. Annan.

Click Here to download the full press release in English and Here to download it in French

You can also watch the video of Kofi Annan here

As humanitarian organisations warn of increasing food insecurity in the Sahel, Gordon Conway, professor of international development at Imperial College London considers the role that the international community can play in achieving, finally, a Green Revolution for Africa.

If you look back at the Green Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, in many respects it was a relatively simple challenge. I don’t want to minimise what the Green Revolution pioneers achieved. They were remarkable scientists, and the Green Revolution was the greatest technological success story of the 20th century. But in hindsight it was somewhat simple.

In Asia these pioneers identified genes that made rice and wheat, in particular, much shorter. They knew that if the plants were tall and you put fertiliser on them they would fall over. If you made rice and wheat plants shorter, you could put much more fertiliser on them and they would produce greater yields. Getting those genes into the rice and wheat plants was not too difficult in terms of plant breeding. Once you had new, short- strawed rice and wheat plants, the next step was to get them to grow in large farms in very well-controlled environments.

By comparison, sub-Saharan Africa has much more complicated agricultural challenges. In general, it has poorer soils and a lack of large scale irrigation schemes, with only 4% of arable land irrigated. Many farms are very small. Sub-Saharan Africa is more heterogeneous and more risk prone. Infrastructure is a big challenge. The kilometres of road and railway per hectare of agricultural land are far less than in Asia, and roads often peter out once you are outside capital cities making it difficult to get crops to market.

There is also a great range of crops that have to be worked on, not just maize, which is quite problematic in many parts of Africa, but cassava, sorghum, millet, a huge variety of legumes, and a range of root crops. All of these have to be improved through breeding programmes. As a consequence of all these challenges, the old Green Revolution approach will not work.

To achieve a Green Revolution for Africa we are going to have to look to local solutions. A Green Revolution for Africa will not happen simply because outsiders come with some kind of blueprint for a farm or a community. African farmers have developed their own farms according to what works best in their local environment, and these farms will continue to evolve. As scientists, researchers and policymakers, we have to offer specific pieces of technology that we think the farmers will adopt, and work with the farmers to establish what works.

We also need to link international political rhetoric to African realities. The international community should recognise that African leaders are organised and have a strong collective voice supporting agricultural development in their own countries. In 2003, African Heads of State and Heads of Government launched the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) to improve food security, nutrition, and increase incomes in Africa’s largely farming based economies. The leaders’ aims included raising agricultural productivity by at least 6% per year, and increasing public investment in agriculture to 10% of national budgets per year.

The international community should support the CAADP process and work with African leaders to translate the leaders’ local policy priorities into practical investment plans. By supporting these emerging national and regional strategies, the international community can contribute to finally achieving a Green Revolution for Africa.

Sir Gordon Conway is Professor of International Development at Imperial College London. For more information about his current work, please go to: www.imperial.ac.uk/africanagriculturaldevelopment

Source: www.publicservice.co.uk

1. INTRODUCTION

The Second CAADP Day meeting was held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso on 21 July 2010, organized by the AUC and AU-NEPAD, and held as integral part of the 5th FARA General Assembly.

The meeting brought together Ministers of Agriculture and representatives of government from five African countries (Burkina Faso, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Uganda) and one European country (Germany), the private sector (Equity Bank, Pan African Agribusiness Consortium UBA), farmers’ organizations (ROPPA, EAFF, SACAU, PROPAC, AGRA), Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), as well as development partners and United Agencies.

The purpose of the meeting was to an inclusive dialogue platform for the AUC, NEPAD, the private sector, farmers’ organizations, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and development partners to engage each other on the progress achieved in the implementation of CAADP since 2003 and also to explore the challenges that may delay the process in achieving the CAADP targets, if they not addressed, yet.

The CAADP Day’s main event was a panel discussion with the theme ‘Post-Compact CAADP Implementation: the African private sector and investments in agriculture’. This panel discussion was a welcoming opportunity to widen the political space and investment climate for CAADP to Agriculture by paying particular attention to the role of the private sector. And it also showcased the results CAADP has been achieving so

2. OPENING CEREMONY

Main Messages:

The Opening Statements highlighted that although many studies had shown that in Africa agriculture has been having the biggest impact on economic growth and poverty reduction, this had not prevented the sector from a significant decline in domestic and external funding during the last three decades. The speakers pointed out that the weak agriculture sector policies and institutions in the political landscape of African countries were at the root of low budgetary allocations to agriculture.

This Forum provided therefore an excellent opportunity to review the progress and to identify the challenges that the CAADP implementation has been facing so far. To achieve a better resource investment and an effective CAADP implementation concrete actions and public commitment need to be articulated. Agriculture investment is a key instrument to achieve social economic growth and has a decisive impact poverty reduction. Moreover, investment in the agricultural sector will allow realizing the millennium developments goals in Africa.

Finally, the speakers emphasized the importance for governments to ensure effective leadership in agriculture developing processes and to promote a favorable environment for the private sector to invest into the agriculture sector. It is important to improve information sharing, training and sensitization of the CAADP Pre- and Post-Compact process.

3. PANEL DISCUSSION

i. Panelists

The panel discussion attracted close to 200 policymakers, Ministers, researchers, and representatives from farmers’ organizations, the media, the private sector, and development partners who engaged with each other through a moderated panel discussion - on their CAADP implementation experiences.

The panelists at the discussion included: Dr. Sam Sesay -Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security of Sierra Leone, Kwesi Ahwoi -Minister of Food and Agriculture of Ghana, Dr. Laurent Sedogo -Minister of Agriculture, Water resources and Fisheries of Burkina Faso, Vincent Rubarema - Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries of Uganda, Lucy Muchoki - Chief Executive Officer of the Pan African Agribusiness Consortium, Esther Muhiri -General Manager Marketing Agribusiness of Equity Bank and Mr. Alphonse Kadjo -General Director of UBA.

ii. Key points arising during the discussion

The discussions focused on different issues and problems arising in the CAADP implementation process. With regard to the benefits of engaging in CAADP, the discussion stressed the need to define financing mechanisms and a joint review of Government investment plans to realize a comprehensive co-owned investment plan.

The panelists underlined that CAADP is a country- led process and must reflect the vision and development strategy of the respective country. At the same time, all stakeholders have to buy into the process to ensure an ease of planning and investment and to jointly identify investment priorities. However, an effective monitoring system with clarified targets and well articulated means of measurements and areas of corrections is not always in place and needs to be addressed more seriously.

The Ownership in the CAADP Process was regarded as a significant principle for the acceptance of the entire process. The panelists highlighted the importance of responsive leadership from the top with a clear vision to provide guidance and accountability. These principles are regarded as part of the countries development plans and will allow for Mobilization of the experts of sectors and the involvement of the private sector and civil society.

To showcase the implication of the various elements the panelists pointed out the factors facilitating the CAADP Process. The discussion demonstrated that not only other ministries than the Ministry of Agriculture needed to be included in the process, but that the private public partnerships as well as the consultation of civil society and farmers’ organizations are crucial steps for the creation of a favorable environment for private sector investment. Finally, it was stressed to promote synergies between producers, processers and traders.

One of the key questions was how to get the buy in of the private sector. The discussion highlighted the importance of regular and frequent meetings on CAADP between government and the private sector. To make the agriculture sector more attractive for investors, tax holidays and a gestation period for the private sector could be provided. Furthermore, subsidies for small-scale farmers should be made available to foster this sector.

Finally, the discussion focused on how to effectively target farmers. It was emphasized that farmers need to be regularly involved into the key discussions. Farmers should also be introduced to banking services and benefit from improved conditions for credit access. Given the often low literacy rates of farmers, consultations with farmers should be in the appropriate format and training should be provided on financial literacy. These measures would help to mobilize and improve farmers’ capacities. Moreover, governments need to sensitize farmers on policies and involve them in developing policies documents and programs.

4. Positions of the different representatives

Representatives from the farmers’ organisations highlighted that the problem of funding and access to finances requires new thinking and new solutions that go beyond what is being offered by the banks today.

The Ministers overwhelmingly felt that in order for a country to succeed with the implementation of the CAADP agenda there had to be political will at the highest levels of Government and genuine national ownership of the country’s agricultural strategy.

Representatives from the private sector highlighted that they see agriculture as a serious business venture. However, they also felt that it was important for African agriculture to be move away from a subsistence focus to a commercial focus and that there are financial incentives on the market that can be accessed to do this.

Members of the media called upon researchers and scientists in African agriculture to be more proactive in terms of sharing information with the media and also recognise their roles as sources of information. Scientists were also called upon to use social media as an avenue for highlighting their work to the wider public.

WASHINGTON, DC - As part of President Obama’s commitment to partner with and strengthen African institutions, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the African Union signed their first long-term assistance agreement to advance prosperity, peace, and stability in Africa. The agreement extends through 2013 and covers programs worth approximately $5.8 million through FY 2011.

The agreement was signed by USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah and AU Commission Deputy Chairperson Erastus Mwencha at the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum in Washington, DC.

USAID has a long history of working with African institutions. This agreement will not only reinforce that commitment and increase the effectiveness of USAID’s regional programs, but it also represents an investment in the AU’s mission to set regional standards and promote development among its member states and African regional institutions.

USAID and the AU are working together in several sectors, including democracy and governance, as well as support for agriculture and food security through the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Program (CAADP), one of USAID’s key partners in the Feed the Future Initiative. USAID is also launching work in additional sectors, that reflect both U.S. and African priorities, including promoting trade, adapting to climate change, and reducing maternal mortality.

USAID looks forward to continuing and furthering its partnership with the AU in a range of issues.

Source: www.usaid.gov

NEPAD/WFP Nutrition Side Event at the July 2010 AU Summit

The Afican Union’s NEPAD and WFP organized a side event on food and nutrition during the AU summit in Kampala (24-26th July). The theme was: “Africa must feed itself.  No child should go to bed hungry.  Reduce child stunting by 50 percent in the next five years and beyond”

KAMPALA - They came they saw, they touched, they smelled, they tested, they heard.  They left convinced that their countries can do this.

The side event organized by NEPAD and WFP included panel discussions on nutrition, maternal and child health, home-grown school feeding, dietary diversity and food fortification and biofortication. WFP was the lead agency for the Home grown school feeding (HGSF) panel which included Madame Loan Lago Daleba, Director National School Feeding Programme, Government of Cote d’Ivoire; Ms Margaret Ndanyi, Head School Health, Meals and Nutrition Unit Ministry of Education, Kenya; Nancy Walters, Chief School Feeding WFP(PSS).

To drive the message home there were exhibitions on food and nutrition covering the elements of food production, processing, fortification, diversity, etc. Part of the show and tell was about the different models of Home Grown School Feeding from Uganda (packed lunch programme), Malawi (locally produced fortified CSB) and Cote D’ivoire’s (women farmers groups supply food for school meals). The purpose of the exhibition was to show to the AU participants the success stories of HGSF on the African continent.

The Cote D’ivore exhibit, organised by Madame Loan and three of her staff and displayed commodities used in their food basket for HGSF. Most of the commodities are produced by the local women farmers- a third for home consumption, a third given to the school and a third sold. To capture the process from beginning to the end, Madame Loan displayed photographs of women farmers, cooks, managers, community leaders and organizers engaged in the productive process.

The exhibitors welcomed many, including Ministers from Agriculture, Environment, Fisheries, Foreign Affairs; and professors, nutritionists, doctors, nurses, teachers, CEOs, permanent secretaries, Ambassadors, and journalists. The highlight for all was when WFP’s Executive Director, Josette Sheeran and Madame Sisulu , DED, accompanied Dr Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, former Prime Minister of the Republic of Niger, now Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the AU’s The New Partnership for Africa’s Development to visit. Madame Loan from Cote D’ivoire explained to them passionately how the project has put money in the pockets of women; transformed their lives; empowered the community; fed children nutritious meals and encouraged them to go to school. The ED spoke about the power of school feeding as platform for multiple benefits covering education, nutrition, health, gender, value transfer, social-economic benefits and how new partnerships involving NEPAD, WFP, the World Bank and the Partnership for Child Development are supporting national governments to develop and roll these programmes out across the continent.

Another highlight was the visit by the professor JJ Otim- the senior Presidential Advisor Government of Uganda and professor Richard Mkandawire, of AU-NPCA. Professor Otim said he would like to include the Cote D’ivoire case in his book on success stories from Africa. Professor Mkandawire said other countries must learn from the good examples such as Cote D’ivoire HGSF.

The exhibition was a huge success in showcasing Home-grown School feeding.

What visitors said…

- I think we can implement this model in my country

- We can arrange for knowledge transfer to my country

- You mean children eat this great sauce?

- I want to come to visit Cote D’ivoire and see this project

- This we can do in the some parts of our country

- We would like to buy the same processing machine to use in our country

- We too can start small and build your success in our country

Source: World Food Programme

Kenya has officially launched its Agricultural Sector Development Strategy and signed Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Program (CAADP), thus showing the country’s commitment to domesticating the continental agricultural program.

Speaking during the launch in Nairobi on July 24, 2010 at Kenyatta International Confrence Center ( KICC) , President Emilio said the new strategy would propel further development of the country’s agricultural sector in line with the CADP. The strategy will see the country move towards aspirations of Africa Heads of States Maputo Declaration of 2003, where they pledged to support the agriculture sector in their respective countries by scaling up budgetary allocation to 10 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The new program appreciates private sector participation as key to sustainable growth in agriculture, aims at positioning the sector strategically as a key driver for sustained economic growth. Kibaki said his administration will create conducive conditions private sector to take over many commercial enterprises currently with the government. “The strategy’s overall objective is to achieve an agricultural growth of 7% per year over the next 5 years. It aims at positioning the agricultural sector strategically as a key driver for sustained economic growth,” he said

Kenya’s Agricultural Minister Dr Sally Kosgei promised raft policy, legal and regulatory reforms so that individual farmers feel encouraged to shift from subsistence production to market-oriented commercial production. Dr Kosgei urged farmers to shift from subsistence production to market-oriented commercial agriculture to benefit more from the reforms in the sector. The signing ceremony was attended by Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) whose Secretary General Sindiso Ngwenya said they have provided technical support to Member States to sign and implement national and regional CADDP compacts.

Source: www.allvoices.com

Burkina Faso compact signing

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso 22 July 2010 -The African Union Commission (AUC), the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Development Partners and the Private Sector have signed a Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Program (CAADP) country compact agreement with the Government of Burkina Faso, today, 22 July 2010, in Ouagadougou.
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Organized by the AUC and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA) jointly with the Government of Burkina Faso, The signing ceremony was preceded by a day-long round table discussion on how to take the CAADP Principles forward. The government of Burkina Faso is expected to meet these principles which reflect the commitment of the AU heads of State and Government and the Maputo Declaration calling for allocation of at least 10% of national budgets to agriculture for accelerating growth to a minimum of 6% per year, which is sufficient for effective poverty alleviation.

According to the statement of Mrs. Tumusiime Rhoda Peace, AUC Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture; “The African Union Commission attaches a special significance to agriculture because it is the strategic sector in Africa’s economy and the livelihood processes of its people. Agriculture has great prospect for job creation and expansion, and enhanced opportunity to increased productivity, value addition, and poverty reduction.”

“Signing the compact is now the real beginning. Our target, though, is the end which is concrete results in terms of government practical investment, agricultural growth, development support and the impact that these bring to bear on the livelihoods of the people who are hungry, malnourished, poor and vulnerable. As a matter of fact, though CAADP predates the Millennium Development Goals, it contributes significantly to their pursuit and attainment”, said Mr. Martin Bwalya, Head of CAADP / NEPAD.

Mr. Salifou Ousseini, Commissioner for Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources of ECOWAS, said that the point of departure for a better governance of the agriculture sector is a common reference framework for the next years which will provide the necessary basis for an effective coordination, a better planning and an appropriate evaluation of the CAADP implementation proces. According to him, the successful implementation of agriculture policies will benefit 400 million citizens of the ECOWAS countries during the next fifteen (15) years.

Burkina Faso compact signing

In his statement, Mr. Laurent Sedego, Minister of Agriculture, Water Affairs and Fisheries of Burkina Faso, emphasized that, since 2007, Burkina Faso has enjoyed the expertise of national and international experts for their National Agricultural Investment Programmes. At the same time, the country has modified its project-based approach into a programme-based approach and launched the Sector Development Programme for Agricultural Production.

“Together with its national and international partners, the government now needs to mobilise the necessary public engagement and offer a conducive environment for investment by putting emphasis on the needs of the poorest”, said Mr. Noil Marie Lucien Bebemba, Minister of Trade and Finance, for Burkina Faso. The government of Burkina Faso has proved to be committed to the 10% resource allocation target for agriculture; in fact, Burkina Faso has made available 14% of its national budget for the agricultural sector, he added.

Burkina Faso is now the 20th country that has signed its CAADP Compact agreement.

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, 21st July 2010 - “We should all commit ourselves to mobilising the resources that are required in order for us to implement the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). We need to look very carefully at how we can increase national budgetary and private sector support for our farmers”, said Dr. Laurent Sedogo, Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries for Burkina Faso at the start of the second annual CAADP Day.

“This Day gives us the opportunity to strengthen the links between the African private sector, the development partners and farmers’ organisations. It is an opportunity for us to review the progress of CAADP since 2003 and also for us to identify the challenges and the solutions to them”, he added.

The 2010 edition of the CAADP Day was held under the theme ‘Post-Compact CAADP Implementation: the African private sector and investments in agriculture’ with a specific focus on how to get banks to support the work of African farmers.

The Day was hosted by the Government of Burkina Faso and organised by the Africa Union Commission (AUC), the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NEPAD Agency) in partnership with the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA).

As per the 2003 AU Maputo declaration CAADP is based on two major principles: the pursuit of a six percent average annual growth rate at the national level in the agricultural sector, and the allocation of ten percent of national budgets to agriculture.

According to Martin Bwalya, the Head of CAADP at the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency “CAADP’s agenda reflects a fundamental shift in the way Africa’s leadership looks at agriculture and its potential contribution to ending poverty, hunger, and malnutrition. The program-fully owned and led by African governments-is at the heart of efforts to achieve growth and national development in line with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)”.

“The overall vision of this year’s CAADP Day is to widen and broaden the political space and investment climate for CAADP to Agriculture by paying particular attention to the role of the private sector. And also to showcase the work of CAADP”, he added.

“The reason as to why we are focusing on the banks this year is because the evidence on the ground shows that in order for us to boost agricultural productivity in Africa we need to direct our attention towards increasing access to finances for farmers in Africa”, said Bwalya.

National ownership, financial incentives and information sharing - all crucial to agricultural-led development

The event attracted close to 200 policymakers, Ministers, researchers, and representatives from farmers’ organizations, the media, the private sector, and development partners who engaged with each other through a moderated panel discussion - on their CAADP implementation experiences.

The panelists at the discussion included: Dr. Sam Sesay -Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security of Sierra Leone, Kwesi Ahwoi -Minister of Food and Agriculture of Ghana, Dr. Laurent Sedogo -Minister of Agriculture, Water resources and Fisheries of Burkina Faso, Vincent Rubarema - Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries of Uganda, Lucy Muchoki - Chief Executive Officer of the Pan African Agribusiness Consortium, Esther Muhiri -General Manager Marketing Agribusiness of Equity Bank and Mr. Alphonse Kadjo -General Director of UBA.

During the discussions representatives from the farmers’ organisations highlighted that the problem of funding and access to finances requires new thinking and new solutions that go beyond what is being offered by the banks today.

The Ministers overwhelmingly felt that in order for a country to succeed with the implementation of the CAADP agenda there had to be political will at the highest levels of Government and genuine national ownership of the country’s agricultural strategy.
Burkina Faso is being expected to sign its CAADP Compact by the end of the week whilst Kenya and Cote d’Ivoire during the course of next week. This will bring the total of countries that have signed their CAADP Compacts to 22.

Representatives from the private sector highlighted that they see agriculture as a serious business venture. However, they also felt that it was important for African agriculture to be move away from a subsistence focus to a commercial focus and that there are financial incentives on the market that can be accessed to do this.

Members of the media called upon researchers and scientists in African agriculture to be more proactive in terms of sharing information with the media and also recognise their roles as sources of information. Scientists were also called upon to use social media as an avenue for highlighting their work to the wider public.

The CAADP Day was held within the context of the Africa Agriculture Science Week and the FARA General Assembly.

Lagos, Nigeria - Burkina Faso will host the 5th Africa Agriculture Science week, which also includes the New Partnership For Africa’s Development Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (NEPAD-CAADP) media Sensitization workshop and the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) fourth General Assembly, in Ouagadougou 19-24 July, organizers have announced.

‘The General Assembly will draw together representatives of FARA’s constituents from all African and non-African institutions involved in African agricultural research and development.

Farmers’ and pastoralists’ organizations, the agricultural research institutions, universities, NGOs and private enterprises that comprise the national agricultural research systems (NARS), non-African advanced research institutions (ARIs), the International Agricultural Research Centres (IARCs), international NGOs, policy makers, private sector, farmers’ organizations and Africa’s development partners will also attend.

The theme for the event is ‘African Agricultural Innovation in a Changing Global Environment’.

There will also be a pavilion for participants to exhibit their work over the years.

FARA is an umbrella organization bringing together and forming coalitions of major stakeholders in agricultural research and development in Africa.

The Forum complements the innovative activities of national, international and sub-regional research institutions to deliver more responsive and effective services to its stakeholders.

It plays advocacy and coordination roles for agricultural research for development, while the NARSs, ARIs and IARCs develop improved technologies along the research-to-development continuum in the ir respective countries and coverage areas.

CAADP is an African-led and Africa-owned initiative and framework to rationalise and revitalize African Agriculture for economic growth and lasting poverty reduction in the continent.

Impressed by the renewed and heightened interest in the nexus between the high fuel prices, high food prices and the welfare of the most vulnerable in Africa, the setting provides a unique opportunity for CAADP to sen sitize policymakers and indeed the wider public about the relevance of agriculture to people’s welfare and general development.

‘It is against this background that AU in liaison with NEPAD is organizing a seminar to bring together a team of journalists and editors for the purposes of deepening their awareness and involvement with regard to CAADP principles and implementation processes,’ the organizers said.

About Fifteen participants from media organizations and other experts across Africa will take part in the two-day media workshop.

The participating journalists are drawn mainly from Nigeria, Uganda, South Africa, Kenya, Malawi, Zambia, Angola, Mozambique, Senegal, Zimbabwe and Burkina Faso.

Source: Afrique en ligne

TANZANIA on Thursday signed the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) compact with President Jakaya Kikwete pledging for the country’s more commitment to make agriculture a true accelerator of the economic development.

President Kikwete who witnessed the compact’s signing ceremony in Dar es Salaam on Thursday, said the country had in the past failed to improve the sector due to many factors including application of poor technology, budget allocation and equipment but the current step will enable the country accelerate further.

Following the adoption of CAADP, Tanzania will now qualify for many advantages including the 50,000 million US Dollars (about 73bn) grant from the special fund contributed by G 20 countries for CAADP signatories.

“Although the African Union through New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) has recommended for the allocation of at least 10 per cent of the national budget for the sector, still the allocation won’t be adequate considering many challenges facing the sector,” the President noted.

Mr Kikwete said that through CAADP agreement, Tanzania will be more serious in making sure enough budgetary allocations are made complimenting other contributions from stakeholders and development partners.

He was confident however, that since the budget allocations have been significantly increasing from 3 per cent in 2005/2006 to nearly 9 per cent in 2010-2011, the country will soon manage to surpass the 10 per cent target set by NEPAD.

The Minister for Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives, Mr Stephen Wasira, said the signing of CAADP compact will soon boost the country’s agricultural programmes under implementation and that already it has applied for the G 20 basket fund.

“We will benefit by these funds basing on how we implement CAADP agreements and we are likely to keep on qualifying for the funding provided we remain compliant,” he said.

The minister mentioned comprehensive investment plans in irrigation, merchandise, research development and extension services, use of improved agricultural inputs, and fast tracking the establishment of the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB).

Others are improvement of rural infrastructure, agro-processing and value addition, renewable natural resources, environment and climate change, promotion of private-public sector partnership, financial intermediation for small scale producers, processors and traders and capacity building at all levels.

“The government’s commitment would in turn encourage the development partners, private sectors and non state actors to partner with the government to ensure that the targeted goals are accomplished,” he stressed.

The Compact signatories included various Ministers representing the Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar as well representation of the Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) Non State Actors and the Farmers.

Earlier, stakeholders met on Tuesday under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister, Mr Mizengo Pinda, to review the CAADP framework and came up with the country’s gaps and important areas that need intervention.

Those included inadequate participation of the private sector in agricultural policy formulation and implementation processes, inadequate incentive packages for increased investment in the sector and outdated policies like the National Trade Policy of 2003 and Agriculture and Livestock Policy of 1997 among others.

Enhancement of the private sector in small, medium and large-scale irrigation programmes as well as linking rural roads, electrification, communication and agricultural market to regional market network were part of the areas proposed by CAADP for improvement.

Source: Daily News Online Edition