MIDRAND, April 30, 2012 - About 200 delegates from Africa and outside the continent will be attending the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme’s Partnership Platform Meeting (CAADP PP Meeting) in Nairobi from May 3 to May 4, 2012 at the Hilton Hotel. The theme of the meeting is “Accelerating CAADP implementation for results and impact.” Under this theme, the meeting aims to draw attention to issues including policy reforms and institutional development to accelerate delivery of results and impact. The underlining issue is how to build on progress and achievements in CAADP implementation to ensure that the process is advancing in delivering tangible results and impact on both the 6% annual productivity target and related impact on socio-economic parameters including job creation, food and nutrition security and poverty alleviation.

The annual forum will review progress and country-level experiences in implementation of its activities since the previous meeting held in Yaoundé, Cameroon, in March 2011. Delegates will share and examine experiences and lessons emerging from country and regional level implementation of CAADP in advancing increased agriculture performance. The meeting is happening at a time when Africa and the rest of the world are experiencing in some significant shifts and changes as well as emerging new issues from climate change through to volatile food and energy prices, land and water acquisition as well as food and nutrition security concerns. These issues are high on most African countries’ development agendas.

“The partnership presents an ideal opportunity for partners to contribute to the strategic review of progress on agriculture by collectively identifying actions that will sustain CAADP’s momentum,” said Dr. Ibrahim Mayaki, Chief Executive Officer of the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency and chief driver of the CAADP initiative. “CAADP must move beyond its recent focus on support for investment planning to support countries to accelerate implementation for impact and results,” Dr. Mayaki said.

Among those expected to attend are African ministers of agriculture, the African Union’s Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, Tumusiime Rhoda Peace, Regional Economic Communities, representatives of multilateral and development partners, farmers’ bodies, civil society groups and business people.

“The AUC continues to work closely with AU member States, the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency, Regional Economic Communities, Pan African institutions and our development partners towards accelerating the implementation of CAADP in order to increase Africa’s agricultural productivity, food and nutrition security,” Commissioner Tumusiime said.

Established as part of the African Union’s NEPAD programme, CAADP was endorsed by the AU Assembly in July 2003. It is in this regard that the NEPAD Agency works through CAADP to raise the amount and quality of food that Africa produces, in order to make families more food-secure and exports more profitable.

Among its achievements, the programme has succeeded in getting 30 African countries to sign the CAADP compact which also brings out national consensus and commitment to give agriculture top priority in terms of budgetary allocation. Also, more than 24 have established agriculture and food security investment plans.

For more information, and to arrange for interviews, contact:

Martin Bwalya, Head, CAADP: bwalyam@nepad.org,
Paul Okolo, Communication Unit: paulo@nepad.org