An African child waits his turn at a food market
The African Union (AU) has marked 2014 as the year of agriculture and food security, something newly elected rotating Chairperson of the AU, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, also the President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is taking very seriously.
Speaking at the 22nd AU Summit, held at the end of January 2014, Aziz said this year it’s very important to focus on the transformation of agriculture for the prosperity of all and improvement of growth and sustainable development.
“For most countries, agriculture constitutes indeed the battle against poverty and hunger for which we can win with economic sustainability of agriculture investment,” he said.
The AU chairperson noted that the year of agriculture and food security comes at the time when the AU is discussing the African Agenda 2063 strategic framework for inclusive growth and sustainable development. Agenda 2063 is a global strategy to optimize use of Africa’s resources for the benefit of all Africans.
As the theme of the AU Summit, the African Year of Agriculture and Food Security is poised to be commemorated across the continent, in member states, Regional Economic Communities (REC), continental organizations, and at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. State and non-state role players in Africa are planning to give communities opportunities to interact and voice their opinions on what works - so as to set targets for the next decade. This process will help to set the agenda for the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP), an Africa owned and led initiative, working to boost agriculture productivity on the continent, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
Significantly, to date, 34 AU member states have signed CAADP partnership agreements, and, of these, 30 have developed formal national agriculture and food security investment plans. At regional level, four out of the eight RECs have also signed regional agreements, of which three have developed full cost investment plans. On average, public agricultural expenditures have risen by over 7 percent per year across Africa since 2003, nearly doubling public agricultural expenditures since the launch of CAADP.
In terms of actual performance, Africa’s agricultural output has contributed nearly 4 percent of the overall GDP on an average annual basis since 2003 - well above the rates for the previous several decades. Several AU member states have also achieved significant improvements in tackling the challenges of hunger, undernourishment and extreme poverty. Notably, in most African countries, it’s the development of agriculture that can contribute toward the alleviation of poverty.
Also pro-agricultural development is Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Chairperson of the AU Commission. Speaking at the summit, she told delegates, “We must make sure agriculture is a strong component of the [African] Agenda 2063.” This means the AU is partnering with governments, private sectors and other organizations to develop science and research, trade, industry, infrastructure, human resources and other sectors, in order to improve agriculture.
Zuma said Africa should empower the people in terms of land and provide farmers with access to technology and capital. This will enable them to produce and process food and be more competitive in the international markets, as well as create jobs. This would allow generated income to remain in the country and add value to farming.
To this end, CAADP is important and Zuma has encouraged all AU member states to implement the CAADP program and learn from the successful implementations in some countries. She indicated that the AU has also taken steps to create a foundation to raise funds from individuals and the private sector, among others, to develop agriculture on the continent.
