Africa will be the growth pole of the 21st Century - AU Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture

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Tumusiime Rhoda Peace, African Union Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture

November 23, 2012, Midrand, South Africa- A retreat of African Members of Parliament on the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) and the environment convened today at Pan African Parliament Headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The main objective of two-day event from November 21 to 22,, was to lobby political support through parliamentarians, for  CAADP’s effective management. The event is also aimed at raising the profile of the Programme in the build-up to 2014, which will be its tenth anniversary year.

CAADP, which is one of the key programmes of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), was adopted by African heads of state in Mozambique in 2003. It is designed is to assist African countries accelerate economic growth through agriculture-led development  so as to eliminate hunger, reduce poverty and enhance food and nutrition security as well as growth in exports. To date, 30 countries have signed the CAADP Compact, an arrangement which aims to support countries to achieve a six per cent agricultural growth rate. They’re also required to allocate 10per cent of their  National budgets to agriculture.

“The role that MPs  play in oversight, legislative development and advocacy is important in bringing better inter-ministerial coordination, regional cooperation as well domestic financial resources to support the implementation of CAADP and environment related initiatives such as the AU-NEPAD Environment Action Plan ( EAP)” said  Estherine Fotabong, NEPAD Director for Programme Implementation and Coordination Directorate

In her address, Tumusiime Rhoda Peace, African Union Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture stated that while progress has been made in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the pace has generally been slow in the key goal of eradication of extreme poverty, hunger and malnutrition.

 “Africa will certainly be the growth pole of the 21st Century. Thus our collective efforts to overcome obstacles will require approaches that address internal and external constraints on development,” said Mrs Tumusiime.

The expected outcome of the retreat is a commitment by the Parliamentarians to influence Agriculture policy on CAADP in their respective countries. This will be in the form of signed individual member “Statements of Commitment to CAADP”. The Parliamentarians role in promoting CAADP implementation will include the monitoring of Government progress in achieving the Maputo Declaration, designating agriculture committees to monitor progress on CAADP goals and actively engaging in sub-regional dialogues on CAADP.