" [1]CAADP is Africa’s vehicle to unlock the potential for growth and poverty reduction through agriculture. At the last CAADP Partnership Platform we resolved to strengthen the participation of Non State Actors in agriculture through this transformation process. Whether farmers organisations, private sector organisations, civil society groups or the media; everyone has a vital role to play.
Since the Partnership Platform, our Non State Actor working group has made significant progress. We are pleased to announce three related initiatives that will enable Non State Actors to better harness the “vehicle” of CAADP, and thereby improve their contribution to agricultural development across Africa…
1. Guidelines for Non State Actor Participation in CAADP processes
The working group has completed a set of guidelines that propose how Non State Actors can contribute fully to the planning and implementation of agricultural policy, using the CAADP structures. They are written as a toolkit for all CAADP partners - Non State Actors themselves, Government bodies, and Development Partners.
We strongly encourage you to read the guidelines, use them to inspire dialogue within your constituency, and then, whatever your context, commit to an action plan to enhance your contribution to your national agricultural agenda.
You can download the guidelines here in French [2] and in English [3]. In support of the guidelines, the working group also developed a set of recommended interventions that should promote their implementation (download here in French [4] and in English [5]).
2. Non State Actor Co-ordination Task Team
We have established an informal platform through which regional or continental Non State Actors can co-ordinate their support for the CAADP agenda, especially through actively supporting the participation of Non State Actors at the country-level. This evolution of the working group is open to anyone willing to contribute.
For the task team’s Terms of Reference click here [6]. Initially the task team is focused on communicating the Guidelines to the country-level.
Anyone wishing to join the task team, or simply stay informed, can sign up to the mailing list here:http://eepurl.com/cuVhz [7] . Please share this link more widely.
We are particularly grateful to the following four champions who have volunteered to take on key roles with the task team.
• Chief Alangeh Romanus Che, PROPAC
~ Chair
• Lucy Muchoki, PANAAC ~
Vice Chair
• Fungayi Simbi, FANRPAN ~ Secretariat support for East and Southern Africa
• Buba Khan, Action Aid (West Africa) ~ Secretariat support for West Africa
3. A workshop in your country or region?
The task team wants to pilot the guidelines in a few CAADP countries by running one-day tailored workshops. Key national stakeholders will come together to review the guidelines, consider their own context, and develop initiatives that will unlock the potential contribution of Non State Actors to the national agricultural agenda and its CAADP process in that country.
If you believe such a workshop would be welcomed in your country, then please email Fungayi Simbi [8] to explore whether this is feasible within resource constraints.
