NEPAD CAADP HELD SIDE EVENT TO PROVIDE KEY STAKEHOLDERS A BRIEF ON PROGRESS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS IMPORTANT AFRICAN INITIATIVE.
Yokohama, (May 28, 2008) – A seminar under the theme “Progress in the Implementation of Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) and Emerging Opportunities” was held yesterday by The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) on the sideline of the fourth session of the Tokyo International Conference for Africa’s Development (TICAD IV).
CAADP it was highlighted is an Africa-led initiative and framework to rationalise and revitalize African agriculture for economic growth and lasting poverty reduction results. The CAADP seeks to increase agriculture productivity in Africa to 6% annually, in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The two-hour seminar was attended by a large number of participants, particularly Africa’s key stakeholders in the area of agriculture such as, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Forum for Agriculture Research in Africa (FARA) Green, and Alliance for the Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).
The Acting CEO of NEPAD, Ambassador Olukorede Willoughby opened the meeting by introducing NEPAD and its CAADP program and underscoring the importance of partnerships in effectively implementing all the NEPAD priority areas and programs, especially the CAADP program. He expressed his satisfaction with the level of collaboration between Africa and its partners around the CAADP agenda. “Development partners need to join the CAADP family, otherwise they are going to miss a key strategic opportunity to really move agricultural growth in Africa in the coming decade” Ambassador Willoughby noted.
“JICA’s effort to support Agriculture development in Africa is in line with the NEPAD CAADP program” Hirofumi Hoshi from JICA emphasized in his presentation on JICA’s support to Agriculture in Africa.
The participants in the seminar highlighted the progress made in the CAADP process so far, in particular, the fact that for the first time there is a coherent and solid framework that partners can engage African countries on its basis. This has enabled the partners to have a clear entry point for intervening in the sector that is in line with African countries’ priorities. Equally, some of the challenges facing the implementation of CAADP were flagged, most notably, the lack of the needed resources to address the constraints of project preparation and bankable projects to attract investments in the agriculture sector.
“CAADP is alive and well, and we are thrilled that the initiative is moving full steam ahead” concluded Professor Richard Mkandawire, Head of the Agriculture Unit at NEPAD, at the end of the session.
