‘Africa’s agriculture achieves 4% growth rate’

NaijaAgroNet:

Agriculture in Africa has experienced an average of 4 per cent annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in the last 10 years far above what obtained in the previous decades.

The Technical Adviser and Team Leader of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme   (CAADP)  , Mr. Keizire Boaz made this clarification at the just concluded two-day CAADP partnership platform business meeting in Abuja.

“Over the last decade, through the instrumentality of CAADP, African agriculture and food security concerns remain high on the policy agenda at national, regional, continental and global levels. This includes development partners, Civil Society, Regional Economic Communities (RECs), farmers and the private sector,” Boaz said.

He explained that the performance of African agriculture has been encouraging with annual GDP growth, and stressed that it is absolutely necessary to sustain the momentum of such positive change and development taking place in Africa well into the next decade.

Stakeholders in the implementation of CAADP framework, NaijaAgroNet confirmed gave their progress report, highlighting lessons learnt, prospects, challenges and future plan, especially for 2014 which the African leaders at their 19th ordinary session in Ethiopia last year declared as the Year of Agriculture and Food Security in Africa.

It also learnt that the year will mark ten years since the adoption of CAADP, which is an African Union initiative to accelerate agricultural growth, improve food security and strengthening the resilience of the environment in Africa.

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CAADP@10: 150 delegates took part in Brussels Development briefing

Remmy Nweke/NaijaAgroNet :

Over 150 delegates took part at the recently ended Brussels Development Briefing in Belgium, to evaluate the 10 years of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), NaijaAgroNet can authoritatively report.

Also, NaijaAgroNet gathered that the knowledge sharing centred on the context of a reflection on the achievements and lessons from 10 years of CAADP implementation with the objective to highlight lessons including issues and key drivers for transformation of African agriculture.

The NEPAD Head of CAADP, Mr. Martin Bwalya, was quoted as saying that "Agriculture is back on the development agenda and the way to keep it there is by demonstrating results."

Outlining some of the positive strides in transforming African agriculture during the last   10 years, Mr. Bwalya said these include the evident improved planning at national level; aligning public financing; coherent  common vision  and agenda on  agriculture as well as strengthening of the policy  design processes and growing attention to institutional and human  capital development.

He noted the compelling need for a transformational shift towards an “agriculture” which first-and-fore-most is motivated and driven by the urged to expand agricultural value in the creation of jobs and wealth into the national economy. Local leadership informed and engaged public, sound regional trade and market strategies are imperative components in the winning formula for agriculture transformation.

Further, he emphasised that 10 years on, 43 African countries are now focusing on investment for growth in agriculture through the CAADP process. 

"The next coming years will therefore see the positioning of 'wealth creation' as the primary driver for transformation in Africa," Bwalya expressed optimism.

Also speaking in the same panel, Mr Kalilou Sylla, Executive Secretary of the Network of Farmers  and Agriculture Producers Organisations of West Africa, insisted that 10 years is not enough time to quantify the changes brought on since the Maputo endorsement of CAADP, but CAADP nonetheless provides a clear mechanism for strategic planning in agriculture.

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