Uganda’s vision aligns with CAADP investment plans, says Minister

Delegates at the workshop (Ugandan Minister of State for Animal Industry 

and Fisheries  Hon. Bright  Rwamirama, second from the left

The Ugandan Minister of State for Animal Industry, Mr. Bright Rwamirama, has said that his country’s vision for national development aligns with the investment plans of Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP).

Speaking Monday, in Kampala, Uganda, at the opening of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) workshop on integrating agriculture and food security risk management in CAADP investment plans, he reassured that Uganda vision is in tandem with CAADP strategies.

“The vision of CAADP is in line with, and supported by Uganda’s own vision for national development,” he declared, stressing that agriculture remains the key driver of both growth and poverty reduction.

NaijaAgroNet recalls that at their Maputo Summit in 2003, African Heads of State and Government adopted CAADP as Africa’s overall vision to achieve food security.

Also, CAADP was endorsed to boost economic growth through agricultural transformation in order to eradicate poverty, and hence build the foundations for sustainable broad-based economic development on the continent.

In her remarks, Principal Food Security Analyst at NEPAD, Ms Mariam Soumare, emphasised that recurrent agriculture and food crises are undermining the chances of achieving the recommended 6 per cent productivity growth through sustainable investment in agriculture.

NEPAD, she disclosed intends to support regional economic communities and countries in mainstreaming agriculture and food security risk management into CAADP investment plans.

NaijaAgroNet notes that the overall goal of the workshop and follow up process is to ensure that risk management interventions are planned, coordinated, budgeted and implemented as part of Regional and National Agriculture and Food Security Investment Plans.

Equally, a press statement made available to NaijaAgroNet on behalf of the Ugandan Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Uganda reiterated readiness to collaborate on CAADP.

“The issue of risk management in the agricultural sector is very timely, at least for Uganda because of late we have had seriously unexpected climate change effects with very devastating results on crops and livestock. We hope that the expertise at this workshop will come up with practical solutions to address the challenge of agricultural risks and make agriculture attractive to all,” part of the statement read.

For Mr. Alhaji Jallow of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the three day workshop focused on integrating price and food security risk management policies and tools in CAADP. 

He pointed out that some of the risks identified in agriculture include price risks, as prices could be volatile and variable; production risks, brought on largely by weather and biological instabilities; and institutional risks such as unexpected changes in legal and policy guidelines, which are exacerbated by lack of adequate information.

In addition, he said, production variability in Africa is high, due to erratic rainfall and few risk management strategies.

NEPAD convened the workshop in collaboration with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the East African Community (EAC), FAO, the European Union, the Platform for Agriculture Risk Management (PARM), and other partners including the World Bank.

 
Remmy Nweke/Mwanja Ng'anjo/NaijaAgroNet
... Linking agrobiz, people & technology