CTA boss commends CAADP, seeks alliance for smallholder farmers

Remmy Nweke/NaijaAgroNet:

The Director, Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), Mr Michael Hailu, has commended the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), just as he seeks collaboration to uplift the small holder farmers.

Hailu in his remarks as gathered by NaijaAgroNet at the Brussels Development Briefing in Belgium, which focused on 10 years of CAADP, reiterated the fact that by adopting CAADP 10 years ago, African Heads of State had put agriculture at the centre of the development agenda.

The CTA boss also emphasised that CTA and NEPAD's collaboration in a number of areas that include support for smallholder farmers, will lead to positive results in growing agriculture as a key driver for broad-based social and economic growth.

In addition, Mr Steve Wiggins from the Overseas Development Institute maintained that food production in Africa is not as bad as it is made out to be. Mr Wiggins highlighted the example of agricultural growth in West Africa, at an average of 4 per cent a year in the last thirty years as surpassing a number of regions in the world, including some parts of Asia and South America.

Mr Ousmane Badiane, Director for Africa at the International Food Policy Research Institute, concluded his presentation by maintaining that, "Agricultural growth is not just growth in the sector alone, but also results in economic growth."  Some of the other conclusions of the Briefing in Brussels included the need to create an enabling environment for investment and innovation; and investing in rural public goods, amongst others.

NaijaAgroNet recalls that the 33rd Brussels Briefing was hosted by CTA, the European Commission, the African, Carribean and Pacific Group of States Secretariat and Concord in partnership with NEPAD, consisted of policy deliberations that also brought out proven successes and best practices in African agriculture.

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