ACP, FAO sign MoU to boost capacity building

NaijaAgroNet

The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) in collaborating with the African Caribbean and Pacific Group States (ACP), are intensifying efforts aimed at enhancing capacities to cope with the challenges of climate change, sustainable food production and security, NaijaAgroNet reports.

The Memorandum of Understanding to this effect signed by the Secretary General ACP Group, Patrick Ignatius Gomes, and the FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva, NaijaAgroNet gathered, is intended towards supporting the 79 ACP member countries to work assiduously to achieving the global Sustainable Development Goals that will be agreed later this year.

The MoU commits both ACP and FAO to jointly promote and contribute to the implementation of activities planned within the Fund's framework.

It also factorizes procedures aimed at enhancing an -ACP South-South Cooperation programme for food security and agriculture, including technology sharing, knowledge exchange and policy dialogue between tropical countries.

Key areas under the expanded collaboration, NaijaAgroNet learnt, is to engage the private sector to support the development of efficient and inclusive agrovalue chains. The emphasis will be on targeted agricultural commodities, both food staples and cash crops, and on smallholders, farmer- and producer organizations and small and medium enterprises.

More so, the collaboration will be identified by ACP members which are likely to be projects to harness private-sector support in building efficient and inclusive agricultural value chains that will help smallholder farmers meet export market regulatory requirements, NaijaAgroNet reports.

Other measures will aim at hunger eradication, better nutrition and sustainable economic practices.

Cyriacus Nnaj/ GEE
 
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