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Showing posts with label NEPAD Agency. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NEPAD Agency. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

AU identifies priority actions for sustainable small-scale fisheries

NaijaAgroNet:
The Head of NEPAD’s Natural Resources Governance Programme, Dr Hamady Diop, has said that they have identified priority actions for sustainable development of small-scale fisheries, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Diop made this known at an AU-IBAR and NEPAD Agency’s joint side-event on Fisheries and Aquaculture in Africa, held in Rome recently.

“The Policy Framework and Reform Strategy acknowledges the diversity of uses of fish resources and advocates a broad, inclusive approach to fisheries management and aquaculture development,” he said.

Diop also noted that the priority is a blue print for fisheries and aquaculture to effectively contribute to Africa’s transformational goals.

He pointed out that Africa’s priority actions for the sustainable development of small-scale fisheries include strengthening the governance of the sector; improving the contribution of small-scale fisheries to food and nutritional security, and wealth creation; as well as reducing the susceptibility of small-scale fisheries to climate change and related risks.

In the case of aquaculture, priority actions, he said, among others include establishing an enabling environment; improving service delivery; capacity building; trans-boundary ecosystem management for aquaculture, and; innovation, which also entails research and development.

NaijaAgroNet gathered that the Policy Framework and Reform Strategy for Fisheries and Aquaculture in Africa addresses  conservation and sustainable resource use; Small scale fisheries development, Sustainable aquaculture development, Responsible and equitable fish trade and marketing, Strengthened regional and sub regional cooperation, Awareness Enhancing and human capacity development and High seas fisheries.

... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Africa must collectively innovate to industrialise agriculture – CAADP CEO

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NEPAD Agency, Dr Ibrahim Mayaki, has called on African stakeholders to collectively innovate so as to ensure necessary impacts are made in agriculture investment, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Speaking at the 12th Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Partnership Platform (CAADP PP) meeting convened by the African Union Commission in collaboration with the NEPAD Agency in Ghana, Dr. Mayaki Africa can only make progress if the actors collectively innovate and agree to account for the resources injected, results and impact that may ensue.

“Indeed, as a continent, with a community of destiny, we cannot afford to invest into our agriculture the same way we have been doing thus far,” he said

The meeting brought together over 300 participants.  High level African leadership included the former President of Ghana John Kufour; former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and Dr Agnes Kalibata, President of Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa.  Also present were Regional Economic Communities, government ministries, farmers’ organisations, the private sector, civil society and development partners.  

In her opening remarks at the CAADP PP meeting, H.E Ms Tumusiime Rhoda Peace, Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture of the African Union Commission said, the only way to sustainably deliver on African agricultural commitments is to mobilize our own continental human and financial resources. “We need to build strong partnerships for an accountable and efficient implementation of the CAADP Agenda since investment in agriculture makes good economic sense,” she said.

The Ghanaian Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr Ahmed Yakubu Alhassan declared that CAADP is the most ambitious agricultural reform agenda ever undertaken on the continent, as an African-led and owned development framework.  Innovative financing for agriculture in Africa is also critical for rural transformation.

In keeping with the theme of the meeting on Innovative Financing and Renewed Partnership to Accelerate Implementation of CAADP, Dr Mayaki reiterated that Africa must innovate because we need to design new and fit-for-purpose instruments that are able to help deal with the emerging trends, challenges and opportunities.

“The issue of Risk Management is a typical example of where we need to propose innovative instruments that meet the needs of the countries. The remedies and solutions of the past may not work with the ever more complex issues of today,” Dr Mayaki said.

Concurring with the fact that farmers are at the heart of transforming the agricultural sector, Philip Kiriro, President of the Eastern Africa Farmers Federation expressed satisfaction with the progress made in CAADP thus far.

Christoph Rauh, Deputy Director of BMZ, sub-Saharan Africa, stated that young people need to be involved, as agriculture needs to provide good business and employment for the youth.  “It is time to talk less and do more in order for results and impact to be achieved,” he said.

Agricultural transformation will be realised when industrialisation of the sector is finally achieved. This was the consensus from the different representatives.

It is expected that the 12th CAADP PP meeting will generate a number of key actionable activities to speed up implementation through financial innovation and partnerships to deliver the Malabo Declaration and the Africa Union “Agenda 2063” - a strategic framework for the socio-economic transformation of the continent over the next 50 years. 

+Remmy Nweke +Naija AgroNet
... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Women entrepreneurs hold ace for successful SDGs – Fotabong


The Director of Programmes at the NEPAD Agency, Mrs Estherine Lisinge-Fotabong, has said that women entrepreneurs hold the ace for successful achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), reports NaijaAgroNet.


In a key keynote at the 2nd Conference for Women in Agribusiness Durban, South Africa, Mrs Fotabong noted that in every region of the world, more and more women are seeking economic opportunity and self- determination through enterprise creation. 


The growth of women’s entrepreneurship, she said, is frequently cited on an anecdotal basis, and is increasingly covered and commented upon in the business media.


She pointed out that expectation is that by 2018, an estimated 9.72 million small, business-related jobs would be created and female entrepreneurs would contribute more than 50 per cent in this job creation space. 


Statistically, she said, nature proves that women are becoming more comfortable in assuming leadership position and creating job opportunities on a large-scale1.


“Women starting up in business tend to provide a more immediate contribution to the economy: Around one in five women come into self-employment from unemployment compared with around one in fifteen for men,” she said.


Mrs. Fotabong emphasized that women have power to contribute more to African economies, asserting, “Entrepreneurship is critical to the success of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the inter-governmentally agreed set of targets for international development leading up to 2030.”


The MEC for the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in KwaZulu-Natal, Mr. Cyril Xaba said that the heart of the strategy for agrarian transformation is the development of the small-scale farmer.


. “If the statistics are examined more closely, it actually means unleashing the potential of women in agriculture,” he said.


Chairperson, Agribusiness Development Agency, Dr. Martha Mbatha said that women are still the major producers of food in Africa; producing between 60 to 80 percent of the food output. 


She contended that it is important to take heed of women’s voices in agribusiness, whose humility is at times mistaken for ignorance.


Corraborating Dr. Martha, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Representative for South Africa Dr Tobias Takavarasha, reiterated that women play an indispensable role in agriculture and food security. 


Dr Takavarasha further stated that partnerships in maximising women’s potential in agribusiness entrepreneurship remain critical. Therefore, women who excel in the agrarian sector need to be given due recognition.


NaijaAgroNet further reports that a press statement endorsed by Mwanja Ng’anjo and Teko Nklapo both of NEPAD agency notes that the exhibition at the conference provided female exhibitors the space to showcase their value-add agricultural products. About 200 participants at the conference had the opportunity to also dialogue and share their experiences in agribusiness. 


In addition, there is capacity building training provided in the area of agribusiness processes.


 +Remmy +ITRealms DSA +NEPAD Agency 

... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology
pix: NEPAD PICD Director, Mrs Estherine Fotabong, with Mr Cyril Xaba [on her left] MEC of Agriculture & Rural Development in KwaZulu-Natal, visiting one of the stands at the conference exhibition