African youths advised to take advantage of rural areas

NaijaAgroNet:

The over 40 per cent of African population living in the rural areas, especially the youths, have been advised to take advantage of their environment by turning it into opportunities, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Head of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CADDP), Dr. Augustin Wambo Yamdjeu gave this advice in a chat with NaijaAgroNet at the on-going five-day inaugural meeting of Specialized Technical Committee (STC) on Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

He said, African youth are the backbone of everything  the continent has been trying to do with promising future which must be discovered for them to be able to claim it.

Also, he admonished the youth to desist from having the notion that only those living in the cities or urban areas could be successful in life.

“We have to stop moving from rural areas and increasing the number of people living in shanty towns in the cities,” he decried, adding that the expected transformation through agriculture could be achieved by the youth taking the bull by the horn and charting a new course for themselves via taking advantage of their rural environment.

“I believe in reversal of goals. Let the youth stay in the village where the possibility to create sustainable livelihood system for themselves and their families are possible through farming,” he said.

Dr. Yamdjeu underlined the need for member nations of the African Union to invest more in rural transformation and territorial development by way of reducing rural-urban migration. 

For him, CADDP through its Rural Futures; a framework that promotes transformation of rural areas in continent, already have thoughts on this, saying, for various African regions to be successful in agriculture, every factors militating against the sector must be brought to the table with solution proposed.

 “If indeed we have to encourage the youth into embracing agriculture, then rural areas have to be provided the opportunities that people are looking for in the towns, ranging from basic social services to agricultural financing,” Dr. Yamdjeu counseled.

  

+Remmy Nweke (ITRealms) in Addis Ababa

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Pix: Dr. Augustin Wambo Yamdjeu

Yamdjeu says SADC can feed Africa

NaijaAgroNet:

The head of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), Dr. Augustin Wambo Yamdjeu has said that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has the capacity to feed Africa, reports NaijaAgroNet.

He made this known to NaijaAgroNet at the on-going week-long inaugural meeting of Specialised Technical Committee (STC) on Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment at the African Union headquarters, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

According to him, although Southern Africa boasts massive arable land water resources suitable for large scale crop and livestock production with great potential for fish farming region, the continent’s food basket region remains underutilized due to low value addition along the agricultural value chain.

This, he also said include the adequate provision for storage of produce, which incidentally is not limited to the region, but has remain work in progress across the continent.

Presently, NaijaAgroNet gathered, over 6 million people across Angola, Lesotho, Malawi and Zimbabwe are at risk of severe food shortages because of unresolved cycle of drought and flooding, just as aid agencies noted the crisis remain largely unnoticed.

To this effect, Dr. Yamdjeu said, the SADC region should work towards enhancing and developing agriculture to transform the region's economy so as to address rising poverty and growing inequality.

Yamdjeu equally said that natural resources are national assets that should be explored for the benefits of all citizens, even as he lamented the economic disparity which has become a global setback.

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Pix: Head, Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), Dr. Augustin Wambo Yamdjeu

Malabo Declaration, a stakeholder reference for next decade - EU

NaijaAgroNet:

Chairman of the European Union (EU) Development Partners Task Team, represented by the Head, Operations at EU Delegation to African Union, Ms Anna Burylo, has described the Malabo Declaration as a reference point for all African development stakeholders for the next decade, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Specialised Technical Committee (STC) on Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment at the African Union headquarters, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, assured of their support to Malabo Declaration, stressing that Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) agenda is articulated into the new context created by the Malabo Declaration.

As said by her, the CAADP Results Framework (RF) along with the Malabo Implementation Strategy and Roadmap (IS&R) as well as its related programme of work are key documents demonstrating African leadership and framing Development Partners (DPs) and all other Malabo stakeholders action at continental, regional and national level, in particular through a set of headline indicators.

“All partners should adopt and adapt to these documents,” the EU Development Partners chair declared.

Pointing out that how DPs could align and tract their actions against such documents is a key issue of partnership.

 This is because, they would be able to frame the mutual accountability system which DPs will adhere too along with all other African CAADP and Malabo stakeholders, especially those seeking to coordinate and harmonise projects and programmes across Africa, by way of ensuring that food security and agriculture actions in global processes such as G8 and G20 align with African priorities and needs.

+Remmy Nweke (ITRealms) in Addis Ababa 
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Development partners reiterate commitment for Africa

NaijaAgroNet:

Africa’s Development Partners (DP) have reiterated commitment to the growth of the continent with regards to agriculture, rural development, water and environment, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Making this disclosure at the inaugural conference of the Specialised Technical Committee (STC) on Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment, the representative of the chairman of the European Union (EU) Development Partners Task Team, Ms Anna Burylo, said they are determined to support the aspirational goals set by the African Heads of State in the Malabo Declaration.

“… Our determination to work with you all, our African partners in the spirit of alignment, harmonization, transparency and coordination,” she said.

According to Ms Burylo who heads operations at EU delegation to AU, the inauguration of this Specialised Technical Committee (STC) reconfirms DP support and the place of Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment in the global agenda.

EU Chairman reiterated that both at the global and African levels, DPs are committed to supporting the Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment sector.

“The idea of a Global Partnership for Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition emerged back in 2008 in response to the food crisis placing such issues at the top of the international agenda,” she said.

For her, these partnerships have paved the way for initiatives such as L’Aquila, GAFSP, PARM or New Alliance ensued as well as voluntary guidelines on responsible governance of tenure of land, fisheries and forests; G20 food security and nutrition framework or voluntary principles for responsible investment in agriculture and food systems.

She pointed out that the recent endorsement of 2014 Malabo Declaration shows clearly articulated commitments on eradicating hunger, halving poverty, boosting intra-Africa trae and enhancing the resilience of production systems and livelihoods to climate change and other shocks, therefore, is a call to action for impact and sustaining the CAADP momentum.

 +Remmy Nweke (ITRealms) in Addis Ababa

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FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries makes sector sustainable

NaijaAgroNet:

The Code of Conduct for responsible Fisheries has in the last two decades played a key role in making fisheries more sustainable, NaijaAgroNet reports.

The code made it possible by setting universal standards to guide governments and private actors in conserving and managing the world’s ocean resources.

NaijaAgroNet learnt that Fisheries ministers, experts and representatives of civil society groups and the private sector will gather in Vigo, Spain, to mark the 20th anniversary of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and discuss the state and future of global fisheries.

FAO is partnering with Spain’s Ministry for Agriculture, Food and Environment, and leading Spanish trade association Conxemar on a series of events at this year’s International Fisheries Stakeholders Forum taking place on October 8 to 9, 2015 where discussions will focus on the importance of responsible ocean governance for global food security.

Among other issues billed for discussion at the forum include: expanding role of fish farms, improving seafood safety and traceability, reducing food waste and illegal fishing, and sustainably harnessing marine resources for economic growth.

A press statement by FAO said session will explore ways to develop a global integrated approach to combat illegal fishing, including the role of surveillance systems and consumer awareness, global trends and trade regimes, along with issues of growth and sustainability, including food waste. 

Overview of world production in fisheries and aquaculture, implications for food security and nutrition, the role of scientific knowledge as tool for fisheries management for the future, are all part of a rolled out programme for the Forum, NaijaAgroNet.

Cyriacus Nnaji/GEE

 
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STC-ARDWE 5-day inaugural confab kick-off in Addis Ababa

NaijaAgroNet:

The five-day inaugual conference of the Specialised Technical Committee (STC) on Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment (ARDWE) has opened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The meeting which would last till Friday, October 9, NaijaAgroNet reported, came to the fore following the adoption of the configuration of STC and its modalities of operationalization by the African Union Assembly of Heads of the State and Government.

NaijaAgroNet gathered that Specialised Technical Committees are made up of Ministry or senior official s responsible for the concerned specific sectors based on the area of competence.

This special Committees are responsible for preparing projects and programmes of the Union and submitting same to the Executive Council of African Union.

Equally they are expected to meet every two years in order to discharge the responsibilities vested on them by AU assembly.

This conference is organised by the Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture (DREA) of AU in partnership with the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA).

The rational, NaijaAgroNet gathered was based on fact that by end of September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly was expected to endorse the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals in addition to the 21st session of the UN Convention on Climate Change by December 2015 as well as the Malabo Declaration on Africa Accelerated Agriculture Growth and Transformation (3AGT) among others.

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