(11-12 December 2002)
Background
Africa faces a crisis situation in agriculture and food security; it is this that serves as the underlying justification for the Abuja meeting. Africa is perceived as a continent characterised by economic decline, food insecurity, debt, AIDS, recurring natural calamities and famines. Per caput income has actually declined on average between 1991 and 2001, since gross domestic product growth did not keep pace with population increase. Notwithstanding the success of some African countries in improving food security and overall welfare of the people, for the continent as a whole, economic progress has stagnated while population growth has remained high.
About 200 million people in Africa are chronically hungry and nearly 30 million require emergency food and agricultural assistance in any one-year. Africa has become the largest single recipient of food aid; it has also reversed from being a key exporter of agricultural commodities into being a net importer: every single year, Africa spends some US$19 billion of scarce foreign exchange on agricultural imports, while exporting only US$14 billion. Furthermore, Africa continues to become increasingly marginal in international agricultural trade and is not able to influence the international dialogue in this field. In practical terms, the difficulties facing agriculture mean that the sector is unable to provide for large numbers of Africa's people a decent livelihood free of hunger and poverty.
To respond to the aspiration and demand of the people for a better future, with adequate food and nutrition for a healthy life, the leaders of Africa, through the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), launched in July 2001 at the OAU Summit in Lusaka, have manifested their desire to reinvigorate their economies, with agriculture as the engine of growth. For Africa to meet the food and agriculture challenges and to avail itself of the opportunities to substantially increase agricultural production, productivity and food security, the NEPAD provides a framework for commitment by African leaders. It recognises the fundamental role and responsibility of each member state and those of the regional/sub-regional institutions.
The Regional Economic Organisations (REOs) have been designated by the Authority of Heads of State to co-ordinate the implementation of NEPAD-related programmes and projects of a sub-regional nature. A workshop organised at the Economic Commission for Africa in Addis-Ababa in August 2002 re-affirmed this institutional arrangement. It became clear that in this respect, REOs and national governments play complementary roles in the implementation of NEPAD programmes.
With this as background, the African Development Bank (ADB), the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations (FAO) have joined forces to work closely with Regional Economic Organisations (REOs) and countries to implement programme that can achieve the agriculture and food security vision of NEPAD.
A number of African Regional Economic Organisations (REOs), in collaboration with FAO, initiated in 2000 preparation of Regional Strategies and Programmes for Food Security (RPFS), and presented them in June 2002 to the donors and partners of development.
NEPAD has prepared, in co-operation with FAO, the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). African Ministers of Agriculture met in Rome on 9th June 2002 endorsed it and urged its immediate implementation. NEPAD wishes to see this action programme operationalised. NEPAD has also prepared, in co-operation with ADB, the Short-Term Action Plan for Infrastructure.
Both the African Development Bank (ADB) and FAO see the existence of the CAADP, Short-Term Action Plan and RPFS frameworks as opportunities to act effectively on development of agriculture and food activities
The Abuja meeting
With a view to taking advantage of this combination of facilitating frameworks for action, the African Development Bank, the NEPAD Secretariat, FAO and the REOs have co-operated to organise the meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, from 11-12 December, 2002, in order to promote a forum for dialogue among Heads of State and/or Governments of the African Countries which lead the REOs; Executive Heads of the REOs, Regional Banks and Funds; members of the NEPAD Steering Committee; African Professional Organisations in the agriculture sector; and some members of the multilateral and bilateral donor community.
The Abuja meeting offers a high-level forum to discuss building of fruitful partnerships amongst the regional/sub-regional bodies in Africa and co-ordination of their respective initiatives and programmes related to agriculture and food security. The meeting seeks to facilitate achievement of a common understanding and modalities for addressing the challenges facing Africa by permitting discussion of the linkages between action by the REOs, ADB, NEPAD, other development partners and by individual countries. The meeting offers a chance to build on the REOs mandate for regional economic integration to explore how they can promote the convergence of national interests around selected priority agricultural initiatives so that Africa can escape its marginal position and achieve some prominence in the international marketplace. The expected outcomes of the meeting are:
The Abuja meeting is a stage in identifying practical steps in which REOs can play an active part in implementing solutions; building partnerships between REOs, banks, donors and professional organisations in the field of agriculture and rural development; renewing commitment to agriculture, which will require follow-up in terms of sustained attention and unwavering resolve to achieve success.