AU/MIN/AGRI/3

CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS OF AGRICULTURE OF THE AFRICAN UNION
Maputo, Mozambique
1-2 July, 2003

Preparatory Meeting of Experts
1 July 2003

Item 3 of the Provisional Agenda

A BRIEF PRESENTATION OF THE PROCESS OF CONVERTING THE
COMPREHENSIVE AFRICA AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (CAADP) TO IMPLEMENTABLE PLANS OF ACTION AT NATIONAL AND REGIONAL LEVELS

1. INTRODUCTION
2. THE PREPARATION OF THE FIRST TRANCHE OF THE ACTION PLAN
3. MATTERS TO BE REFERRED TO MINISTERIAL ATTENTION
Annex 1: The Chronology of Events and Forums for Dialogue related to preparation of the NEPAD agriculture programme
Annex 2: NEPAD Agriculture Action Plan 2003-2009
Annex 3: NEPAD Action Plan Programme Themes
Annex 4: Declaration of Abuja

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

This note presents for information and consideration a set of projects representing a sample fulfilling the requirements of the NEPAD Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). With the entire CAADP programme calling for investment totalling some US$251 billion, there will clearly be need for stepwise and progressive implementation. The preparation of the first tranche of projects has offered some lessons regarding the process of converting the CAADP into implementable Action Plans, including on the roles of Regional Economic Communities and of the international community of partners, with focus at this stage having been at regional/sub-regional level.

Preparation of Action Plans represents a milestone in the NEPAD agriculture programme process. It may be recalled that at a special NEPAD-focused session of the FAO Regional Conference for Africa organised in Rome on 9^th June 2002¹, African Ministers of Agriculture endorsed the NEPAD Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). The programme reflects NEPAD's vision of agriculture that seeks to restore agricultural growth, rural development and food security in the African region. Taking into account Africa's diverse potential, constraints and opportunities, the overall CAADP presents for most urgent attention, three mutually non-exclusive pillars to induce quickest production increases:

• extending the area under sustainable land management and reliable water control systems;
• improving rural infrastructure and trade-related capacities for improved market access;
• increasing food supply and reducing hunger.

In addition, it presents a long-term pillar on agricultural research, technological dissemination and adoption.

In the context of the pillar on increasing food production and reducing hunger, the CAADP also puts emphasis on emergencies and disasters that require food and agricultural responses.

The Regional Economic Communities (RECs) / Regional Economic Organisations (REOs) have been given a prominent role in promoting and facilitating the implementation of NEPAD programmes and projects that involve groups of countries. In view of this and in order to create a stepping stone towards the operationalisation of CAADP from an Africa wide programme to a regional level and later to country level, the Chairman of NEPAD Steering Committee, the President of the African Development Bank (ADB), and the Director-General of FAO jointly convened a high-level meeting in Abuja 11-12 December 2002. The meeting promoted the engagement of Africa's RECs and REOs in implementing CAADP, as a contribution to fulfilling the NEPAD vision of agriculture. In preparation for this High-level Meeting, a joint ADB/FAO meeting of experts was held in Accra from 13 to 22 November, 2002 to prepare a technical document on the role of Regional Economic Organisations in the implementation of NEPAD/CAADP, that served as a base document for deliberation and preparation for the High-level Meeting in Abuja.

When it took place in December, the Abuja High Level Meeting benefited from the preparatory process; it provided a forum for dialogue among those Heads of State and Governments that chair Africa's RECs/REOs, Executive Heads of RECs/REOs, Regional Banks, Members of the NEPAD Steering Committee, African Professional Organisations in the agricultural sector (including NGOs), and some members of the multinational and bilateral donor community. The forum forged and built fruitful partnerships amongst the regional economic communities/organisations to promote co-ordination and implementation of regional and multi-country initiatives and programmes related to agriculture and food security. The Declaration adopted at Abuja is attached. Among other aspects, the meeting agreed that member states, in partnership with RECs/REOs, would pursue vigorous action to implement the CAADP and that an Action Plan would be preparedd². Hence, a subsequent meeting was organised by the NEPAD Secretariat in co-operation with FAO from March 31 to April 9, 2003 to prepare an Action Plan.

1.2 Chronology of the Process

The course of preparation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) followed a consultative process, with the key element of this process highlighted in Annex 1. The consultative process involved all African countries, with Ministers of Agriculture being requested for comments on all drafts. In addition, other UN bodies and development partners offered important inputs, comments and suggestions. These include: the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the World Food Programme (WFP), the World Bank, the East African Development Bank and the African Development Bank (ADB). Comments and suggestions were also received from Regional Economic Communities and Organisations. The preparation of the Action Plan for the implementation of CAADP followed a similar consultative process. It involved the participation of many partners including: NEPAD Secretariat, RECs/REOs, African Development Bank (ADB), FAO, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), World Food Programme (WFP), World Bank/Regional Office, Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), International Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR/regional office), and a representative of African farmers'organisations³.

2. THE PREPARATION OF THE FIRST TRANCHE OF THE ACTION PLAN

2.1 Purpose and Objective of the Plan

The purpose of the first set of projects under the CAADP Plan of Action is to provide the road map for the realisation of the NEPAD vision of agriculture under specified themes, while ensuring the following important elements in the process:

• Building a common understanding, support and ownership of the programme at national, sub-regional and regional levels;
• Forging partnership and continued consultations among national governments, regional/sub-regional economic organisations, commercial private sector, producers' organisations, civil society including grassroots associations, and donors;
• Conducting analytical work that would identify and highlight potential areas of Africa's comparative advantages and/or convergence in agricultural production, its value addition and trade; focus on key opportunities that can yield the largest gains and select priorities that have potential to positively affect the lives of large numbers of Africa's poor and hungry;
• Integrating NEPAD/CAADP programmes into national and regional development plans and budgets.

As preparation of Action Plans progresses until the entire CAADP is covered, the same principles will need to apply; furthermore, the primary role of national level NEPAD programmes will need to be stressed, bearing in mind the need for synergy and harmony among such initiatives so that Africa can move ahead with collective momentum.

2.2 Key Elements of the Plan and its process

This Plan of Action should be perceived as the beginning of a process to kick-start with immediate action the implementation of the NEPAD vision of agriculture (CAADP). The following key elements stand out as outputs of the Plan:

• Selection Criteria for the NEPAD/CAADP Programmes/Projects⁴: These criteria are summarised in Box 1; like the plan itself, the criteria can also be expected to evolve and to be refined as experience is gained;
• Preparation of flagship projects that are regional and/or multi-country in nature, whose interventions are mutually reinforcing and aimed at: (i) addressing agriculture/rural development and food security problems in hunger hot spot areas of the region; (ii) up scaling of strategic food crops technologies that will produce rapid results; (iii) driving the process of converging Africa's efforts and enhancing synergies that will increase productivity of Africa's agricultural commodities; (iv) advocating and encouraging an increase in Africa's national and regional domestic contribution to agricultural investment;
• Preparation of the implementation schedule/the project cycle that provides time for consultations among key stakeholders. These may include: NEPAD, RECs/REOs, National Governments and its local development partners, producers' organisations, civil society/NGOs and donors;
• Proposed way forward.

Box 1: Selection Criteria for NEPAD Programmes/projects The proposal should demonstrate how it adds value to the operationalisation of the NEPAD/CAADP through: Capacity to respond rapidly to agricultural crises in Africa; Bring greater attention to issues critical to growth and/or reducing vulnerability; Lending a more holistic view to problems now dealt with in "piecemeal" fashion; Scaling up of proven technologies; Have a regional scope with high impact at national level that addresses issues of regional convergence and integration. Comply with national and regional priorities as evidenced by commitments through cost sharing Be aligned with one or more of the pillars of CAADP: Extending the are under sustainable land management and reliable water control systems; Improving rural infrastructure and market access including inputs and finance; Increasing food supply and reducing hunger; Agricultural research, technology dissemination and adoption; Have clear and visible linkages to Millennium Development Goals (MDG) of reducing hunger and poverty by half by 2015 and gender disparities. Promote the development, sharing and transfer of expertise.

2.3 Highlights

As a way towards realising the goal of the NEPAD vision of agriculture through implementation of the CAADP, the Action Plan highlights the following:

• The first tranche of "NEPAD Flagship Projects" for the period 2003-2009: worth some US$15.7 billion (Annex 2), these are equivalent to only 6 percent of the full cost estimated for the CAADP. They are intended only as a start-up to address priority actions requiring trans-boundary issues or matters where inter-country co-operation is crucial for preparing the ground to implement national programmes. As indicated in Document AU/MIN/AGRI/2, it is the national NEPAD programmes or national components of multi-country NEPAD programmes that can be expected to require the bulk of the investment. Over time, it can be expected that all RECs will progressively propose programmes and projects for the Action Plan, which will lead to its evolution;
• A set of programme/project ideas and themes (Annex 3): organised under CAADP pillars and into short and longer-term categories;
• Continuity in preparation and update of CAADP Action Plan: The plan highlights the importance of continuity of the process leading towards the implementation of CAADP and this would be achieved through the sustained participation of all relevant institutions and organisations both at national and regional level.
• Kick-starting the Process of Agricultural Renewal: The Action Plan has included and defined projects that would kick-start Africa's agricultural renewal. The preparation of these projects should start immediately with initiation of implementation to be expected as early as end of 2003 or early 2004 where possible.
• Responding to the Food Crises in Africa: In view of continued food crises in Southern Africa and the Horn of Africa as well as Central Africa due to natural and man-induced calamities, immediate interventions should be identified and pursued by NEPAD and the RECs/REOs. NEPAD in partnership with affected RECs/REOs and in consultations with WFP and other development partners has started on consultations to identify the course of action.
• Smallholder Producer participation in up-scaling strategic food crops: The Action Plan proposes that NEPAD in partnership with concerned governments, interested donors and other stakeholders facilitate the mobilisation of farmers in the transfer of technologies of the strategic food crops such as: Cassava, NERICA Rice, Banana tissue culture, Pigeon Peas, Sorghum, Millet and other strategic crops that may arise from biological research.
• Resource Mobilisation and Channelling of Funds: The plan envisages that funding for the identified projects under CAADP will be mobilised from governments, RECs/REOs, bilateral and multilateral donor agencies, private sector, and beneficiary communities. However, National Governments should make a substantial contribution to underscore their commitment and ownership of the programmes and projects. As many future NEPAD-relevant programmes would be national components (apart from further regional/sub-regional programmes), governments will need to develop a process for insertion into national budgets.

2.4 Guiding Principles and Conditions for Success

The overall message is that the Action Plan is part of the process aimed at spearheading the realisation of the NEPAD vision of agriculture. In preparing and presenting the Action Plan, great efforts have been made to emphasise that its first version is only the beginning of the process for the implementation of CAADP. The process has enabled NEPAD to initiate transformation of the Africa-wide programme to the regional level. More needs to be done at the regional level and CAADP actions should be undertaken also at national level.

Underlying the Action Plan and prospects for its success are a number of guiding principles, of which the following can be highlighted:

• The need for a progressive approach, with successive versions of the Action Plan progressively representing all aspects of the overall Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP).
• African ownership is of fundamental importance and this should be reflected through national budget allocations and resources mobilisation for agricultural investment. If NEPAD is to succeed, agriculture has to be given high priority. It is only with assured national commitment that African Governments can expect to secure substantial donor support.
• National governments should play their critical role of ensuring an enabling environment for agricultural development so that it can become profitable and competitive and therefore attractive to investors, including the smallholders themselves.
• NEPAD programmes should engage the energies of the broad society, with partnership being the watchword in relations among governments, commercial private sector, farmers and civil society.
• Regional integration has the particular role of promoting harmony in policies, strategies and priorities necessary for Africa to pull in the same direction and so achieve success and international significance. Acting singly and in isolation has not worked for African countries so far and NEPAD should offer a new opportunity to act in unison.
• In the interest of orderly co-operation and prioritisation, criteria for NEPAD programmes will be refined and agreed upon. Once in place, countries will adhere by them for the common good.

3. MATTERS TO BE REFERRED TO MINISTERIAL ATTENTION

There are vital decisions that must be made and guidance given to NEPAD and RECs/REOs future activities. The following recommendations are being proposed for consideration and decision by the Ministers:

• Approval is required for the process to be used in identifying and processing future national programmes and projects and promotion to African Governments and external donors for funding;
• Guidance is needed on the provisional criteria adopted to select NEPAD programmes and projects, [with the proviso that emphasis be given also to national NEPAD-relevant programmes and projects as well as projects that create an enabling environment for action];
• Approval is required for the first set of flagship projects and programmes by NEPAD member countries to demonstrate ownership prior to approaching external donors for funding;
• There is an urgent need to ensure that food-reserve activities will at the earliest opportunity link with Africa's ability to produce its own basic foods for such reserves rather than relying in perpetuity on aid. In this way, the need to respond to current famines though immediate food stocks from external aid will be temporary;
• Governments need to ensure that the inadequacy of public funding for agriculture is tackled as an emergency: until the attention offered to the sector by Africa itself improves, famines and food shortages cannot cease and international support will only deepen dependency. Governments also need to so target public investment that it can make agricultural operations profitable and competitive;
• Regional integration mechanisms must be used effectively to promote early convergence among governments around selected priority opportunities of strategic importance for food security, for export development, and for Africa to achieve enough international significance as a producer, processor and trader to start influencing world prices, policy and practice;
• The larger society needs to organised and mobilised. Governments should provide adequate funding, improved technology and other means necessary to minimise the adverse impact of HIV/AIDS on agricultural productivity;
• Governments need to make practical their commitment to creating an enabling environment for private sector engagement in agriculture through reform of policies, strategies and institutions.

Annex 1: The Chronology of Events and Forums for Dialogue related to preparation of the NEPAD agriculture programme

• February 2002: NEPAD agriculture was discussed at Africa Regional Conference in Cairo, Egypt.
• March 2002: Presentation of the main themes of potential CAADP contents by the Director General of FAO to the NEPAD Heads of State Implementation Committee in Abuja, Nigeria;
• End April 2002: Circulation for review and comment of a first draft (at that stage as a summary and three separate papers). Distribution was to all African Ministers of Agriculture and for African integration; the Heads of African Regional Economic Organisations; the Chairman and members of the NEPAD Steering Committee; the Heads of the African Development Bank and of other selected African sub-regional development banks; the Head of UN Economic Commission for Africa; World Bank agriculture experts; information copies to the Organisation for African Unity;
• Early May 2002: Consolidation of the separate papers into the unified Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme document and integration of the comments received on the April drafts;
• Mid May 2002: Presentation of the first consolidated document for comment at the Maputo meeting of the NEPAD Steering Committee;
• End May 2002: Recasting of the CAADP draft to take account of the proposals and comments of the NEPAD Steering Committee and circulation to same network of reviewers and commentators.
• June 2002: Meeting in Rome, Italy (9^th June 2002) of African Ministers of Agriculture (joined by some members of the NEPAD Steering Committee) to review the CAADP
• November 2002: ADB/FAO joint meeting of Experts at the FAO Regional Office, Accra on the Implementation of CAADP.
• December 2002: High Level Meeting of Heads of State and Government as Chairpersons of the Regional Economic Communities/Organisations in Abuja, Nigeria (11-12 December 2002).
• Early April 2003: Post Abuja Preparation of draft Action Plan with key programmes and project interventions, at the NEPAD Secretariat in South Africa.
• May 2003: Finalisation of the Action Plan for submission to NEPAD Steering Committee and to African Union meeting of Ministers of Agriculture for their endorsement in July 2003.

Annex 2: NEPAD Agriculture Action Plan 2003-2009

First tranche of NEPAD flagship agriculture projects

Project Description	Tentative Project Cost (US Million)	Lead Agencies
CAADP PILLAR 1. Extending the Area Under Sustainable Land Management and Reliable Water Control Systems	7,408	Three RECs
1.1 Irrigation Development Project	1,008	COMESA
1.2 Irrigation Development and Water Management Project	500	SADC
1.3 Irrigation Development and Water Management Project	5,400	ECOWAS
1.4 Socio-Economic Development Program for Oncho-Freed Zones of West Africa	500	ECOWAS
CAADP PILLAR 2. Rural Infrastructure and Trade-related Capacities for Improved Market Access	28	Four RECs
2.1 Regional Agricultural Trade Promotion and Food Security Project	9	COMESA
2.2 Promotion of Regional Agricultural Trade and SPS Standards	8	ECOWAS
2.3 Promoting Regional Agricultural Trade and Harmonising SMS Standards	10	SADC
2.4 Studies and expert consultation with regard to the trade of AMU countries.	0.3	AMU
2.5 Reinforcement of phytosanitary control.	1	AMU
2.6 Information system with regard to food safety and agricultural development of the AMU	Not yet costed	AMU
2.7 Training for multilateral trade negotiations and the Agricultural Agreement	Not yet costed	AMU
CAADP PILLAR 3. Increasing Food Supply and Reducing Hunger	8,193	Six RECs
3.1 Agricultural Intensification and Diversification	8	ECCAS
3.2 Production and Commercialisation of High Yield Seeds and Planting Materials	10	ECCAS; ECOWAS
3.3 Promoting Sustainable Crop and Livestock Production in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands: IGAD (US$30 million); ECOWAS (US$70 million)	100	IGAD; ECOWAS
3.4 Strategic Food Reserve Facility	200	SADC
3.5 Cassava Development Initiative for Sub-Sahara Africa	275	ECOWAS, ECCAS, COMESA
3.6 Disaster Prevention and Emergency Response Food Crises Program	7,500	ECCAS, ECOWAS, COMESA, IGAD, SADC
3.7 De-mining lands for agricultural production	100	ECCAS
3.8 Strengthening and broadening of the national Special Programmes for Food security.	Not yet costed	AMU
CAADP PILLAR 4. Agricultural Research, Technology Dissemination and Adoption	92	Four RECs, NEPAD and FARA
4.1 Agricultural Research and Technology Transfer for Strategic Crops (Tissue Culture Banana (Us$30 million); Nerica Rice (US$20 million); Pigeon peas (US$20 million); and Sweet potatoes (US$20 million)	90	ECOWAS, ECCAS, SADC, COMESA
4.2 Building and Strengthening Networks of Centres of Excellence in Agricultural Sciences	2	NEPAD, FARA
CAADP ALL PILLARS (1-4)	20	NEPAD, RECs & their member countries; and CSOs
Civil Society Mobilising and Empowerment Programme	20	NEPAD-SEC/CSOs
TOTAL COST	15,641

As indicated in the document, the programmes and projects in this first tranche is only a small fraction of what would eventually be needed to implement the CAADP. NEPAD, RECs/REOs will continue consultations with countries and countries themselves will need to formulate national NEPAD-related programmes to be reflected in their development plans and budgets. Regarding budget levels, a point to stress is that all numbers are only indicative at this stage and that none imply commitment by any "Lead Agency" or any of its partners whether individually or collectively.

Annex 3: NEPAD Action Plan Programme Themes

The Action Plan will undergo continuous evolution. In the first round, it was considered desirable to identify some programmes as "short-term" and others for the longer horizon. Among the short term ones are initiatives for which programmes and projects have already been prepared or those where such preparation is imminent or urgent. The medium to long-term programmes/projects are presented here for convenience under the pillars of the CAADP.

Short Term Programmes

• Response Capacity to Emergencies
• Regional Programmes for Food Security
• Up-Scaling of Promising Technologies and Varieties

Medium to Long Term programmes/projects

Pillar I: Programmes on Land Improvement and Water Management

Irrigation, which will be an important part of the programme package, is fundamental to agricultural intensification. It is to be undertaken at three levels: expansion of large-scale irrigation systems; rehabilitation of formal irrigation systems and; informal on-farm and small-scale irrigation and water control development. Related land and water themes (which are not necessarily proposed in the first set of flagship programmes in Annex 1) include:

• Develop mechanisms for improving water management (including transboundary water resources);
• Develop mechanisms for capturing and storing rainwater for use in times of drought through simple technologies - water harvesting and ground water recharge;
• Combating desertification;
• Suggestions for programmes in the medium to long term include:
• Land capability planning at country and regional levels for agriculture, livestock and forestry
• Policy for sustainable land use through integrated watershed management (Land use planning and monitoring);
• Development of National and Regional Action Plans for soil fertility for intensification of agriculture production through conservation agriculture and integrated soil fertility management;
• Assessment of land degradation and implementation of programmes for land rehabilitation;
• Promoting improved information on land and water to enhance agricultural production within the RECs/REOs.

Pillar II: Programmes On Rural Infrastructure and Trade-Related Capacities for Market Access

Development of infrastructure has in the past not always been located in such a way as to benefit agriculture. Similarly, location of agricultural development has not always taken account of the location of infrastructure necessary for its development, whether transport, ports, energy, water. NEPAD, RECs and countries can work towards more inter-sectoral dialogue for economically and mutually beneficial location of infrastructure relative to foci of agricultural development. The following actions, to be undertaken by national governments and RECs/REOs, represent priority areas for promoting intra-regional trade from which African countries can benefit:

Infrastructure

• Improving transport and marketing infrastructure to reduce costs and increase trade flows, taking into account the needs of landlocked countries and transit neighbours;
• Developing product standards and measures and infrastructure and securing greater co-ordination among African countries in general and within and between existing sub-regional groupings;
• Developing and strengthening regional information networks for the provision of timely information and statistics on regional trade and investment opportunities;
• Removing procedural and institutional bottlenecks that increase transaction costs, including through efforts to improve efficiency, efficacy and transparency by the implementation of trade facilitation measures and improving standards and quality control.

Access to markets

Addressing the issue of falling and unstable prices for African Exports The problem of falling and/or unstable prices for exports has led to strong African Union interest in Protecting the prices of export commodities on the international market. There have been suggestions that an additional CAADP pillar could be proposed for this activity but given the prior agreements already concluded on the CAADP pillars, an interim solution could be the inclusion of this dimension under pillar 2, sub-section on Trade-related Capacities for market access. The statutory underpinnings of this concern are in Article 46, Chapter VIII of the treaty establishing the African Economic Community, which proposes the establishing of an African Commodity Exchange. To this end, the African Commodity Exchange can play a major role in the protection of regional and continental markets primarily for the benefit of African agricultural products. The African Commodity Exchange can also be a conduit for the provision of food aid to Member States in the event of serious food shortage.

Market access cannot be pursued in isolation from agricultural and agro-industry production. Implementation of the programmes will be guided by this perspective:

• Opening up of regional agricultural markets including removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers;
• Promoting networking between enterprises at national and regional levels to help them act in groups through sharing of information and co-operation in the design, production, marketing and provision of inter-state services;
• Developing human and institutional capacities for effective and informed participation in the multilateral trading system, regional and preferential trade agreements and for effective negotiations on trade, finance, technology transfer and related areas;
• Strengthening efforts to integrate trade policies into national development policies towards poverty eradication;
• Strengthening capacities in trade policy and related areas such as tariffs, customs, competition, investment and technology;
• Improving policy predictability as well as sound and stable macro-economic policy;
• Raising and harmonising food safety and quality standards;
• Improving the national food control regulatory framework (at all necessary levels - central, state or local government) and their compliance with international food safety and quality requirements;
• Capacity building in the rural and private sectors for food safety and quality, including on- and off-farm handling and management, processing, distribution and packaging;
• Building capacity at regional level through training of trainers for the adoption of technical standards and norms, for the assessment and implementation of current agreement and text (SPS, TRIPS, Codex Alimentarius, etc.);
• Enhancing participation in international standard setting bodies such as the Codex Alimentarius Commission, IPPC, OIE, etc.;
• Strengthening trade-related supply capacities.

Pillar III: Programmes to increase food supply and reduce hunger

This first tranche of projects is overwhelmingly focused on combating emergencies and preparedness for recurrences; in the immediate future, additional programmes and projects to support non-emergency agriculture and agro-industry will be drawn up. This is necessary to ensure that emergency-response capacity is anchored in dependable production within Africa rather than dependence on food stock from aid or external commercial imports:

• Development of capacities for handling emergencies, crises and disasters;
• Develop facilities for strategic regional, sub-regional reserves;
• Develop capacity building for forecasting, prevention and mitigation of adverse effects of natural disasters, including drought;
• Post-emergency relief and rehabilitation (integrate current piecemeal interventions into a seamless process that bridges emergency response with rehabilitation and thereafter long-term development);
• De-mining lands (in post-war situations) for agricultural use;
• Programmes to enhance food security through production.

Pillar IV: Strengthening of Research and Promotion of Technologies

• So far only project proposals for the first tranche have been prepared.

Non-Pillar investments:

CAADP will require parallel investments in enabling conditions for agricultural renewal; such things as policy and strategy development and development of human and institutional capacities will fall under this heading. Examples are below:

Capacity Building

• Regional Economic Communities/Organisations: In order for the RECs/REOs to play their role effectively in undertaking the implementation of the NEPAD agricultural program, investments for capacity building will be required both in the short to medium/long term.
• Farmers and Grassroots Organisations: to empower and enhance the capacity of smallholder farmers and the grass root farmer's organisations.

Policy and strategy reforms

• Development of a Common Maghreb Agricultural Policy (Euro 0.2 million)

From the above themes and project ideas. a number of NEPAD flagship programmes/projects have been prepared to the stage of Programme/Project Profiles and Concept Notes. A total of 21 Project profiles and project concepts for the period 2003-2009 have been prepared by the RECs/REOs as tabulated in Annex 2.

Annex 4: Declaration of Abuja

Declaration of the Heads State and Government Chairpersons of Regional Economic Communities on the NEPAD Vision for Agricultural Development and Food Security in Africa

Abuja, Nigeria, 12 December 2002

Preamble

We the Heads of State and Governments, and our representatives, in our capacity as Chairpersons of African Regional Economic Communities (RECs) are assembled in Abuja under the auspices of the NEPAD for the purpose of agreeing on the way forward in implementing regional programs for food security in the context of the NEPAD Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). We meet at a time of crisis, with Africa's economic growth stagnant; per capita income and food production in decline; and unacceptably high incidence of poverty, food insecurity and child malnutrition; growing dependence on food aid and food imports; as well as an increasingly marginal role for Africa in international trade. We believe that agriculture has potential to make a major contribution to reversing this state of affairs. In view of this, and:

1. Recalling the decision of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity at its 37^th ordinary session in Lusaka, Zambia in July 2001 to adopt the New African Initiative, thereafter renamed the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) at the inaugural meeting of the Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee in Abuja, Nigeria on 23 October 2001;
2. Strongly concerned at the difficulties faced by all African countries, in particular the current food crisis in Southern Africa and the Horn of Africa and the situation faced by countries affected by violent conflict, civil strife, natural disasters such as frequent droughts and floods and exposed to the adverse effects of desertification;
3. Concerned further about the marginal position of Africa in the global economy and the great prevalence of food insecurity and poverty across the continent which undermine the dignity of Africa's people and weaken the basis for sustainable peace and security;
4. Recognising the fundamental role and importance of agriculture as a source of food security and economic activity for Africa's people and convinced of its potential to help reverse economic decline;
5. Further recalling that during the World Food Summit: five years later held in Rome at which African Ministers for Agriculture met on 9 June 2002, under the umbrella of the FAO Regional Conference for Africa and endorsed the NEPAD Vision of Agriculture as presented in the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme, which seeks an early reversal of agricultural malaise and provides a framework for priority agricultural investments;
6. Noting with satisfaction the positive reaction of the international community during the World Food Summit: five years later, at the adoption of NEPAD and inclusion of an agriculture and food security component;
7. Concerned at the current downward trend of the agricultural budgets of African countries and the decline in the Official Development Assistance (ODA) and International Financial Institutions portfolios that are directly allocated to agriculture as a contribution to food security;
8. Noting that the workshop organised by the UN Economic Commission for Africa in Addis-Ababa in August 2002 drew attention to the roles of Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and national governments as NEPAD implementation bodies. Noting further the major role that RECs can play in promoting, co-ordinating and intensifying the unity and solidarity of African States in implementing programmes that would enhance food security, agricultural productivity and trade at both regional and national levels;
9. Welcoming the fact that a number of African Regional Economic Communities (RECs) have taken a step forward by preparing Regional Programmes for Food Security (RPFS);
10. Aware of the potential that Africa's rich endowment promises and convinced that NEPAD offers a new opportunity to realise it:

Declaration

11. We hereby commit ourselves to:

1. The NEPAD vision that seeks to stop the demise of the African economy within fifteen years through establishment of an enabling environment for sustained development;
2. Pursuing vigorous action for the implementation of the main pillars of action of the CAADP; as reflected in a Plan of Action that will be prepared at a later stage, in collaboration with RECs;
3. Implementing Regional Programmes for Food Security in close co-ordination with corresponding initiatives at the national level;
4. Promoting the recognition of agriculture as a priority sector in Africa including the allocation of increased funding in national budgets as recommended by the African ministers of agriculture at the follow-up session of the 22^nd FAO Regional Conference for Africa (Rome, June 2002);
5. Strengthening the capacities of RECs so that they can effectively serve as building blocks for the integration of the continent in the context of the African Union, and can play a lead role in implementing the programmes;
6. Taking all necessary measures to engage the private sector and to mobilise all the energies and resources of civil society in the implementation of NEPAD agricultural programmes.

12. We urge member governments to join in ensuring the creation of an enabling environment for sustainable agricultural development and to favour the rational use and protection of natural resources, in particular land and water, including by:

1. a high level of political commitment to implementation of programmes in agriculture, rural development, and food security;
2. a suitable policy and institutional environment for sustainable agriculture;
3. gender and youth concerns in agriculture, nutrition and food security, and create an enabling environment for the enhancement of livelihood opportunities of young men and women;
4. the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS and malaria on agriculture, by all means at our disposal;
5. human, institutional and resource mobilisation capacities;
6. capacity to address disasters and emergencies which could otherwise threaten long term development;
7. natural resources and encouraging the rehabilitation of degraded lands, in particular de-mining arable land;
8. the establishment of safety nets through school feeding programmes to guarantee nutritional requirements of the African child.

13. We note with appreciation the positive role that lead agencies such as ADB and FAO have played over the past year in support of NEPAD and call upon them to continue to support activities for promoting commitment to agriculture and food security. We encourage them and all other members of the donor community, especially African development partners, to render increased support to RECs and member countries in the preparation and implementation of short, medium, and long term bankable projects.

14. We encourage RECs to develop a dynamic partnership with farmers organisations networks and agricultural chambers in the preparation and implementation of Programmes reflecting the NEPAD vision.

15. We express our profound appreciation to His Excellency President Olusegun Obasanjo, the government and the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for their warm hospitality. We also thank the Economic Community of West African States for the excellent arrangements made for hosting the meeting and convening the other RECs.

¹ At the request of the NEPAD Steering Committee, the Programme was prepared by the NEPAD Secretariat in co-operation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
² At their Rome meeting of June 2002, the African Ministers of Agriculture had recommended, inter alias, to . . ."prepare a plan of action incorporating national and regional plans, to include the timeframe for the implementation of the programme, as well as the specification of the expected outputs and performance indicators;" and to . . ."formulate projects for financing at the regional, sub-regional and national levels under the framework of the CAADP priorities and, in doing this, to give attention to country and sub-regional diversity".
³ Represented by the Réseau des organisations paysannes et de producteurs de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (ROPPA).
⁴ These were also based on discussions from the Abuja technical and preparatory meeting for Heads of State and Governments, December 2002.