FAO Regional Office for Africa

FAO and AU commit to supporting agribusiness development in Africa

A continued will to eradicating hunger in the continent

Photo ©FAO

9 March 2016, Addis Ababa - FAO and AUC signed a project agreement to support agribusiness development in Africa. The project will bring support to the establishment of a continental agribusiness platform and capacity building for effective agribusiness development in Africa; it will be implemented with the Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture (DREA) as the counterpart executing agency for a 23 month-period.

In her remarks at the signing ceremony, AUC Commissioner Ms. Rhoda Peace Tumusiime thanked FAO for the continued support to the AUC and to the transformation of the African agricultural sector in particular.  

‘The 2014 Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transformation called for deliberate and targeted public support, particularly for women and youth, to participate and benefit from the growth and transformation opportunities to improve their livelihoods’, the Commissioner recalled. ‘Seven key commitments, amongst them, enhancing investment finance in agriculture were adopted and it is in this vain that we welcome this support from FAO, particularly as this project is set to support the crucial role of the private sector towards the realization of the Malabo commitments”, she added.

On his part, Dr. Patrick Kormawa, FAO Subregional Coordinator for Eastern Africa and Representative to the African Union, stated that importance of Africa’s agriculture in contributing to food and nutrition security, poverty reduction and overall economic growth is well documented.

‘However, the task of transforming Africa’s agriculture into a modern and dynamic sector is a complex one, faced with a number of key challenges.  These include limited investment, technologies, knowledge and infrastructure to link input and output markets across the continent.  Women and youth face greater challenges in accessing finance, technologies, skills, business development services and markets along agricultural value chains’, Patrick Kormawa pointed out.

The project will help by providing technical support for the establishment of a continental agribusiness platform, development of a regulatory framework for agribusiness partnerships and building capacity of the domestic private sector and agribusiness support organizations

These issues and more will be discussed at the forthcoming 29th session of the FAO Regional Conference for Africa due to take place in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire from 4 to 8 April 2016, under the theme “Transforming African Agri-food systems for inclusive growth and a shared prosperity”.

 

Contact: [email protected]

 

Related links:

The Malabo Declaration

-AU/NEPAD Roadmap

-Continued support to eradicating hunger in Africa by 2025