FAO Regional Office for Africa

African countries renew commitment to implement actions toward agriculture sustainability.

For 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Africa

Farming at Rulindo district (Photo:@FAO/Teopista Mutesi)

21 September 2016, Kigali - Cameroon, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, DR Congo, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Rwanda and Zambia concluded a two-day Regional workshop for Africa on “Towards productive, sustainable and inclusive agriculture, forestry and fisheries in support to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Africa.”

The participating countries committed to gearing towards more initiatives on agriculture sustainability and shared experience and various tools to address key issues in food, nutrition and agriculture as a contribution to achieving the SDGs as well as identifying programmes that have proven successful.   

Rwanda’s Minister of Agriculture, Geraldine Mukeshimana, underscored the role SDGs are playing in helping countries approach development in a new and transformational way.

“The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to which all our countries have committed has the potential to transform our world, and our lives. By focusing on people; on our planet; on prosperity; on peace and on partnership”.

The meeting noted that food, nutrition and agriculture sustainability should tackled sound policies, strategies and targeted intervention, articulated with effective linkages of agriculture to markets and food processing industries.

“Sustainability of food and agriculture is about using what we need to live now, without jeopardizing the potential for people in the future to meet their needs", noted Mr. Attaher Maiga, FAO Representative to Rwanda.  

Rulindo, concrete implementation

A field trip to Yanze Marshland in Rulindo district, Northern Rwanda, to learn from Rwanda’s experience in using small pieces of land for meaningful agricultural activities while protecting the environment. At the marshland, FAO assists farmers in growing vegetables and agroforestry plant species. To ensure their activities are more productive and of quality, FAO built for the farmers a Vegetable Collection Unit to make it easy for them to access markets. A banana modification nursery and livestock are also contributing to improving their livelihood.

The nine participating countries committed themselves to further implement and develop the actions identified with regard to sustainable intensification of agriculture production, value chain development, poverty reduction and nutrition in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Malabo Declaration.

The Kigali meeting is a response to recommendations from the FAO Regional Conference for Africa, in Abidjan, last April 2016 in which countries requested the Organization to assist countries in their efforts towards the implement the 2030 Agenda in the field of agriculture, forestry and fisheries.

FAO has developed an approach aimed at enhancing the contributions of agriculture, forestry and fisheries to sustainable development in a cross-sectoral way.  

More than 40 senior government officials from agriculture, forestry and fisheries, and associated finance and economic planning departments attended the Kigali workshop in addition to FAO representatives, civil society and the private sector from countries covered by the Sustainable Production Intensification and Value Chain Development in Africa.  

 

Useful links:

Interviews

29th session of the FAO Regional Conference for Africa
Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, 4-8 April 2016

Photos

 

Contact:

Mutesi Teopista, [email protected] , FAO-Rwanda Communication