Annex: AU SUMMIT DECLARATION ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SECURITY ON AFRICA

SUBMITTED BY:
THE CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS OF AGRICULTURE OF THE AFRICAN UNION

We, the Heads of State and Government of the African Union assembled in Maputo at the Second Ordinary Session of the Assembly on the 10 to 12 July, 2003;

Aware of the fact that 30 percent of the population of Africa is chronically undernourished; that the continent has become a net importer of food; and that Africa is currently the largest recipient of food aid in the world;

Convinced that Africa has all the potential not only to feed its entire population but also to generate surpluses for export;

Believing that Africa can produce efficiently and that a dynamic and competitive agriculture sector can ensure food security for its people, and contribute to sustainable rural and overall economic growth and development;

Cognizant of the above, we recall our decision at our 37th Ordinary Session in Lusaka, Zambia, in July 2001, to adopt the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), to request the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to provide technical assistance to the OAU Secretariat, its Member States and the Regional Economic Communities in the implementation of strategies and programmes aimed at improving food security in Africa;

Noting with appreciation the excellent cooperation among the Commission of the African Union, the Steering Committee of NEPAD and FAO in the process of preparing and launching the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and calling upon them to continue such cooperation, including facilitating the preparation of projects and the mobilization of resources;

Noting with satisfaction the collaborative effort of the AU Commission, the NEPAD Secretariat, Regional Economic Communities, the FAO and the African Development Bank in the preparation of the CAADP;

Recalling further, our endorsement of the decision of our Ministers of Agriculture to establish an African Common Market for Basic Food Products;

Recalling also the Declaration of the African Heads of State and Government and the Chairpersons of the Regional Economic Communities in Abuja, Nigeria, December 2002, and the decision of our Ministers of Agriculture in Rome, July 2002, adopting the CAADP;

Convinced of the need to address the root causes of agricultural weakness in Africa and, in particular, the lack of adequate water control and rural infrastructure;

Recognizing fully that it is the responsibility of Africa itself to reinvigorate the food and agriculture sector for the political and economic independence of the continent, we hereby resolve to:

• Implement in earnest the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) its evolving Action Plans for agricultural development at national, regional and continental levels. To this end, we agree to adopt fair policies for agricultural development and to commit increased budgetary resources for their implementation;
• Commit ourselves to the objective of developing the agricultural sector - key priority of NEPAD - including creation of enabling conditions for a viable agricultural sector and combating factors that constrain agricultural production such as drought and floods, lack of rural infrastructure such as roads, storage and market facilities, low productivity, farm pests and diseases, in addition to the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other diseases;
• Organize a series of national and regional level consultations, seminars and workshops involving key stakeholders, including the private sector, farmers' and women's organisations, for prioritising CAADP-related strategic plans and actions aimed at the development of commercially viable farming;
• Join our efforts in identifying and preparing bankable projects at the national and regional levels, through the RECs in food and agriculture and to engage in mobilising resources to implement them, and investing in sectors essential for agricultural growth and development;
• Appeal to the international community in particular our development partners to support the realisation of the African Union's vision of a continental prosperous and viable agricultural sector as envisaged in the CAADP of NEPAD and assist in formulating projects and programmes to bring the CAADP to reality and thereby achieve sustainable food security and reduce hunger and poverty in the continent;