Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, 16-17 April 1996
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS
Summary of the main recommendations
I. Introductory items
II. Technical items
III. Other matters
IV. Concluding items
Irrigation Improvement and Expansion: A Challenge to Food Security in Africa For the Attention of Governments
The Committee:
1. recommended that assistance be sought (by governments) under the new UN Special Initiative for Africa to fund special interventions for the development and management of water for irrigation; (para 14e)
For the Attention of FAO
The Committee:
2. recommended that FAO should assist member countries to explore the possibility of TCDC* assistance for the development of low cost irrigation systems as well as the transfer of adapted water lifting technologies; (para 14g)* Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries3. recommended that FAO, in collaboration with the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage, and other concerned organizations assist in setting up Sub-Regional Committees on Irrigation and Drainage with the view to:
(i) promote exchange of information and experience, inter and intra-regional TCDC;
(ii) promote irrigation development. (para 14i)4. recommended that FAO continue its assessment of the African irrigation potential using different scenarios of water resources potential at river and lake basins. (para 14j)
African Agriculture and Natural Resources - Impacts of Recent Economic Reforms and Prospects to 2010
For the Attention of FAO:
The Committee:
5. urged FAO to continue with further analysis of the nature and impact of these programmes particularly on the agricultural sector; (para 15d)6. stressed the urgent need for FAO to assist countries and collaborate with other relevant agencies (ECA, UNIDO, UNDP, World Bank etc.) in identifying and developing appropriate strategies, and also mobilizing resources in order to achieve national and sub-regional objectives in this regard; (para 15e)
7. urged FAO to assist governments in identifying strategies directed at improving balance of trade situations and finding solutions to indebtedness, improving investment opportunities in the sector and encouraging a strong private sector participation; (para 15f)
Status of Control of Animal Trypanosomiasis in Africa
For the Attention of FAO
The Committee:
8. agreed with the recommendation that the prevention and control of African trypanosomiasis be included as a component of food security in the documents related to the World Food Summit. (para 16b)
Representation of the Region on the CGIAR
For the Attention of Governments
The Committee:
9. acknowledged that the development and transfer of appropriate technology needed a strong cooperation between national, regional and international agricultural systems and the participation of farmers organizations; (para 17c)10. decided on the establishment of a sub-committee to meet and select candidates for presentation to and approval by the plenary; (para 17d)
11. the two regional representatives were not adequate, and proposed an increase in the number of regional representatives who should be selected by sub-regional organizations in consultation with FAO; (para 18a)
12. proposed that each of the major sub-regional organizations i.e. CORAF, SACCAR and ASARECA should nominate a representative to the CGIAR. (para 18b)
13. recommended that Burkina Faso be elected as regional representative to the CGIAR to succeed Ghana for a four-year term effective from 1997. (para 18c)
For the Attention of FAO
The Committee:
14. requested FAO to review the current criteria for establishing the sub-committee so as to make it more acceptable to countries; (para 17b)
Organization
1. The Technical Committee of the Nineteenth FAO Regional Conference for Africa was held from 16 to 17 April 1996, i i the Conference Hall of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
2. The Meeting was attended by 145 delegates from 47 Member Nations of the Region, 36 of which were represented at ministerial level; eight observers from Member Nations outside the Region, two observers from the Holy See, five representatives of the United Nations Specialized Agencies, 15 observers from intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations.
Opening Ceremony
3. The Meeting was addressed by the Assistant Director-General and FAO Regional Representative for Africa, Mr B.F. Dada, and was formally opened by the Honourable Mr Michel Koutaba, Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources of Burkina Faso.
4. Mr Dada welcomed the delegates on behalf of the Director-General of FAO, Mr. Jacques Diouf and expressed the deep appreciation of FAO to the Government of Burkina Faso for accepting to host this meeting at very short notice. He thanked the Chairmen and all the members of the National Organizing Committees for their dedication and efforts and in particular the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for putting at our disposal its Conference facilities for the meeting.
5. He affirmed that the Meeting was being held against the background of continued food insecurity in Africa and reminded delegates of the causes and pernicious effects of the incidence of hunger and malnutrition. He pointed out that it was time to stop rhetoric and implement bold initiatives to solve the problems of food insecurity in the region. He wished the Meeting successful deliberations.
6. In his opening address the Minister welcomed all the delegates on behalf of the President, His Excellency Mr Blaise Compaore, the Prime Minister and his Government and the People of Burkina Faso. He elaborated how the scourge of famine and malnutrition still continued to plague the countries in spite of their consistent and persistent efforts. He pointed out that this should make the African countries more determined to meet the challenges in order to ensure that the fundamental right to water and adequately nutritious diet was upheld.
7. He recounted the various efforts implemented at all levels of society under adverse conditions in Burkina Faso to meet these challenges, and invited other countries of the region to be united and to take the necessary measures in this direction.
8. He recalled the positive contributions of international organizations particularly the FAO towards solving the problems of food insecurity and hoped that the forthcoming World Food Summit would come up with definite policies, strategies and activities to be implemented for solving hunger, famine and malnutrition. He acknowledged that this Conference would contribute positively towards the preparation for the World Food Summit and wished the participants fruitful deliberations. He then declared the Meeting open.
Election of Chairman. Vice-Chairmen and Appointment of the Rapporteur
9. The Meeting unanimously elected Prof. Alassane Sere, Minister Delegate for Animal Resources of Burkina Faso by acclamation, as its Chairman.
10. The Meeting then elected the rest of the members of the bureau as follows:
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First Vice-Chairman: |
Mr T.M. Taukobong, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Botswana |
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Second Vice-Chairman: |
Mrs Ayele M. Gninofou, Director of Programme and Planning, Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Togo |
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Rapporteur: |
Mr Moorosi V. Raditapole, Ambassador and Permanent Representative to FAO, Embassy of the Kingdom of Lesotho, Rome |
Adoption of the Agenda and Timetable
11. The Meeting then considered and adopted the agenda and timetable.
World Food Summit
12. The meeting had extensive discussions and noted with satisfaction the contributions of various groups, namely: the African Group of Permanent Representatives based in Rome, the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the NGOs and the National Committees towards the preparation of the World Food Summit. The Meeting commended FAO for facilitating the work of these groups particularly in bringing NGOs to the FAO/NGO Consultation which had preceded the Technical Committee.
13. The meeting discussed and then adopted the attached report for presentation to the Plenary Session of the 19th FAO Regional Conference for Africa for consideration and possible adoption by the ministers.
Irrigation Improvement and Expansion: A Challenge to Food Security in Africa
14. The meeting reviewed document ARC/96/5 and recognized the need for irrigation improvement because of its high potential contribution to food security. The meeting acknowledged the importance of the theme and thanked FAO for the valuable work in promoting irrigation improvement and expansion as a means to overcoming food insecurity in Africa. In particular the meeting:
a. agreed with the main areas elaborated in the document2 under the subheadings "state of African irrigation", "contribution of irrigation to food security", "approaches to irrigation improvement and expansion", the "strategies for sustainable irrigation development" and endorsed the concluding recommendations, especially regarding the inclusion of the SPFP3 philosophy into national agricultural plans, the need for policy review and reform, capacity building, increased investment in irrigation, and irrigation management transfer to farmers;b. recalled that in spite of the long history of various food improvement strategies for Africa which incorporated irrigation as an important component, the situation has rather deteriorated;
c. acknowledged that without irrigation the situation would deteriorate further, resulting in high social cost and damage to natural resources base;
d. agreed that untapped important irrigation potential including inland valleys should be developed, taking into consideration environmental and socio-economic factors;
e. recommended that assistance be sought under the new UN Special Initiative for Africa to fund special interventions for the development and management of water for irrigation;
f. recognized the need for detailed cost-benefit analysis when planning and designing irrigation schemes and called for the use of least cost-effective machinery, inter alia food aid for irrigation;
g. emphasized the need to encourage development of low cost irrigation systems as well as the transfer of adapted water lifting technologies; and in this regard, recommended that FAO should assist member countries to explore the possibility of TCDC4 assistance;
h. recognized the potential of the private sector to assist in large and small-scale irrigation development in Africa and advised countries to set up local manufacturing of irrigation equipment;
i. recommended that FAO, in collaboration with the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage, and other concerned organizations assist in setting up Sub-Regional Committees on Irrigation and Drainage with the view to:
(i) promote exchange of information and experience, inter and intra-regional TCDC;
(ii) promote irrigation development; andj. recommended that FAO continue its assessment of the African irrigation potential using different scenarios of water resources potential at river and lake basins.
2 ARC/96/53 Special Programme on Food Production in support of Food Security in Low-Income Food Deficit countries
4 Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries
African Agriculture and Natural Resources - Impacts of Recent Economic Reforms and Prospects to 2010 (Agenda Item 6a)
15. The meeting commended the preparation of document ARC/96/7 which reviewed agricultural development in Africa in the context of the new socio-economic environment. It noted with concern the declining performance of the agricultural sector in the region. In particular, the meeting:
a. recalled that per caput agricultural production was declining while food imports were expanding, resulting in increasing dependence on food imports, the rising share of food aid in total cereal imports, low agricultural productivity, decline in real terms in export earnings from agricultural commodities;b. noted that a variety of fast growing alternative economic activities were developing in traditional agricultural areas as a consequence of the poor performance of the sector, and agreed that such developments should be studied more closely;
c. stressed the importance of developing appropriate strategies that would ensure the improvement of the quality of available land, low-cost but effective water resources management, strengthening of capacities and development of human resources for the management and sustained supply of forest resources and products;
d. recalled the adverse effects of Structural Adjustment Programmes and the far-reaching social and economic implications these programmes have, particularly on the agricultural and rural sectors; it urged FAO to continue with further analysis of the nature and impact of these programmes particularly on the agricultural sector;
e. recalled the importance and priority of food security in the region and the complex social, political and economic factors that influence the achievement of such an objective in particular high population growth rate in the region, possible adverse effects of the implementation of the Agreement on Agriculture of the Uruguay Round, stressed the urgent need for FAO to assist countries and collaborate with other relevant agencies (ECA, UNIDO, UNDP, World Bank etc.) in identifying and developing appropriate strategies, and also mobilizing resources in order to achieve national and sub-regional objectives in this regard;
f. urged FAO to assist governments in identifying strategies directed at improving balance of trade situations and finding solutions to indebtedness, improving investment opportunities in the sector and encouraging a strong private sector participation;
g. agreed that improved agricultural performance offers the best chance for progress towards enhanced food security, poverty reduction and overall development, particularly in the sub-saharan countries.
Status of Control of Animal Trvpanosomiasis in Africa (Agenda Item 6b)
16. The meeting noted that the information document ARC/96/INF/7 reviewed the current status of trypanosomiasis control and recognized the constraint imposed by the disease on the development of economic mixed farming. In particular the meeting:
a. stressed the importance of the control of Animal Trypanosomiasis within the context of food security and rural development in Africa and supported the FAO initiative for the formation of an internationally-coordinated effort to combat the problem in a joint secretariat with WHO, IAEA and OAU/IBAR; andb. agreed with the recommendation that the prevention and control of African animal trypanosomiasis be included as a component of food security in the documents related to the World Food Summit.
Representation of the Region on the CGIAR
17. The meeting considered document ARC/96/6 which reviewed the role of science and technology in achieving food security in the region, especially its role in increasing food and agricultural production and in enhancing natural resources conservation. The meeting:
a. recalled the status of agricultural research in the region, recent developments in the CGIAR system and the criteria for selecting member countries, including their responsibilities and the effectiveness of representation;b. requested FAO to review the current criteria for establishing the sub-committee so as to make it more acceptable to countries;
c. acknowledged that the development and transfer of appropriate technology needed a strong cooperation between national, regional and international agricultural systems and the participation of farmers organizations;
d. decided on the establishment of a sub-committee to meet and select candidates for presentation to and approval by the plenary;
18. The Sub-Committee met, examined the report on the CGIAR activities in the region and observed that:
a. the two regional representatives were not adequate, and proposed an increase in the number of regional representatives who should be selected by sub-regional organizations in consultation with FAO;b. proposed that each of the major sub-regional organizations i.e. CORAF, SACCAR and ASARECA should nominate a representative to the CGIAR.
c. recommended that Burkina Faso be elected as regional representative to the CGIAR to succeed Ghana for a four-year term effective from 1997.
Progress Report on the Common African Agricultural Programme (CAAP)
19. The meeting noted that the Document ARC/96/INF/6 was an information document prepared in response to the request by the 18th FAO Regional Conference for Africa (Gaborone, Botswana 1994) that CAAP should be a standing item on its agenda, in order to ensure the Conference's continuing participation in monitoring the activities of CAAP. It welcomed the actions that had been taken, since the last Regional Conference, by the various organizations concerned viz:- the OAU Secretariat, Sub-Regional Economic Communities, FAO and Member States, and noted what needed to be done to accelerate progress in agricultural cooperation and integration in response to CAAP and the AEC. The meeting:
a. noted that response by Member States to requests for observations and comments on the revised CAAP document had been slow but that the Secretariat would proceed with the process of finalizing the document immediately it received over 50 per cent of responses from Member States to its request of 9 February 1995 and to present such a document to a planned meeting on Food Security in 1997/98;b. appreciated actions taken by Sub-Regional Economic Communities in connection with implementations of CAAP recommendations so far and accepted suggestions intended to accelerate the process of adopting the CAAP framework;
c. was informed that the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) had been completely revitalized while the Economic Community of East African States bad established their Secretariat.
Approval of the Report
20. The meeting considered and adopted its report with some amendments.
Closure of the Technical Committee Meeting
21. In a brief closing speech to the Technical Committee, the Assistant Director-General/FAO Regional Representative for Africa Mr. B. F. Dada thanked all the delegates for their support in ensuring the successful outcome of the Technical Committee meeting. The final report of the meeting would be transmitted to the Regional Conference for the appropriate follow-up action. He thanked the Government of Burkina Faso for the excellent facilities made available for the smooth running of the Conference. Finally he wished those delegates who might be leaving 'bon voyage' and those who might be staying a pleasant stay.
22. The meeting was formally closed by the Chairman Mr. Alasssan Sere, Minister Delegate for Animal Resources of Burkina Faso.
