Statement at Third Tokyo International Conference on African Development

Tokyo, Japan, 30 September 2003


Your Excellency the Chairperson,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Participants,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I wish to express my personal thanks, and those of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), to the Government of Japan for the warm welcome and for the opportunity to speak at this third meeting of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD III), particularly at this tenth anniversary event.

Mr. Chairperson,

The TICAD process is an outstanding example of a donor’s long-term commitment to Africa. I recall the statement made last year in Addis Ababa by Her Excellency Yoriko Kawaguchi, Minister for Foreign Affairs, that “There will be no stability and prosperity in the world in the 21st century unless the problems of Africa are resolved.” TICAD represents strong evidence of Japan’s serious desire to stand by Africa as it faces the challenge of development. TICAD is unparalleled for consistency, not only in providing resources for development, but also for doing so in an inclusive and participatory manner, with the beneficiaries, as well as other international organizations, closely involved in setting priorities and implementing programmes.

FAO deals with a sector that provides livelihoods to some 70 percent of Africa’s people. And yet agriculture is a sector in crisis in Africa: the continent has over 200 million malnourished and nearly 30 million people that depend on food aid in any one year; per capita food production is in decline. A net importer of food since 1980, Africa is currently importing nearly US$20 billion worth of agricultural products. The direct dependency of most people on farming requires that agriculture be a central element in any development agenda for Africa. FAO is therefore encouraged by the continuing attention given by TICAD to agriculture, a sector that, more than any other, offers a chance to lift the majority of Africa’s people out of mass poverty. A vital area in which I appeal to the TICAD process to give major priority is investment in small-scale water harvesting, irrigation and drainage systems. Water is the source of life for human beings, animals and plants. Without water, there is no security of production and no increase in productivity. Only around four percent of Sub-Saharan Africa’s arable land is presently irrigated, compared to 14 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean, 31 percent in the Near East and North Africa, 40 percent for Asia. Meanwhile, Africa utilizes only 1.6 percent of its total renewable water resources for irrigation, compared to 14 percent in Asia.

FAO has, accordingly, cooperated closely with the African countries and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) by providing advisory support and acting as a forum for policy dialogue, as well as preparing the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) adopted by NEPAD and the African Union. The CAADP focuses on investment for Africa’s agricultural production, especially water management, rural infrastructure, special programmes for increasing productivity, and capacity development for market access. It also pays attention to emergencies and safety nets and calls for the long-term support of research and technology.

The Second Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union, held in Maputo, Mozambique, in July 2003, adopted a Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security in Africa, emphasizing the need for revitalization of agriculture. It demonstrates the firm commitment of African leaders to prioritize the fight against hunger and to take all necessary measures, notably in terms of policies and budgetary resources, to remove existing constraints on agricultural production, trade and rural development. Specifically, the Heads of State and Government resolved to implement the CAADP, and to allocate, within five years, at least 10 percent of the national budget to agriculture and rural development. Africa’s leaders set as major priorities at the national level water control and management as well as rural infrastructure; and, at the regional level, the establishment of food reserves and stocks based on Africa’s own production.

In follow-up to the Declaration, FAO, in cooperation with the chairperson of the African Union and the Steering Committee of NEPAD, organized on 17 September in Rome, a meeting of the 19 African countries of the NEPAD Implementation Committee, the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the World Food Programme, and the representatives of African farmers organizations to consider ways and means for providing support to Africa to prepare the bankable projects foreseen in the Maputo Declaration. The Organization is actively seeking cooperation with bilateral and regional financial institutions. FAO hopes that TICAD III can serve as an important channel for attracting funding for investment in agriculture and for encouraging its international partners to do the same; TICAD III has a unique opportunity to help reverse the steady decline in official development assistance going into agriculture.

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

FAO notes the emphasis on Asia-Africa cooperation and Her Excellency Yoriko Kawaguchi’s reference to NERICA rice as a symbol of this cooperation. FAO, which has developed a programme of South-South cooperation between Asian and African countries which will involve around 700 experts by the end of this year, hopes that TICAD III will provide the means for Japan to enhance and expand this programme in Africa within the framework of the Special Programme for Food Security, which has reached US$500 million and is operational in 42 African countries.

Thank you for your kind attention.

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