PPPs can attract the required investment, skills and technical know-how for modernizing the agricultural sector 

30 October 2019, Kampala, The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations together with the African Union Commission (AUC), convening in Kampala, Uganda, have called on African governments to create policies for improving Public-Private Partnerships in the agricultural sector. This, according to the FAO and AU, will help countries with limited resources to generate resources, reduce risk, improve productivity and drive growth in the agriculture and food sectors through.

The call was made during a multi-stakeholder dialogue to improve the design, implementation and impact of Public-Private Partnerships (agri-PPPs) in Uganda’s agricultural sector. Held from 29-30 October 2019, the dialogue was organized by FAO, in partnership with the Uganda Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), AUC and Uganda Agribusiness Alliance. It sought for a comprehensive review of the agri-PPP guidelines developed by FAO and AUC, ensuring that they are effectively and appropriately adapted to the Uganda context, as a policy instrument to inform the design and implementation of PPPs in the agricultural sector.

The dialogue brought together stakeholders from government agencies, private sector players in commercial agriculture, public and private finance, research, small scale farmers, youth in agriculture and policymakers. They discussed a range of issues and made several recommendations, incuding: establishment of an agri-PPP dialogue platform in Uganda, providing a clear interpretation of the PPP Act and its linkages to PPPs in the agricultural sector, the need for consensus on priority agricultural commodities suited to PPP arrangements, implementing a pilot agri-PPP as well as building capacity of key stakeholders (both public and private sector) in the design and implementation of agri-PPPs. 

Alex Lwakuba- Ag. Commissioner, Department of Crop Production at MAAIF represented the Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries- Hon. Vincent Sempijja. He noted the Ugandan government’s enthusiasm to work with the private sector to adopt the most appropriate partnerships and ensure that they deliver intended objectives to uplift the people of Uganda.

“We need to make strategic and appropriate partnerships and create synergies to boost the contribution of agriculture to the livelihoods of Ugandans and the economy, he said. “We also need a coordinated agriculture extension system which does not lock out other actors”, he added.

While speaking at the opening of the dialogue, the FAO Representative in Uganda, Antonio Querido, underscored the importance of Public-Private Partnerships for agricultural sector development.

“Effective cooperation between the public and private sectors and the forging of public-private partnerships is essential in ensuring policy and programmatic coherence,” he said. “Partnerships between public and private sector players are instrumental in attracting the required investment, skills and technical know-how that will help to modernize the agriculture sector and deliver benefits that can contribute towards sustainable and inclusive agricultural development.”

He called on the Government of Uganda to work with private companies to design agri-PPPs which address key constraints in the agriculture value chain, while exploiting opportunities associated with national priority commodities, in production,  processing and distribution (input and output markets).

In her opening remarks, Dr. Janet Edeme, the Head of Rural Economy Division within the Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture of the African Union Commission, stated that facilitating partnerships between the public and private sectors is a key aspect of the implementation of the 2014 Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transformation for Shared Prosperity and Improved Livelihoods. She noted in the process of supporting the Member States of the African Union to develop and implement their National Agricultural Investment Plans (NAIPs) within the Framework of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), it became evident that “African governments alone would not be able to implement their NAIPs as the capital investments needed and the technical skills required to drive and transform the agriculture sectors in their countries would require private sector capital and expertise”.

Mark Kofi Fynn, Agribusiness Advisor at the African Union Commission, in a presentation, stated that the 2014 Malabo Declaration calls for increased investment finance, from both the public and private sectors, in agriculture. “to bring about the increased levels of investment, and the associated transformation in agriculture, it is important to define clear roles for the public and private sectors. The public sector should undertake key reforms and catalytic investments that create a conducive environment for business. The private sector in African agriculture, on its part, should be better organized, engage in the policy-making processes and invest in priority value chains to take advantage of opportunities,” he said.

The multi-stakeholder meeting also reviewed guidelines for designing, implementing and monitoring Agri-PPPs, which FAO and the AU jointly designed. The guidelines were a result of an analysis of 32 agri-PPP case studies from eight African countries (Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia). The PPP guidelines aim to provide guidance to policymakers on the design, implementation and monitoring of effective PPPs for agribusiness development.

More about Agri-PPPs guidelines here