ARC/04/4.1

Table of contents

I. Background

II. The Process

III. The Maputo Declaration

IV. Follow-up to The Maputo Declaration

V. Issues for Discussion

Annex 1: Consultative Process for Preparation and Follow-up of the NEPAD Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP)

Annex 2: Summary of Recommendations Made by the Ministerial-Level meetings of 5 and 6 December, 2003

Annex 3: Assembly of the African Union (Second Ordinary Session, 10-12 July 2003, Maputo, Mozambique) Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security in Africa

I. BACKGROUND

1. The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) provides a framework for restoring agricultural growth, rural development and food security in the African region. The programme was first endorsed at ministerial level by African Ministers assembled under a special session of the FAO Regional Conference for Africa in Rome on 9 June 2002; it has since then been officially adopted by NEPAD organs as the framework for the sector’s development in Africa. The programme provides African governments, in collaboration with their development partners, with an opportunity for renewed and re-focused efforts to reverse decades of stagnating economic growth, low agricultural production and declining productivity, food insecurity and increased poverty in the region.

2. In the context of the African Union’s NEPAD, FAO is continuing its provision of technical assistance to Member Nations in the Africa Region. The formulation of the CAADP in 2002, the subsequent preparation of the evolving Action Plan for its implementation, organization of policy-level fora to promote awareness of and commitment to the CAADP, and posting of resident advisers at the NEPAD Secretariat are all aspects of support being extended by FAO to the NEPAD process since it was initiated in late 2001. Since the CAADP was adopted, focus has been on implementation and several fora have been used to review progress, among the key ones being the ministerial meeting on agriculture jointly organised in Maputo by the Government of Mozambique, the African Union (AU) and FAO on 1-2 July 2003. That meeting stressed the need for strong engagement by African governments in CAADP implementation and prepared the draft Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security in Africa that was later adopted by the Second Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union, held from 10 to 12 July 2003, also in Maputo. The Declaration as adopted by the Assembly is the strongest expression of Africa’s political support to the CAADP and its evolving Plan of Action.

3. Under the topic Implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) of NEPAD, the twenty-third session of the FAO Regional Conference for Africa will discuss a number of separate but mutually consistent sub-items outlined below, which consist of a progress review of major threads of action to implement the CAADP. This paper outlines the overall progress of CAADP/NEPAD activities following the preparation of the stepwise Action Plan, with emphasis on actions taken to implement the commitments reflected in the Maputo Declaration.

II. THE PROCESS

4. Formulation of the CAADP and preparations for its implementation have gone through a highly consultative process, on which details are given in Annex 1. In essence, once NEPAD was decided upon at the Lusaka Summit of the Organisation for African Unity of July 2001 and the inaugural meeting of the NEPAD implementation committee was convened in Abuja, in October 2001, a series of meetings and exchanges through correspondence have ensured close association of governments and other Africa-based institutions in the formulation and promotion of the agriculture programme.

5. In December 2001, FAO organized a Brainstorming Workshop on agriculture and water, given the primary importance of water management for boosting agricultural productivity; in January 2002, the NEPAD Steering Committee convened a Work-in-progress Workshop in Benoni, South Africa, to chart the way forward for all NEPAD sectors, including agriculture; in February 2002, the Twenty-second session of the FAO Regional Conference in Cairo, Egypt, focused on NEPAD agriculture and called, inter alia, for strong commitment by countries as well as continuing support by FAO. Following that, a number of other meetings have taken place for governments, Regional Economic Communities and other stakeholders, culminating in the African Union meetings in July 2003 of the ministers for agriculture and of the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government. The Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security in Africa adopted at that meeting has become a new point of reference for charting future actions to implement the CAADP.

III. THE MAPUTO DECLARATION

6. The Maputo Declaration provided strong political support to the CAADP and its evolving Plan of Action. The Heads of State and Government resolved, inter alia, to:

• Revitalize the agricultural sector including livestock, forestry and fisheries through special policies and strategies targeted at small scale and traditional farmers in rural areas and the creation of enabling conditions for private sector participation, with emphasis on human capacity development and the removal of constraints to agricultural production and marketing, including loss of soil fertility, poor water management, inadequate infrastructure, and pests and diseases;
• Implement, as a matter of urgency, the CAADP and evolving Action Plans for agricultural development, at the national, regional and continental levels. To this end, the Heads of State and Government agreed to adopt sound policies for agricultural and rural development, and committed themselves to allocating at least 10% of national budgetary resources for their implementation within five years;
• Call upon the African Union Commission, the Steering Committee of NEPAD, the FAO and other partners to continue their co-operation, providing effective support to African countries and the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in the implementation of the CAADP;
• Ensure, through collaborative efforts at the national and regional levels, the preparation of bankable projects under CAADP for the mobilization of resources for investment in agricultural growth and rural development;
• Ensure the establishment of regional food reserve systems, including food stocks, linked to Africa’s own production, and the development of policies and strategies under the African Union and the RECs, to fight hunger and poverty in Africa.

IV. FOLLOW-UP TO THE MAPUTO DECLARATION

Consultations for progress review and related processes

September 2003 Meeting on CAADP Implementation

7. In order to immediately follow up the Maputo Declaration, on 17 September 2003, Mr Hélder Muteia, the Minister for Agriculture of Mozambique, in his capacity as chair of the conference of African Union Ministers for Agriculture, chaired a meeting on CAADP implementation at FAO headquarters in Rome. The meeting was attended by Ministers for Agriculture or their representatives from 19 member countries of the NEPAD Implementation Committee, a representative of the Chairman of the NEPAD Steering Committee, the African Development Bank (ADB), the World Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the World Food Programme (WFP), FAO and civil society.

8. The meeting discussed the implementation of the CAADP, and specifically, the methodology for the review/update of the national long-term food security and agricultural development strategies, the preparation of national medium-term investment programmes and related bankable projects. It also considered the possible establishment of a CAADP Support Group, composed of a number of institutions, which would assist the NEPAD Secretariat in ensuring a smooth implementation of the CAADP.

9. Participants stressed the importance of NEPAD as an African-conceived, led and owned process, and called for all follow-up processes, including preparation of bankable projects, to clearly reflect African ownership. This approach, which should promote significant sourcing of funding from within Africa, was seen as being an essential attribute of the follow-up process which would translate the CAADP into action at national, subregional and continental levels.

10. The Meeting highlighted the need for (a) responsiveness of priorities derived through NEPAD consultative processes, including “flagship” programmes and projects; (b) external support to be better co-ordinated, (c) greater openness of partners to new ways of doing business so as to give Africa the necessary developmental impetus.

11. The meeting underscored the need to undertake the following three activities, with a view to ultimately mobilizing resources in accordance with the African Union commitment at the level of Heads of State and Government to increase funding for the rural sector:

• Revisit the long-term vision of agricultural development and food security strategies with horizon 2010 prepared after the World Food Summit 1996, which were being updated after the World Food Summit: five years later in 2002 with horizon 2015. They should reflect the new priority given to the rural sector and dovetail with poverty reduction strategies and programmes, including those linked to debt reduction modalities;
• Prepare medium-term investment programmesfor each country, reflecting the commitment in the Maputo Declaration of Heads of State and Government of the African Union to achieve allocation of at least 10 percent of national budgets to agriculture within five years and, where relevant, translate them into law programmes to be submitted by Governments to Parliaments;
• Prepare bankable projects in priority areas identified in the Maputo Declaration: water control and rural infrastructure and, at regional level, food stocks and reserves but also in additional priority areas identified by each country within the four pillars of CAADP.

12. Participants at the meeting recognized the need for a Support Group that would respond to the needs of the NEPAD Secretariat in fulfilling its mandate in the implementation of the CAADP. On 18 September 2003, an informal technical working group comprising representatives of the NEPAD Steering Committee, ADB, IFAD, WFP and FAO re-convened to further discuss the idea of creating a CAADP Support Group and methodologies for the preparation of medium-term investment programmes and bankable projects.

Conference of Regional Economic Communities (RECs) Chief Executive Officers on NEPAD

13. At the initiative of the NEPAD Secretariat and in co-operation with the Government of Nigeria, ADB and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Conference of Regional Economic Communities (RECs) Chief Executive Officers on NEPAD, was held on 29 – 30 October at ECOWAS headquarters in Abuja. The meeting was opened by President Obasanjo of Nigeria and Mr Alpha Konare, the Chairman of the Commission of the African Union, delivered a keynote statement. The Abuja Conference was the first of a series that NEPAD wished to hold with high officials of member countries and various regional and other stakeholder groupings (including eventually also the private sector), in order to achieve collective development of procedures and protocols for interaction among NEPAD, RECs and national governments. Achieving African ownership of the NEPAD processes was a strong underlying theme of the meeting.

December 2003 Meetings on CAADP Implementation

14. As a follow-up to the September meeting and taking advantage of the presence in Rome for the FAO Conference of Ministers from Africa, Mr Muteia, Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development of Mozambique, chaired two meetings on CAADP implementation on 5 and 6 December 2003. A joint report on the two meetings, held at FAO headquarters in Rome, will be distributed to participants of the Regional Conference.

15. The meeting of 5 December was attended by the 19 Ministers for Agriculture (or their representatives) from member countries of the NEPAD Implementation Committee, representatives of the African Union, the NEPAD Steering Committee and of the following Regional Economic Communities and regional and sub-regional financing institutions: ADB, the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD), ECOWAS, the South African Development Community (SADC), the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) and the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU). Also present were the following United Nations and Specialized Agencies: the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), IFAD, WFP, FAO, and World Bank. Farmers’ organizations were represented by the Network of Peasant Organizations and Producers in West Africa (ROPPA) and the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP) Committee of Women in Agriculture.

16. The meeting of 6 December was attended by Ministers for Agriculture (or their representatives) from all African countries that were present in Rome for the FAO Conference. They were briefed on the outcome of the meeting of 5 December and on the status of preparation for the Twenty-third FAO Regional Conference for Africa. Participants discussed progress made in implementing the CAADP and made recommendations related to it (Annex 2).

Status of follow-up actions

Activities by Member Countries

17. A number of member countries have started to implement some of the activities contained in the Maputo Declaration, notably by making efforts to increase the level of national contributions to the agricultural sector, reactivating funds for agricultural development, and offering tax and other incentives for attracting investment into the sector. To facilitate co-ordinated follow-up to NEPAD, some countries have designated Focal Points and/or are setting up inter-ministerial mechanisms. A significant number of countries have just come out of civil conflict or are in the process of doing so; for them the implementation of CAADP relates largely to emergencies, including issues of emergency food aid and stocks for response to immediate post-conflict needs. To meet such short-term needs as well as to start on long-term investment under CAADP after stabilization, these countries used the meeting to express their desire for the solidarity of other African countries and of the international community.

18. For countries ready to undertake long-term development, ministries of agriculture from 48 African countries had by end-January 2004 requested FAO support to prepare priority bankable projects, the funding for which should come from a combination of national public budgets; attraction of local and external private investment; and external donor or multilateral aid (details below). At subregional level, consultations continue among countries under their Regional Economic Communities to identify shared priorities, some of which are reflected in the Flagship Programmes of the CAADP Action Plan. In the area of market access, the cotton producers of the Sahel continue to jointly pursue improvements in the face of major competition from subsidized industrial country production.

International processes

Formulation of Medium-term Investment Programmes (MTIP) and Bankable Projects

19. Following the September meetings, and the FAO Director-General’s offer to assist African governments in the formulation of National Medium-term Investment Programmes (MTIPs) and bankable projects, the FAO Technical Co-operation Programme (TCP) projects have been approved for the 48 requesting countries.

20. A complementary activity to the preparation of medium-term investment programmes and bankable projects is the review and updating of national policies and strategies for agriculture, rural development and food security, with a horizon of 2015. Ministries of agriculture, through the designated NEPAD Focal Points, are assuming overall responsibility for the policy/strategy review and updating as well as for formulation of MTIPs and the subsequent formulation of bankable projects. National consultants are being recruited to assist staff from agricultural ministries and stakeholders will be consulted at various stages through ad hoc workshops or through any inter-ministerial mechanisms that may exist for NEPAD programmes. Stakeholders will have the opportunity to present their views on development priorities and discuss proposed actions aimed at increasing agricultural growth, raising farmers’ incomes and improving food security. Procedures for ensuring that the NEPAD machinery can participate actively in this process have been worked out.

Monitoring achievement of higher budgetary allocations to agriculture

21. In consultation among themselves and with the NEPAD Secretariat, ADB, FAO, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are proposing methodologies to monitor the allocations for agriculture in budgets and to look at how funds allocated are applied to agricultural development. A workshop at the beginning of February 2004 was useful in securing agreement on definitions and approaches; a status report on this activity will be distributed to participants of the Regional Conference and during the side event on financing for agricultural development.

Food Reserve Systems in Africa

22. As a follow-up to one commitment in the Maputo Declaration, WFP and FAO have jointly prepared a background paper on food reserve systems in Africa. The paper addresses retrospective analysis of WFP and FAO experience with food reserves; long-term food security perspective and role of food reserves in the context of food security strategies; short-term emergency nature and perspective of food reserve systems; and linkages of food reserves and stocks to production within Africa. The paper is one product of a larger study to be undertaken in depth by WFP at the request of the NEPAD Steering Committee.

Integration of Forestry/Fisheries/Livestock Companion Document to CAADP

23. At the invitation of the NEPAD Steering Committee, FAO assisted in the process of integrating the fisheries, forestry and livestock sub-sectors into the NEPAD CAADP. A two-stage process was adopted which started with separate draft documents for each sub-sector that were widely circulated for comment (through NEPAD Secretariat). A draft synthesis report covering the three sub-sectors plus an over-arching one on sustainable development dimensions of agriculture under NEPAD will be distributed during the Regional Conference. The synthesis document, which will continue to be improved in response to comments from the Conference and from specialized institutions and individuals, will eventually be issued as a companion volume to the existing CAADP. The document that will be successively reviewed by NEPAD committees until its official submission in July 2004 for endorsement by the AU Heads of State and Government Summit.

Implications of implementing the CAADP on Fertilizer Production and Use in Africa

24. Given the major implication of implementing the CAADP for fertilizer use in Africa, a concept note has been prepared on this subject for discussion by the Regional Conference.

V. ISSUES FOR DISCUSSION

25. In their discussions, delegates may wish to give particular attention to a number of issues:

1. The spirit of NEPAD gives prominence to African ownership and commitment to the process; hence it requires that Africa find its own solutions to problems before seeking external support. The Conference may therefore wish to make firm proposals regarding how Africa can mobilize a significant part of the investment resources for implementing the CAADP from its own public budgets and resources, from regional/subregional financing institutions and also from the region’s own private sector.
2. International flows of public funding as aid to developing countries have for long been static or declining. Furthermore, the share of agriculture, although showing signs of some improvement in the last year, remains quite low. Under these circumstances, the Conference may wish to consider what policy measures Africa should put in place to more effectively attract private foreign investment as a supplement to official aid.
3. In a situation of very limited financial resources available to individual countries or regions, the Conference may wish to encourage African governments and other stakeholders to exercise greater selectiveness in terms of agricultural products that they put the most effort and resources into; the nature of public goods (such as rural infrastructure) they invest most in to make the agricultural sector attractive for private capital; and the areas in the commodity chain that they emphasize (production, transformation, and distribution). It will be important for implementation of the CAADP to focus on activities in which countries have the greatest individual or collective comparative advantage and rewarding market opportunities both within and outside Africa.
4. Regarding ongoing processes, the Conference offers an ideal forum to exchange experiences and views, and to then make recommendations with regard to the way forward, including on the following:
• integration into national development plans and other official frameworks of bankable investment projects being prepared for CAADP;
• The integration of Livestock/Forestry/Fisheries into the CAADP as a companion volume to the CAADP. Comments would be useful on the approach adopted and on the consultative process ahead till adoption at the AU Summit in July 2004;
• Establishment of food reserve systems: reactions to the preliminary conclusions and recommendations contained in the report which has been prepared by a joint FAO/WFP team;
• Steps being taken by member countries to increase the budgetary allocations for agriculture to 10 percent or more of the national budgets and proposed approaches for tracking achievement of the Maputo Declaration commitment;
• Implications of CAADP implementation on fertilizer use/production in Africa.

Annex 1: CONSULTATIVE PROCESS FOR PREPARATION AND FOLLOW-UP OF THE NEPAD COMPREHENSIVE AFRICA AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (CAADP)

Annex 2: SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS MADE BY THE MINISTERIAL- LEVEL MEETINGS OF 5 AND 6 DECEMBER, 2003

The Ministerial-level meetings held in Rome, in December 2003, allowed consideration of the progress and issues related to Maputo follow-up and plans for implementing the CAADP in general. On the basis of the discussions, participants made the recommendations below:

1. There is need for continued efforts to champion agriculture and food security issues so as to maintain political will and commitment;
2. National Medium-term Programmes need to be closely linked to existing strategies and national development frameworks for development consistency purposes;
3. CAADP implementation needs to proceed with realism and pragmatism, adjusting priorities and interventions to the realities of each country; countries should primarily count on domestic resources before relying on external financing;
4. Additional attention should be paid to all pillars of the CAADP, including livestock, forestry and fisheries;
5. The target of 10 percent of budgetary resources allocated to agriculture should be considered as an “average” indication of increased commitment; many countries may require more sustained efforts to develop their agricultural sector and should therefore devote a higher share to agriculture and rural development;
6. Significant efforts should be made to involve all stakeholders, including representatives of civil society (farmers’ organizations, especially women and small farmers), in the identification, formulation and implementation processes of agricultural projects and programmes;
7. The CAADP Support Group is seen as a useful tool for increased co-ordination of CAADP activities; the NEPAD Steering Committee should make concrete proposals on composition, role and modus operandi and then activate it as soon as possible;
8. To increase mobilization of national (public and private) and external financing resources, governments should create a conducive environment, including maintaining peace, security, good governance and establishing conditions for profitable investment in agriculture and rural development;
9. In addition to mobilizing more domestic and external resources (both project funding and budgetary support), African countries should improve the quality of sector expenditure, matching better the funding to measurable achievement of CAADP development goals and adjusting expenditure patterns towards those that best support CAADP implementation;
10. The financing of regional and subregional initiatives would require that innovative funding mechanisms are identified and set up; the NERICA multinational Rice Project financed by the ADB could serve as an example for other financiers;
11. Subregional financing institutions should explore ways and means to participate in the financing of multinational projects and programmes;
12. Regional Economic Communities are hampered by the lack of human and financial resources: partners with an interest in agriculture, such as FAO, WFP, IFAD, the World Bank and the ADB should support capacity building.

Annex 3: ASSEMBLY OF THE AFRICAN UNION
(Second Ordinary Session, 10 - 12 July 2003, Maputo, Mozambique)

DECLARATION ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SECURITY IN AFRICA

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

Concerned that 30 percent of the population of Africa is chronically and severely undernourished; that the Continent has become a net importer of food; and that it is currently the largest recipient of food aid in the world,

Convinced of the need for Africa to utilize its full potential to increase its food and agricultural production so as to guarantee sustainable food security and ensure economic prosperity for its peoples,

Noting with satisfaction the collaborative effort of the African Union Commission, the NEPAD Secretariat, Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and FAO, with member Governments and other partners in the preparation of the CAADP,

Recalling the Declaration of the Heads of State and Government, in their capacity of Chairpersons of the Regional Economic Communities in Abuja, Nigeria, December 2002,

Convinced of the need to address the root causes of agricultural crises in Africa, aggravated in particular by inadequate funding, the lack of adequate water control and management, poor rural infrastructure and neglect of agricultural research, as well as the threat of HIV/AIDS,

Recognizing that it is Africa's responsibility to reinvigorate its food and agriculture sector for the economic prosperity and welfare of its people,

Resolve to:

1. REVITALIZE the agricultural sector including livestock, forestry and fisheries through special policies and strategies targeted at small scale and traditional farmers in rural areas and the creation of enabling conditions for private sector participation, with emphasis on human capacity development and the removal of constraints to agricultural production and marketing, including soil fertility, poor water management, inadequate infrastructure, pests and diseases;
2. IMPLEMENT, as a matter of urgency, the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and flagship projects and evolving Action Plans for agricultural development, at the national, regional and continental levels. To this end, we agree to adopt sound policies for agricultural and rural development, and commit ourselves to allocating at least 10% of national budgetary resources for their implementation within five years;
3. CALL UPON the African Union Commission, the Steering Committee of NEPAD, the FAO and other partners to continue their co-operation providing effective support to African countries and the RECs in the implementation of the CAADP;
4. ENGAGE in consultations at national and regional levels with civil society organizations and other key stakeholders, including the small-scale and traditional farmers, private sector, women and youth associations, etc., aimed at promoting their active participation in all aspects of agricultural and food production;
5. ENSURE, through collaborative efforts at the national and regional levels, the preparation of bankable projects under CAADP for the mobilization of resources for investment in agricultural growth and rural development;
6. ENSURE the establishment of regional food reserve systems, including food stocks, linked to Africa's own production, and the development of policies and strategies under the African Union and the RECs, to fight hunger and poverty in Africa.
7. ACCELERATE the process of establishing the African Investment Bank, as provided for in the Constitutive Act of the African Union, which should give priority to investment in agricultural production.
8. INTENSIFY co-operation with our development partners to address the effect of their subsidies, to ensure their support to market access for Africa's exports, and to realize the African Union's vision of a prosperous and viable agricultural sector as envisaged under the NEPAD framework and Millennium Development Goals.