By Ernest Nutsugah
Accra, July 5, GNA – About 20 Members of Parliament (MPs) from different African countries converged in Accra to discuss and make input towards implementation of the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) in the next 10 years.
The two-day forum on the theme: “Envisioning MP’s Leadership in Agri-Food Transformation”, among other objectives, sought to rally the law makers to increase advocacy and help achieve the objectives of the programme in their respective countries.
CAADP is an Agenda 2063 continental initiative that aims to “help African countries eliminate hunger and reduce poverty by raising economic growth through agriculture-led development”.
Through the initiative, African governments agreed, among various commitments, to allocate at least 10 percent of national budgets to agriculture and rural development to “achieve agricultural growth rates of at least six percent per annum”.
African leaders first met in Maputo, Mozambique, in 2003, to endorse and launch the initiative. In 2014, the frontrunners met again in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, to evaluate the programme, and came up with a framework called the “Malabo Declaration”.
After 10 years of the Malabo Declaration, CAADP is set to enter another ten-year phase of its implementation. The meeting on Wednesday, July 3 to Thursday, July 4, 2024, was to lay the foundation for the launch of other strategies in 2025, to give a new direction to the programme.
Focusing on seven priority areas, part of the CAADP commitments include targets for “reducing poverty and malnutrition, increasing productivity and farm incomes, and improving the sustainability of agricultural production and use of natural resources.”
Speaking at forum, Ms Panduleni Elago, Senior CAADP Advisor, said the initiative, in the last 20 years, had “grown into a beacon of hope and progress” for the Africa continent.
She stressed the importance of taking stock of the progress and challenges faced in implementing the programme, which sought to “revolutionise the agricultural landscape, and pave the way for sustainable economic growth.”
Ms Elago explained that the discussions were to “strengthen mutual accountability to actions and results” pertaining to various aspects of the CAADP commitments.
“CAADP’s journey has been one of resilience, perseverance, and adaptation. Over the two decades, lessons were learned from the transformation of our agricultural sector through CAADP, and one of the good lessons is that of inclusivity, ensuring that no constituency is left behind,” she noted.
Ms Elago said “only a handful” of African countries had “managed” to achieve various targets under CAADP.
To that end, she emphasised adherence to the aspect of the programme which required governments to allocate 10 percent of national budget to agriculture.
“The journey of CAADP is far from over, and we must remain committed to its principles and objectives. As we stand at this juncture, we have the opportunity to set new and ambitious goals for the next chapter of CAADP,” she noted, and stressed the advocacy role of Parliamentarians at the national level for CAADP.
Mr Kwame Dzudzorli Gakpey, MP for Keta, speaking to Ghana News Agency, urged African countries to collaborate and increase food production on the continent.
He called for more intervention from governments in agriculture, and a conducive environment for the private sector and young people who wanted to venture into the sector.
GNA