supporting Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP)
goals
23 May 2006
The conference on Championing Agricultural Successes for Africaâs Future in
Support of the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP)
have noted the following:
Section one: The importance of agricultural growth
Sustained agricultural growth is necessary if Africa is to stimulate
economic growth and to reduce poverty. Over 70% of Africaâs poor work in
agriculture; a majority of them are women. Meanwhile, Africaâs poor spend over
half their income on food staples. Thus, agriculture has the greatest potential
to simultaneously increase production and productivity while enhancing incomes
of the majority of the continentâs poor, and at the same time raising real
incomes of the urban poor by reducing the cost of food staples.
Members further recognised that agricultural prosperity stimulates demand
for many non-farm goods and services, generating large spill over growth in
other sectors of the economy and driving large GDP growth multipliers. Further,
agricultural growth improves national food security and drives rural prosperity
and wealth creation which, in turn, help in stemming rural-to-urban
migration.
Section two. Prospects for success
The conference recognised that African farmers and agricultural policy
makers have achieved a series of substantial successes in agricultural
development, although these have proven inadequate in number and scale to
counter Africaâs rapid demographic growth. Many of these successes have endured
for decades, without being scaled up. The development of Tropical Manioc
Selection (TMS) varieties of cassava has launched two decades of breeding
breakthroughs in most regions of Africa.
The development and diffusion of modern, high yielding varieties of maize,
from the 1960âs onwards, have transformed this imported cereal from a minor
crop into the continentâs major source of calories today. By crossing African
and Asian varieties of rice, African rice breeders have developed a hardy, high
yielding upland âNericaâ variety of rice which is spreading rapidly in West and
Central Africa. Further, members noted that in recent decades African farmers
have successfully contested highly competitive export markets for high value
agricultural products including cotton, coffee, livestock and horticultural
products for Europe, the Middle and Far East.
Reviews of past successes suggest a regular confluence of three key
ingredients: * new, more productive technology that lowers costs and makes
farming more competitive and profitable
* a focus on growing markets
* high-level political commitment to agriculture. It was evident that clear
vision and high level political commitment have consistently proven essential
for creating favourable policy environments and ensuring adequate budget
allocations to agricultural support institutions and related infrastructure
Looking forward, medium-term projections suggest that the largest immediate
opportunity for agricultural growth will lie in the anticipated explosive
growth in Africaâs internal and sub-regional markets for food staples. Flexible
responsiveness to high value and niche export markets can supplement this with
opportunities for external growth. Both domestic and export markets open
opportunities for value addition up and downstream input supply and processing
industries. Africaâs abundant resource base can underwrite these gains,
provided African governments can maintain sustained policy follow ups to
maintain favourable policy environments and provide necessary public goods such
as roads, power, legal institutions and research that the private sector will
not supply.
Section three: The role of public policies and investments
The conference further recognised that a modern African agriculture must
view farmers as entrepreneurs seeking profit through access to credit and
productivity-enhancing technologies in order to compete in growing domestic and
export markets. Indeed, Africaâs farmers have proven inventive and resourceful
as well as highly responsive to new opportunities. Input suppliers, together
with agribusiness processing and distribution networks form vital links between
farmer and final output markets.
Public policy must provide a favourable environment for sustained
agricultural production and agribusiness. Access to land and security of
tenure, a solid legal framework, stable macro-economic policy and
well-functioning support institutions provide a necessary foundation for
agricultural prosperity. However, members expressed concern about the scourge
of HIV/AIDS and other debilitating diseases. Harmonised access to continental,
regional and sub-regional markets enhances prospects for sustained agricultural
growth, particularly in rapidly growing markets for food staples. Fair trade
conditions and prices are a necessary part of this favourable incentive
system.
Likewise, significant public investment will be required in rural roads,
electricity, and other infrastructure as well as in agricultural research and
extension of new, more productive technologies. Returns to public investment in
agricultural research and development prove consistently high, both in Africa
and elsewhere. Yet Africa, on average, has continued to under-invest in its key
productive sector. While Green Revolution Asian countries invested 15% of their
budgets in agriculture, on average, African governments today allocate only six
percent.
Similarly, the conference acknowledged that public investments necessary to
sustain rapid agricultural growth will require a significant boost in African
government budgetary allocations for agriculture. Recognising this imperative,
African Heads of State and Government agreed, at the African Union Summit in
July 2003, to make agriculture a top priority and to raise budget allocations
for agriculture to a minimum of 10% of their individual countriesâ total public
spending, by 2008.
Section four: What is required to achieve the CAADP goals?
The conference recommends that achievement of the CAADP (Comprehensive
Africa Agricultural Programme) goals will require concerted action at multiple
levels:
1. African Union (AU)/New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD)
level:
* Communicate the Maputo Declaration to all stakeholders, including
governments, relevant ministries, parliaments, civil society and private
sector;
* The NEPAD Secretariat and AU Commission should enhance the monitoring of
these agreements, including the Maputo Declaration for all member states;
* Provide a website with real-time information on spending targets and
achievement;
* Harmonise definitions of agriculture and total spending. Support the NEPAD
initiative on agricultural expenditure tracking within government institutions
and the necessary budget translations.
* Host regular sub-regional seminars to include government, parliament as well
as representatives from the farmer organisations.
2. National level:
* Immediately internalise, formalise and institutionalise the Maputo
Declaration (MD) in national budgeting process. Prepare Cabinet memos; provide
high-level briefings within government, legislative branches as well as
stakeholder groups. Integrate the MD into national medium-term planning and
budgeting systems;
* Improve the quality of agricultural investment allocations;
* Enhance internal capacities to utilise budget allocation effectively and
efficiently;
* Develop transparent and efficient accounting systems that will accurately
track actual expenditures on a timely basis;
* Initiate national peer review mechanisms whereby government, legislature and
civil society can monitor progress towards this goal;
* Engage and enhance the capacity of farmer organisations, civil society and
other beneficiary groups on follow up and expenditure monitoring;
* Document and showcase past agricultural successes;
* Make agricultural education and image attractive.
3. Parliamentarians:
* Designate the agriculture and associated committees of parliament to
monitor progress towards the CAADP goals;
* Annually verify the implementation of the CAADP programme, including progress
towards the Maputo Declaration by reviewing annual budget allocations and
actual expenditure;
* Engage in sub-regional dialogues;
* Alert constituencies, including the youth, men, women and political parties,
to the importance of agriculture and increased investment in agriculture;
* Require briefing by the executive to parliament on all initiatives related to
agriculture;
* Monitor government progress in achieving the Maputo Declaration;
* Introduce private member resolutions advocating achievement of the MD;
* Parliamentarians should take a leading role in fighting HIV/AIDS;
* Encourage exchanges of experience and mutual learning with other
parliamentarians and technical experts.
4. Development partners:
* Encourage development partners to prioritise agriculture again and provide
matching grants to support African governments that display commitment to
CAADP;
* Support capacity building efforts among African governments, parliaments and
parliamentary groups;
* Support regional and sub-regional parliamentary fora on agriculture;
* Provide technical backstopping on technical issues affecting agricultural
technology, development and trade;
* Provide links to industrialised country parliaments and policy makers so
African parliamentarians can communicate the interdependence of African and
developed country farm policies.
We believe that with renewed commitment by African governments, significant
gains are achievable in African agriculture and that this enhanced agricultural
performance will significantly improve prospects for economic growth and
poverty reduction in the decades ahead. We call upon the organisers of this
conference and all participants to play their rightful role to ensure the
realisation of these recommendations.
Issued by: Department of Agriculture
23 May 2006
