SACAU policy conference Financing agriculture

President Jakaya Kikwete addressed 

the SACAU Regional Conference

13 May – Wed, 15 May 2013. Dar el Salaam, Tanzania. This conference under the theme “Aligning agricultural finance with a growth oriented and business development focused agricultural development strategy in Southern Africa” was organised by Agricultural Council of Tanzania (ACT) in collaboration with the Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions (SACAU).

The conference has attracted about 200 participants from 14 Southern Africa Development Cooperation (SADC) countries and some representatives from regional agriculture organisations from other parts of Africa.

Objectives:

SACAU Chief Executive Officer Ishmael Sunga

• update farmer leaders on the SADC/ COMESA/EAC tripartite agreement: the rationale and architecture were presented and highlighted of matters of interest to farmers and agribusiness.
• provide data regarding the global supply and demand projections of key agricultural commodities and highlight the opportunities and threats that this could present to farmers and agribusiness.
• bring farmers from African continent to deliberate on topical issues 
• launch of the SACAU Agribusiness Pilot Project in Tanzania.

After the meeting, SACAU held its Annual General Meeting and selected its leaders. Participants had an opportunity to visit farmers in Bagamoyo in Coast Region as part of their field visit.

Note:

ACT is a private sector apex organisation uniting and representing all stakeholders in the agricultural sector. SACAU seeks to promote the creation of an enabling environment that allows southern African farmers to realise their productive potential by influencing regional, continental and global policies and programmes related to agriculture.