Accelerate agricultural transformation

18/05/2012 - Food security was a key theme 

of the G8 summit taking place in Camp David 

6-7 September. Dar es Salaam. Tanzania . Launching of the New Alliance. Tanzanian senior government officials, together with representatives of international donors and the private sector, had a two-day strategy session on how to accelerate agricultural transformation in Tanzania. The session, being held at the Bank of Tanzania, was basically about coordinating the partnership between Tanzania, international donors and the private sector to create sustained economic growth in Tanzania.

Specifically, the meeting agenda focused on three main themes:

1. increasing stability and transparency in policy reforms regarding land, seeds, taxes and trade; improving the private sector investment climate for long term economic growth; 
2. and developing domestic and regional input policies that encourage greater private sector participation in the production, marketing, 
3. and trade in seeds and other inputs.

Programme national d`investissement agricole: 

les bailleurs de fonds internationaux 

se sont concertes pendant deux jours à Abidjan.

Prior to the session, 20 local and international private sector entities signed letters of intent to make specific agricultural investments in Tanzania. Led by the US Agency for International Development, Feed the Future harnesses the strengths of partner US Government organisations, multilateral institutions, the private sector, and civil society groups to help reduce poverty and under-nutrition through agriculture-led growth.

12-13 September 2012. Cote d’Ivoire launching of the New Alliance and CAADP investment plan The Cote d’Ivoire government organized a roundtable to mobilize resources to support its program on national investments in agriculture (PNIA). The launching was headed by the Ministry of Foreign Affaires representing the President of the Republic, H.E. Mr. Outtara. Several Ministers were in attendance, such as Agriculture (as lead of the initiative), Livestocks, Economy and Finance, Water and Forest, Health and Nutrition, Energy, Commerce and Environment.

The European Commission Ambassador as representative of the G8 shared the concept behind the New Alliance for food security and nutrition. The EC pledged 3 million euro for this initiative in Cote d’Ivoire.

Background
Kick-off workshops for implementation of the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition Cooperation Frameworks were held in Ethiopia, Ghana, and Tanzania, etc. The workshops focus on the implementation of actions outlined in the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition Cooperation Frameworks to accelerate country plans and priorities for improved food security and nutrition. They also address alignment of expanded public and private agricultural investments to help ensure that this implementation complements existing efforts to support food security, nutrition, and inclusive economic growth through development of the agricultural sector.

Led by the respective host country government partners, the workshops include participation from African and G8 country government officials, international donors, private sector partners, and civil society groups. They were held on August 21 in Ethiopia, August 29 in Ghana, and September 6-7 in Tanzania, September 12-13  in Ivory Coast.

To take innovation to scale, the New Alliance will:

• Determine 10-year targets in partner countries for sustainable agricultural yield improvements, adoption of improved production technologies, including improved seed varieties, as well as post-harvest management practices as part of a value-chain approach, and measures to ensure ecological sustainability and safeguard agro-biodiversity. 
• Launch a Technology Platform with the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa and other partners in consultation with the Tropical Agriculture Platform and the Coalition for African Rice Development (CARD) initiative that will assess the availability of improved technologies for food commodities critical to achieve sustainable yield, resilience, and nutrition impacts, identify current constraints to adoption, and create a roadmap to accelerate adoption of technologies. 

Related:

Tanzania: Sh160bn fund planned for agriculture
Programme national d’investissement agricole (PNIA) : La Côte d’Ivoire mobilise 2002 milliards FCFA