AU Joint Conference of Ministers of Agriculture, Rural Development, Fisheries and Aquaculture

28 April-2 May 2014. The African Union (AU) Joint Conference of Ministers of Agriculture, Rural Development, Fisheries and Aquaculture officially opened in Addis Ababa at the AU Headquarters. The conference is organised in two segments; the Experts meeting from 28-30 April 2014 and Ministerial Session 1-2 May 2014.

The theme for the meeting is: “Transforming Africa’s Agriculture for Shared Prosperity and Improved Livelihoods through Harnessing Opportunities for Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development.”

The joint conference aims to highlight the importance of agriculture as a vehicle for economic growth and poverty eradicationin the African continent. This conference will also take steps towards finalising strategies that will catalyse African-led solutions for African problems through agriculture and the rural sector for the

next 10 years.

“Agriculture has been showing a growth performance of about 4% per annum over the last decade of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), this is indicative that agriculture and the rural sector are at the centre of the transformation agenda”, said AUC Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, H.E Tumusiime Rhoda Peace during her opening remarks. “The Decision of the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government to commemorate 2014 as the Year of Agriculture and Food Security and marking the 10th Anniversary of the Adoption of CAADP, provides us all with a unique opportunity to engage ourselves in an exercise of honest assessment and reflections of the progresses made thus far, the lessons we have learnt, and chart clear set of goals and targets for implementation in the next decade in a context of transformative agenda to get rid of hunger, malnutrition and poverty from our continent”, she added.

The five day meeting aims to finalise consensus on strategic goals and improved coordination of programmes linking agriculture and rural development and strengthening policy and institutional capacities for advancing agricultural transformation.

Related:
27/04/2014. Opinion. Rwanda: African Smallholder Agriculture - Our "game Changer"

AFRICA'S Ministers of Agriculture are meeting in Addis Ababa this week to debate the policies that will shape an agricultural market projected to be worth USD 1 trillion by 2030, three times its size in 2010.