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REMARKS BY HER EXCELLENCY TUMUSIIME RHODA PEACE COMMISSIONER FOR RURAL ECONOMY AND AGRICULTRUE
ON THE OCCASION OF THE FAREWELL DINNER IN HONOUR OF
DR. ABEBE HAILE GABRIEL,OUTGOING DIRECTOR THE DEPARTMENT OF RURAL ECONOMY AND AGRICULTURE

4 August 2015, Congo Hall, AUC

Dr. Abebe Haile Gabriel, Outgoing Director of the Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture and your Family

Prof. Vincent O. Nmehielle, Director, Office of the Legal Counsel
Dr. Khabele Matlosa, Director, Political Affairs
Mrs. Azeb Gebremedihin, Vice President of the Staff Association, representing the Director Programming, Budgeting, Finance and Accounting
Ms Sandra Oder, Secretary General of Staff Association
Dr. Janet Edeme, Officer-in-Charge of the Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture
Members of Staff of the Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture

I commend the Social Committee of DREA for a great job! And I welcome you all. I am glad you have all been able to be here. This is a day of mixed feelings. It is like when you are going to give away your daughter into marriage; you feel happy for her but you also don’t feel happy she is leaving. While we are happy to see one of our own rise and spread our wings, we also have that feeling that one of our pillars is leaving our station.
But what reassures us is that you are not going far; geographically, you are within our continent and technically, you remain within our field of agriculture. So, we believe we can continue to count on you in three ways: one being to continue to draw on your institutional memory and capacity, secondly, to know that you will be helping to champion, at country level, the causes we have been working on together and thirdly, to help to further strengthen the close working relationship between our Department and your organisation.
I, therefore, would like to congratulate you in your new position where you will be taking on higher responsibilities and I think this is testimony that the African Union Commission and indeed the Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture has high calibre staff attractive to other reputable international organsations.
And more importantly, I wish to congratulate you for the work well-done while you served the African Union Commission and in particular the Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture. You laid a firm foundation at the Semi-Arid Food Grain Research and Development (SAFGRAD) and since you came herere at Headquarters first as Head of Rural Economy Division and later as Director of the Department, we have worked together on many strategic and technical issues furthering support to AU Member States in the multiple sectors covered by our department; building partnerships, mobilizing resources; and working closely with Regional Economic Communities and Member States. At this juncture, I must thank your Family for releasing you all this time to be so busy at the service of our continent. With your support and advice, we have ably steered this department; we have increased the number of staff from the initial small number to the size we have now and we continue to build on that to be able to meet the tasks at hand. We used to fit around one small table. We have increased in number and build capacity. We have been able to marshal multi-dimensional partnerships through which we have secured financial and technical support to our policy development and harmonisation drive across the continent, formulation and implementation of continent-wide programmes and projects. We have been able as a department to effectively to play our role of coordinating and providing leadership and guidance to other Pan African institutions in the areas of our mandate and to promote alignment of our partners' interventions.
In all this, your personal and professional efforts and commitment are recognised and appreciated highly. I congratulate you for this.
And as you leave to take up your new post, please know that we wish you all the success for yourself and the best for your family. S they say, the world is a global village; we meet to part and part to meet. We look forward to our continued communication and interaction at every possible opportunity.
Let me now invite you all to make a toast to Dr. Abebe's and his family's best of luck; to his contribution to our collective achievements as a department; and to our continued collaboration.
Thank you.

Opening Remarks delivered by DCP African Union Commission On the occasion of Panel Discussion Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 24 July 2015

Commissioner, Trade & Industry
Distinguished Principals and Participants,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my distinguished honor, on behalf of the African Union Commission to welcome you to this important event.

Tonight, I would just like to make three points. In the past, we have not attached importance this sector as it deserves. This is primarily because of a lack of knowledge and a lack of capacity. Science had made much progress in this sector and we have discovered a lot more that we cannot remain ignorant.

We have approached this with a silo mentality. Still a lot of that remains. The silo mentality persists because we tend to look at oceans from P& S viewpoint, Fisheries, Transportation, dumping ground for waste, as energy, tourism, and recreation…anything. If we are to succeed, we have to approach this sector from a synergistic point of view.

On this note, we would like to appreciate the work that has been done by Mr. Samuel Kame-Domguia, who has tenaciously worked hard to introduce the element of us all working together in the commission. Such partnerships can take many forms. We must continue to work together to establish and strengthen these partnerships across all the maritime sectors, not just in the security aspect. We look forward to jointly working with our international, government, non-government, and private sector partners, on possible areas for future cooperation and collaboration
Agenda 2063 also discussed the importance of the blue economy. We now have knowledge we can build on to move forward, with better synergies to manage the blue economy.

Third and last point is that Africa cannot do this alone. Through the ocean, we are neighbours to almost every continent. There has to be international cooperation in this vital sector. To work together to develop and orderly system for sustainable management and exploitation of the green economy for the benefit of all.

If you look in the past, this has not been the case. As Africa, we cannot continue in this manner. We need to change for the sake of our people, the generations to come, and for the sake of the entire humanity.

The AU is working towards the extraordinary Maritime Summit in Togo in November with focus on the specific steps we must take on the ground and at sea, at the continental, regional and national levels, to further our engagement to ensure that Africa can derive positive benefits from our work on maritime challenges and opportunities. We appeal to you all to collaborate with us on the implementation of the AIM-Strategy.

I also want to thank the ISS and SAMSA for their contribution to the organization of the Panel Discussion. We are grateful to all Moderators, Panelists and Resource Persons who have taken time to attend this discussion. We are also thankful to all the staff who put the arrangements together. They performed their duties with professionalism, and very importantly, always with a smile.

Excellencies, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you for your attention and I hope we all will have some fruitful hours to the benefit of the African Blue Economy.

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON AFRICA’S FIGHTAGAINST EBOLA - PLENARY OF AFRICAN HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT
21 July 2015

Venue:
Conference Room,
Sipopo, Equatorial Guinea

Opening Remarks by H.E. Erastus Mwencha, Deputy Chairperson, African Union Commission

Your Excellency, Robert Mugabe, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe and Chairperson of the African Union;
Your Excellency, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea and our gracious host;
Your Excellencies, Head of State and Government;
Your Excellencies, First Ladies,
Heads of Delegations,
Honorable Ministers,
Commissioner for Social Affairs;
President, ECOWAS Commission;
Secretary General, Mano River Union;
Representatives of UN Agencies and International Organizations
Distinguished Delegates;
Ladies and Gentlemen

It is my honour and privilege to speak before this august assembly gathered on this special occasion on the International Conference on Africa’s Fight Against Ebola. I bring you greetings from H.E. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, who very much regrets her inability to be with you today. However, she sends her best wishes for a successful and productive meeting.

First and foremost, allow me, on behalf of the African Union Commission, to express our sincere appreciation to His Excellency, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo and the people of Equatorial Guinea for hosting this important event in the beautiful city of Malabo. We applaud you, Mr. President, for your commitment to African integration and development agenda. As you have just stated, only recently during the height of the Ebola crisis, Equatorial Guinea successfully hosted the 2015 African Cup of Nations, just to mention one such act of your commitment.

Let me also take this opportunity to pay tribute on our behalf H.E. President Robert Mugabe, for his leadership and for his enormous effort deployed to fight against the Ebola epidemic. Only recently you attended the High-level International Ebola Recovery Conference in New York.

We also salute our Heads of State and Government for your material and financial support, and for taking the time out of your very busy schedule to attend and contribute to this meeting.

Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates,
We are here to share experiences from lessons learned since the onset of the Ebola Virus Disease, and to forge a way forward by mobilizing financial and material support for the post recovery and for tackling the ever abiding challenge of strengthening Africa’s Health Care Systems. In this regard, we need to secure concrete support for the full establishment and operationalization of the African Centre for Disease Control (CDC), which will be a major step in ensuring greater preparedness and resilience in tackling similar epidemics on the continent.

The 2014 Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) epidemic is the largest, most severe and most complex in its nearly four decade history of its existence. As of July 14, 2015, total Ebola cases reached 27,679 and total deaths reported stood at 11,276. Most of these deaths occurred in areas with inadequate life-saving health services. In addition to the death and illness caused by Ebola Virus Disease, there was an upsurge in mortality and morbidity from other diseases due to the collapse of health systems. It is estimated that about US$6.25 billion of GDP was lost during this period. In the health sector alone, the loss of health workers still posses a major problem. The most affected sectors were agriculture, transportation, trade, mining, and hospitality (including tourism). In addition to this, stigmatization and travel bans that led to isolation of the three (3) most affected countries was a major challenge. Immediate needs for post Ebola reconstruction is highlighted in the ministerial report before you. The three most affected countries will also present their experiences and needs as concerned.

The African Union Support to the Ebola Outbreak in West Africa (ASEOWA) that was established in Aug 2014 mounted an effective campaign that mobilised close to USD 100 million from African private sector and international development partners, and deployed 835 volunteer health workers from 18 member states. These health workers, together with local workers and those from the international community provided technical support that has contained the disease.

On that note, we congratulate the people and governments of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, for their hard work and commitment to fighting and containing the disease. We also acknowledge and applaud the African private sector and the international community for their contribution to containing the outbreak and to partner in the endeavour of developing stronger public systems in the affected countries.

Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates,
The Ebola virus disease adversely affected these three countries because of the fragility of their health systems. This is a common feature of the health sector in Africa. We have a huge burden of preventable and treatable health problems where millions suffer, and in some cases, die from diseases and conditions that are relatively simple to prevent or treat. This in turn undermines the growth and development of many African Countries.

It is reported that one in six children born today will die before age five. African women face more than 100 times the risk of maternal mortality the women in the developed world. And the average life expectancy in Africa is 58 years as compared to 68 years in Asia, 76 years in Europe and 77 years in the Americas.

Three problems make up the most important barriers to efficient and effective health care:
• A lack of access to basic primary care, which is at most only one-third (1/3) of what is required,
• Insufficient and under-trained healthcare workforce, which is only a fraction of the size actually needed, and
• Several operational weaknesses, which prevent national health systems from functioning well.

Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates,
This is partly the reason why you adopted Agenda 2063 and its first Ten Year priority programs, aimed at achieving sustainable structural transformation and long-term inclusive economic growth. Agenda 2063 lays out seven key priorities, which include “Inclusive growth and sustainable development” and “People centered and people-driven development”.

There are three priority areas for enhancing resilience of the health sector, namely:

1. Investments in Human Resource
While Africa has 13% of the world population, it bears 25% of the global disease burden and has only 3% of the global health work force. To rectify this, there needs to be national programs to attract, train and retain health professionals, with an emphasis on greater involvement of local women to serve as health officers whenever possible.

2. Investments in Early Warning Systems, ICT and Manufacturing

Utilization of technological innovations in the context of the establishment of the Africa CDC is one of the promising ways to accelerate information transfer and build Africa’s early warning system through the creation of effective communication and information systems, in the perspective of monitoring, tracking and recording health activities across the continent.

The Africa CDC will work collaboratively with WHO and various partners to ensure that systems and measures are put in place to deal with future epidemics with special emphasis on outbreaks in States with weak health institutions.

3. Investments in Health Care Systems
We need to honor the commitment of at least 15% of national budgets to health, in line with the Abuja decision of 2001. To achieve this, we need to explore alternative financing mechanisms including:
a. Domestic resource mobilization through diversified sources of revenue such as the enlargement of tax structures, remittances and diaspora bonds, a greater private sector engagement and financial deepening of capital markets.
b. Efficient collection and utilization of external resources with the view of increasing global partnerships and solidarity to ensure universal access for low-income communities to critical health services. This was indeed the subject of the recent international meeting on Financing for Development that took place in Addis Ababa Ethiopia last week.

The development of a viable pharmaceutical industry is vital as this will only impact on our capacity to respond to the health needs, but also contribute to the overall socioeconomic development of the continent. The AU Commission is taking a two-pronged approach in this area and to this end, technology transfer and the harmonization of medicine registration systems is very important.

Excellences, Ladies and Gentlemen
The immediate priority is to end the epidemic. It is also critical to note however that even after all 3 countries are declared Ebola-free, the virus may remain latent in that region. As the mandate of ASEOWA comes to an end on 18 August, there is a need for an extension, as there are still challenges to overcome in the affected countries. As such, post-disaster recovery programmes must integrate systems and processes to ensure that disease surveillance is improved, and other relevant local and national capacities are in place. It is vital that we address the adverse conditions that enabled a localized epidemic to escalate into national crises with serious regional and global response and to minimize the risk of its resurgence.

We welcome the commitments made by the international community at the recent New York Ebola Conference. We must ensure a mechanism is in place to monitor the pledges made so that the affected countries are able to implement their post recovery plans.

The African Union will continue to work with Regional Economic Communities, Member States and partners to harness greater support for recovery efforts in the three-affected countries, including the continued development of their health systems to enable them to defeat the disease and overcome other non-Ebola health issues.

Your Excellences, I thank you for your kind attention and wish you fruitful deliberation.

OPENING REMARKS
BY

H.E. TUMUSIIME RHODA PEACE

COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT FOR RURAL ECONOMY AND AGRICULTURE

AT THE

RESOURCE MOBILISING ROUNDTABLE TO SUPPORT OPERATIONALISATION OF AFRICA’S AGENDA ON ACCELERATED AGRICULTURAL GROWTH AND TRANSFORMATION

AUCC, MULTI-PURPOSE HALL, ADDIS ABABA,
JULY 15

H.E Dr. Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, Chief Executive Officer, NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency
H.E Dr. Agnes Kalibata, President, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)
H.E Mr. Laurent Thomas, Assistant Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
Stephane Roberge, First Secretary (Development - Pan Africa Regional Program), Government of Canada
Mr. Kiyoshi Kodera, Vice President, Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA
Mr. Mark Cackler, Global Practice Manager for Agriculture, World Bank
H.E Amb.Reuben E. Brigety, U.S. Ambassador to the AU, US Government
Mr. Klaus Rudischhauser, Deputy Director-General, European Commission
Dr. James Mwangi, Managing Director, Equity Bank Holding

Distinguished participants; Ladies and Gentlemen:
It is with great honor that I welcome you all to this important event that aims at strengthening our partnerships in support of advancing Africa’s Accelerated Agriculture Growth and Transformation agenda -our vision for achieving the goals that we set for ourselves in the June 2014 African Union Malabo Declaration.
Agriculture continues to play a pivotal role in African economies, as the livelihoods and businesses of the majority of the population depend on the sector directly or indirectly. It is obvious that the rising demand for food and other agricultural products, hence the fast-growing domestic market, induced by high population growth, rapid urbanization and income growth should continue to spur fast agricultural growthin Africa.
As suchthis dynamic market presents itself as a huge and unique opportunity for transforming African agriculture from a subsistence-oriented towards a more market-oriented sector , propelled by high productivity along the whole agricultural value chains – through the development and expansion of agro-industries and agribusinesses in Africa – with positive impacts on jobs, incomes and quality of life. This is consistent with our vision as enshrined inAgenda 2063 for inclusive growth, sustainable development and shared prosperity.
Dear Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen:
It was in recognition of the strategic position of agriculture that African leaders adopted CAADP in 2003. An important feature of CAADP has been its emphasis on African leadership and ownership and on sustainable and inclusive agricultural development as a key to economic growth and shared prosperity. A decade of CAADP implementation realised a number of encouraging successes as agricultural transformation is increasingly put high on the development policy agenda in most AU Member States. Guided and informed by CAADP principles and practices, the majority of Member States have been formulating and implementing National agriculture and food security investment plans (NAFSIPs). It is not by coincidence that the performance of Africa’s agriculture over the last decade or so, estimated to have grown by 4-5% per annum, has been quite encouraging in spite of the low base. Such progress required deliberate and persistent leadership and commitment for the noble cause.
Evidences indicate that agricultural growth has been largely responsible for the relatively fast and equitable economic growth that many African countries have registeredover the last decade. It is now evident that inclusive and sustained agricultural growth has the most direct and consequential impact on overall economic progress as well as on poverty reduction. A recent FAO report indicates, for example, that Africa has made significant strides in terms of improving food availability by nearly 12% over the past two decades, as well as in declining poverty rate by 23% between 1993 and 2011.
However, the encouraging progresses notwithstanding, the challenges still remain. The total number of undernourished people continues to increase in Africa, despite the decline in the prevalence of undernourishment. And, despite certain improvements, productivity levels are still the lowest in the world. External dependence on food imports is rising, which is unsustainable. Despite the huge potential of African markets, African countries trade less amongst themselves and more with the rest of the world. And, because agriculture is one of the most climate sensitive sectors, vulnerability to climate variability and other related risks has been on the rise. It is, therefore, our considered view thatthe manner in which these are adequately addressed would define the extent to which agriculture can grow sustainably and continues to positively impact overall economic transformation in Africa.

It is in recognition of such trends and facts that the Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Agricultural Growth And Transformation for Shared Prosperity And Improved Livelihoods was adopted by AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government in June 2014.Anchored in the principles and values of CAADP, the Malabo Declarationcontains specific commitments defining the 2025 vision and goals – which in effect also constitute the agricultural component of the 1st Ten Years Implementation Plan for Agenda 2063. The commitments are for:
1. Ending hunger in Africa by 2025;
2. Enhancing Agriculture’s Contribution to Economic Growth and Significant Poverty Reduction (agriculture to contribute to at least half)
3. Boosting Intra-African Trade in Agricultural commodities and services
4. Commitment to Enhancing Resilience of Livelihoods and Production Systems to Climate Variability and other related risks
5. Enhancing Investment Finance in Agriculture, and
6. Enhancing Mutual Accountability to Actions and Results

Admittedly these are commitments of a tall order, but clearly they are achievable goals. No doubt, they require exceptional leadership qualities at all levels, in particular high public officials essentially leading the way in terms of ensuring that enabling conditions for effective implementation are put in place and sustained; effective participation of all stakeholders; and constructive engagement with the private sector and other significant actors with unity of purpose.

I am glad to inform you that the African Union Commission and the NEPAD Agency, in collaboration with the RECs, undertook an expedient process that translated the Malabo commitments into results-based Implementation Strategy and Roadmap, anddeveloped aProgramme of Work that broadly defines operational actions and guides implementation at multiple levels,and across sectors, thus building coherence and alignment of efforts that respond to the priorities identified.

Distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen:

You will recall that CAADP was adopted against a backdrop of agricultural policy neglect in Africa. The most manifest form of that neglect had been the investment deprivation of agriculture. So, an important tenet defining CAADP has been the consensus to allocate an increasing proportion of national budgets to agriculture. The decision to allocate at least 10% of public budgetary expenditure was aimed at reversing the trend of the investment deprivation that characterized agriculture, but also as a demonstration of commitment to country ownership and leadership in this predominant sector.

With the benefit of hindsight, we can note with a sense of encouragement that government expenditureon agriculture in Africa had registered an increasing trend over the last decade. Average annual agricultural expenditures by African governments exceeded US$ 10billion in 2010-13 period, compared to an average of about US$ 7billion during 1995-2008. Cumulatively, agriculture expenditures have risen significantly from US$ 55billon in 2003-2008 to US$ 65bilion in 2008-2013.
Since the Maputo Declaration in 2003, more and more countries have been making progress towards the 10% budget expenditure target, with at least 9 countries having annually achieved or surpassed the 10%budget targets, whilst an average of 15 countries had budget shares exceeding 5 percent during 2003–2013. This increased to 18 countries during 2008-2013 period.
Similarly, evidences suggest that the total Official Development Assistance (ODA) to agriculture in Africa increased from a little over 1 billion to close to $ 2 billion in 2011. The growth of Agriculture ODA on average was 4.5% during 2003-2008 but increased to 6.7% in the 2008-2012 period. This period also demonstrates the positive response of the global community as many countries developed their CAADP based National Agriculture and Food Security Investment Plans (NAFSIPs).

Excellences, Ladies and Gentlemen
These are encouraging trends, but by no means adequate to respond to the enormous and growing challenges that we must meet through operationalization of the Malabo Commitments. We will continue to work with African governments and all relevant stakeholders and development partners towards ensuring that the Malabo commitment of “enhancing investment finance” both public and private is realized. It is at this juncture that I wish to call on our strategic partners to step up their efforts in terms of enhancing investment finance to support Africa achieve its goals.
It goes without saying that the transformational agenda – as part of Africa’s industrialization drive through development and expansion of agro-industries and agribusinesses propelled by high and sustained productivity along the whole value chain – cannot be achieved without the co-leadership, ownership and active participation of the private sector. To this effect, we have been working with African governments and business leaders, both African and foreign, to facilitate a constructive dialogue aimed at enhancing investment in agriculture. This engagement will continue.
You may have already noted that enhancing mutual accountability for results and impacts is one of the commitments of the Malabo Declarations. The African leaders expressed their readiness for a peer review to be conducted every two years, starting from 2017 on the progress made in the realization of those goals. Definitely, progress on achievement of the goal of enhancing investment finance shall be one of the parameters against which we will all be judged.
We,from the African Union Commission and NEPAD Agencyare carrying out significant efforts to work with our Member States in creating the enabling conditions to sustain the current recovery, in addition to continuing to raise public and private financial resources foragriculture. Our efforts will continue to be guided byour evidence based policy planning and implementationstrategies in increasing the number of our countries that are subscribing to the more comprehensive, technically robust, and inclusive mutual accountability frameworks.
In summary, wewill continue to create the conditions for even higher returns to investments in agriculture.We will continue to ensure that African countries continue to invest more responsibly in agriculture both from the private and public sources. We, therefore, call on our partners to work with us to sustain the growth that we have registered in the last decade in terms ofsignificantly raising investment finances.
I thank you.