2nd MEETING OF THE SPECIALIZED TECHNICAL COMMITTEE (STC) ON AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, WATER AND ENVIRONMENT

Opening Remarks at Experts’ Meeting

by

Her Excellency Mrs. Josefa Sacko

Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture

October 2, 2017
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Experts from Member States;
Staff of the AU Commission;
Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. It gives me a great pleasure to be here today at the opening ceremony of the experts meeting of the Second Meeting of the Specialized Technical Committee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment. I take this opportunity to welcome everyone to Addis Ababa, the Headquarters of our Union and our political capital.

2. I would like to thank you for your participation in this STC. It is a testimony of your dedication and renewed commitment for implementation of Africa’s Agenda 2063 and the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

3. As this meeting prepares for the Ministerial segment of the STC, I request you to take the necessary time to provide the technical inputs and come up with sound recommendations which will help Honorable Ministers to make informed decisions on the various aspect of agriculture, rural development, water and environment.

4. I urge you as experts in the various fields to discuss and provide your inputs into emerging issues that are hampering the agricultural transformation agenda set by our Heads of State and Government such as climate change, man-made and natural disasters, Fall Armyworm infestation, and others. These threaten the gains we have made in increasing agricultural productivity on the continent.

5. It will be important that you discuss the findings of the Malabo Biennial Review report and the Africa Agriculture Transformation Scorecard. The report provides the status of the progress implementation of the Malabo commitments. You should make recommendations on how to use the findings of the report to strengthen the country systems for CAADP implementation. Your recommendation will go into the report that will be presented to the Ministers for further discussion and endorsement before presentation to the AU Summit in January 2018 as called for by our Heads of State and Government.

6. The technical teams from my Department and the NEPAD Agency who are participating in this meeting will provide the required technical and logistical support to make this meeting successful.

7. Again, I thank you to taking the time to attend this meeting, especially towards the end of the year when there are many activities back home in your respective ministries. I wish fruitful deliberations and a wonderful stay in Addis Ababa.

8. Thank you