Lusaka, Zambia, February 28, 2018: The African Union Commission is holding the Regional Workshop on Accelerated Domestication of the AU Malabo Declaration by Member States and Regional Economic Communities. The AUC through the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), has been supporting countries to implement the decisions of the AU 2014 Malabo Declaration on Africa Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transformation (3AGT), by domesticating them into country specific National Agriculture Investment plans.

The regional convening with RECs, Country CAADP focal points and other important CAADP stakeholders will agree on key issues pertaining to accelerated domestication of the Malabo Declaration and strengthened mutual accountability mechanism after the inaugural biennial review report launched in January 2018 Heads of State Summit. The aim is to align countries’ commitments to the Malabo Declaration and CAADP and to identify more opportunities for agricultural investments.

AUC CAADP Team Leader, Ernest Ruzindaza said the Commission acknowledged the importance of having the Malabo Domestication discussion at regional level to come up with detailed roadmaps towards NAIP Formulation with clear deliverables as well as have a coordinated mechanism of the country level NAIP roadmaps and progress reporting system.

The workshop will also draw lessons from the Malabo Declaration Biennial Review process that culminated in the inaugural Biennial Review Report that was presented to AU Heads of State and Government at the AU Assembly in January 2018.

Opening the workshop, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Director of the Department of Industry and Agriculture, Theirry Kalonji reiterated the importance of domesticating the Malabo commitments into country agriculture investment plans as a way to grow the economies of African countries.

“Agriculture shouldn’t just be about food security but should also be looked at as a business. Trading in agriculture commodities will not only improve productivity but will also enhance the trade amongst our countries,” he said.

Malabo Declaration Commitments

Increased performance by AU Member States to deliver on targets set by the Malabo Declaration will in turn trigger evidence based planning and implementation for the expected agricultural growth and transformation in Africa; and ultimately lead to the Africa We Want, as embodied in the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and in particular, to Aspiration 1 of Africa’s Agenda 2063; a prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development.

In 2014, the African Union adopted a Declaration on Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transformation for Shared Prosperity and Improved Livelihoods. The Malabo Declaration commits MS to the following seven key commitments encompassing the 2025 vision and goals of Africa Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transformation (3AGT):

(i) Recommitment to the Principles and Values of the CAADP Process;

(ii) Commitment to Enhancing Investment Finance in Agriculture;

(iii) Commitment to Ending Hunger in Africa by 2025;

(iv) Commitment to Halving Poverty by the year 2025, through Inclusive Agricultural Growth and Transformation

(v) Commitment to Boosting Intra-African Trade in Agricultural commodities and services;

(vi) Commitment to Enhancing Resilience of Livelihoods and Production Systems to Climate Variability and other related risks;

(vii) Commitment to Mutual Accountability to Actions and Results;

So far, the Malabo Domestication process has been launched in the following countries: Malawi, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Ghana.

For more information, please contact:

Ms. Carol Jilombo

CAADP Communications

Jilomboc@africa-union.org