Events

Press Release No. 009/2014

Experts discuss implementation and resource mobilization plan for an African strategy on meteorology

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 10 February, 2014- Experts and stakeholders today met in Addis Ababa, at the AU Commission to discuss and draft the implementation plan and resource mobilisation strategy for the integrated African strategy on meteorology.

The meeting is an implementation of the Decision of the Executive Council adopted at the January 2013 AU Heads of State and Government Summit, on the Report of the Second Session of the African Union Conference of Ministers responsible for Meteorology and the African Ministerial Conference on Meteorology (AMCOMET) held in October 2012.

The Summit endorsed the Integrated African Strategy on Meteorology and recommended the establishment of two Taskforces to draft the Implementation and Resource Mobilization Plan for the Integrated Strategy on Meteorology.

Further endorsed was the investigation of the feasibility of developing an African Regional Space Programme as well as a recommendation to the African Union Commission (AUC), in collaboration with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and Partners to establish a Regional Climate Centre in Central Africa.

Officially opening the experts meeting, AMCOMET Bureau Chief and Head of International Relations of the Zimbabwe Meteorological Department, Dr. Elliot Bungare, said the Implementation Plan would be comprehensive in nature and would take into consideration the numerous issues affecting climate and meteorology.

He further said the implementation plan would support activities in line with the AU declared Year of Agriculture and Food Security.

Dr. Bungare also urged Regional Economic Communities to consider the integrated African Strategy whenever they discuss meteorology and climate change issues.

African Union Commission, Director for Rural Economy and Agriculture, Dr. Abebe Haile Gabriel said the development of the Implementation Plan under discussion was cardinal as it would improve the generation of climate information on the African continent.

He said improved generation of climate information would enhance the capacity of National and Hydro-Meteorological Services to explore the potential of Earth Observation (EO) technologies in monitoring droughts, floods, weather, climate, fisheries, rangelands, forests, etc, as a tool for climate change adaptation and mitigation.

“The drafting of the Implementation Plan is also very timely as we are still discussing our African Agenda 2063 on: Pan Africanism and African Renaissance; and in addition we are commemorating the 10 years of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programm.” Dr. Abebe said. “Furthermore, the recently held 22ndSession of the African Union Assembly launched the Year 2014 as the Year of Agriculture and Food Security. I have no doubt that the Implementation Plan being developed will support climate change adaptation in the field of agriculture which contributes to over 80% of rural livelihood needs and over 40% of GDP in Africa,” he added.

The Integrated Strategy was developed as a policy document to enhance the cooperation between African countries; and to ensure that National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) have the capacity to fulfill their responsibilities including the implementation of the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS).

The Strategy identifies five key pillars for action as follows: (a) Increase political support and recognition of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services and related Regional Climate Centres; (b) Enhance weather and climate service delivery for sustainable development; (c) Improve access to meteorological services for in particular for Marine and Aviation Sectors; (d) Support the provision of weather and climate services for climate change adaptation and mitigation; and (e) Strengthen partnerships with relevant institutions and funding mechanisms.
The Strategy further sets out priority actions that can be undertaken at national, regional and global levels. These priority actions are supported by a set of institutional partnerships that bring together AMCOMET and Development Partners to support meteorological (weather and climate) services in Africa.

CJ/MTS

For further information contact
Mrs. Olushola Olayide
Senior Policy Officer
Rural Economy and Agriculture Department African Union Commission
Email: OlusholaO@africa-union.org

Mr. Molalet Tsedeke
Directorate of Information and Communication
AU Commission
+251-911630631
molalett@africa-union.org

For further information contact
Directorate of Information and Communication | African Union Commission I E-mail: dinfo@africa-union.org I Web Site www.au.int I Addis Ababa | Ethiopia

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2014 Year of Agriculture:
AU SAFGRAD and CILSS to revisit their MOU

Ouagadougou, 04 February 2014. AU SAFGRAD, the Specialized Office of African Union Commission in charge of Agricultural Research and Development in the Semi-Arid Zones (SAZ) of Africa and The Permanent Inter-States Committee for Drought and Desertification Control in the Sahel (CILSS) have decided to revisit their previous five years MOU. This decision is the main conclusion of discussions during a visit paid on Tuesday, February 4th 2014 by DR Ahmed ELMEKASS, AU SAFGRAD Coordinator, to DR Djimé ADOUM, new CILSS Executive Secretary.

Accompanied with close collaborators, Dr Ahmed ELMEKASS has visited his CILSS peer with the purpose to greeting him and discuss the way to better strengthen the cooperation between the two institutions. Responding to his guest, Dr ADOUM expressed his honor in receiving AU SAFGRAD Coordinator and his team. While discussing on the relationships and activities of their respective institutions, the two persons in charge agreed to reinforce the collaboration between AU SAFGRAD and CILSS in particular within Sahel Region. Taking opportunity of the framework of the 2014 African Union Year of Agriculture, Dr ElMEKASS and Dr ADOUM have decided to revisit their Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) signed since 2006. In this regards a couple of experts representing the two organizations will meet in the coming weeks to reread the past MOU. Invited by his counterpart, the head of CILSS has accepted to visit AU SAFGRAD Office as soon as possible.

Established respectively in the seventies (1973 and 1977), CILSS and AU SAFGRAD are both located in Ouagadougou City. CILSS intervention is limited to the Sahel Region while AU SAFGRAD mandate is targeting all the semi-arid zones across Africa including the Sahel.

DR ADOUM and DR ELMEKASS (at the center) posing with close collaborators during the visit
For further information, please contact: Mr Youssoupha MBENGUE, Senior Information Officer at AU SAFGRAD, Ouagadougou. Email: Mbenguey@africa-union.org

PRESS RELEASE N0. 05/ 22nd AU SUMMIT

AUC hosts CAADP 2nd Multi Donor Trust Fund design meeting

Addis Ababa, 22 January 2014-The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Multi Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) 2 design meeting opened today with a view to map out a strategy for the second phase of the MDTF.

Established in 2008 at the request of the African Union as a programmatic trust fund, the CAADP MDTF, whose mandate ends December 31, 2015, was intended to support the efforts of African agencies engaged in CAADP processes. The MDTF supports the activities of African institutions to lead the adoption and utilization of CAADP across the continent and to facilitate coordination of development partner support to activities under CAADP and to African agriculture more broadly.

Officially opening the design meeting, AUC Director of Rural Economy and Agriculture, Dr. Abebe Haile Gabriel, said the CAADP MDTF had been instrumental in supporting African institutions in delivering their mandates and capacity building services in rolling out CAADP.

Dr. Abebe stressed the importance of building on what CAADP has done in the last decade to deliver positive changes that impact directly on lives and livelihoods of people through agricultural transformation.

“The MDTF 2 should therefore, focus on country implementation results and impact,” he said. “The outcome of this meeting is going to be very crucial in contributing towards the design of a financing mechanism that will help in accelerated implementation of CAADP in the next decade.”

Speaking during the opening of the meeting, World Bank representative, David Neilson, noted that there have been real successes in African agriculture achieved through CAADP.

He said the design of MDTF 2 would focus on pertinent issues meant to sustain the CAADP momentum and would also reflect on experiences and lessons learnt in the last decade of CAADP.
A snapshot of main CAADP successes since its launch in 2003

Improved Agricultural Planning: More than 28 out 54 countries have developed national agricultural investment plans – and these have become their medium term expenditure frameworks for agriculture. Another dozen countries are now developing their own plans. Several countries have implemented first round investment plans and are now developing second generation agricultural investment plans (e.g, Rwanda and Sierra Leone).

Improved Agricultural Growth: Annual agricultural GDP growth for countries south of the Sahara has averaged nearly 4% since 2003, well above agricultural GDP growth rates for the previous several decades. Several countries are already meeting the CAADP target of an annual rate of agricultural growth of 6 percent.

Greater Public Expenditure in Agriculture: On average, public agricultural expenditures have risen by over 7% per year across Africa (more than 12% per year in Africa’s low income countries) since 2003 – nearly doubling public agricultural expenditures since the launch of CAADP.

African Ownership of its own Agricultural Programs and Agenda: CAADP has elevated attention to agriculture and has put African leaders in a stronger position than ever before to lead African approaches to agriculture at every level.

Media contact:

KeizireB@africa-union.org

Jilomboc@africa-union.org

For further information contact
Directorate of Information and Communication | African Union Commission I E-mail: dinfo@african-union.org I Web Site: www.au.int I Addis Ababa | Ethiopia

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Launch of 2014 Year of Agriculture and Food Security in Africa, marking 10th Anniversary of CAADP during AU Summit

Press Release Nº003/2014
AUC and Meridian Institute sign MoU on renewal of Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa

Addis Ababa, 14 January 2014 – The African Union Commission and Meridian Institute, USA, have renewed the Memorandum of Understanding that was originally signed by both parties in September 2012 on the Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa (PACA). The signing ceremony held on 14 January 2014, at the AU Commission did not only mark the renewal of the MoU but also the signing of a grant agreement to the tune of US$ 1.2 million between the two parties to support PACA secretariat operational and programmatic activities of 2014.

The MoU and grant agreement were signed by the Commissioner for t Rural Economy and Agriculture, Mrs. Tumusiime Rhoda Peace, on behalf of the AUC and senior partner of the Meridian Institute, Mrs. Barbara Stinson.

Mrs. Tumusiime appreciated and recognized the active and proactive partnership that the Commission has enjoyed with Meridian for the past sixteen months. She indicated that: “the new phase of the partnership should serve as a launching pad for a more fruitful collaboration that would build on the successes and lessons learned from implementation of the previous MoU.”

The Commissioner emphasized the importance of having this programme, in light of the problems aflatoxins are causing on the continent such as undermining regional integration and coordination. PACA will be contributing to the overall strategy of transforming the African agriculture, achieving food sovereignty and nutrition security.

Although PACA’s progress to date is very impressive, Mrs. Tumusiime highlighted, it is important to stay cognizant of the fact that work has only began and further action and persistence is required in order to effectively address the challenges of aflatoxins in Africa (the Commissioner’s speech is available on www.au.int ).

Aflatoxins are naturally occurring highly toxic compounds produced by fungi. Long-term exposure to these toxins is believed to cause liver cancer and is also associated with immune suppression, growth retardation, liver disease, and death in both humans and domestic animals.

During the signing ceremony, Mrs. Stinson expressed the significance of this renewal as well as the signing of the grant agreement. She expressed her sincere gratitude and appreciation to the AUC for providing much needed leadership for PACA.

The African Union Commission reiterated its commitment to tackle the aflatoxin problem through the PACA initiative and registered its commitment to work closely with all PACA partners in order to implement its 10 year strategy and achieve its vision of “an Africa free from the harmful effects of aflatoxins”.

Media contact:
Mr. Molalet Tsedeke, Directorate of Information and Communication, AUC; molalett@africa-union.org; +251-911-630-631

For further information contact
Directorate of Information and Communication | African Union Commission I E-mail: dinfo@african-union.org I Web Site: www.au.int I Addis Ababa | Ethiopia

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