#CAADPPP2023 - Paradigm shift a must for Africa to attain sustainable development
Change necessarily involves substantive investment to improve agricultural system, innovation and technology and increase productivity and add value through commodity services
LUSAKA, Zambia (Planet Defence) - African experts that gathered in Lusaka during the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme and Africa Day for Food and Nutrition Security have acknowledged that despite the fact that there has been development in various agricultural sectors on the continent, a paradigm shifts towards sustainable development urgently needed to achieve food and nutritional security writes Jose Fucato.
The change necessarily involves substantive investment to improve the agricultural system and modern agriculture to increase production, improve productivity and add value through commodities and services. This will radically transform the sector to allow the continent to feed itself and be one of the main net exporters of food, states a communique made during the closure of Comprehensive Agriculture Development Programme - Partnership Platform (the 19thCAADP PP).
Experts warned that there is an urgent need to accelerate the implementation of the programme, a continental framework for the transformation an agriculture-led growth strategy to achieve ambitious food and nutrition security targets, as described in the Malabo declaration.
They also believe that the recently launched African Food Systems Parliamentary Network (AFSPaN) is very useful platform for promoting the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) at grassroots level. They also expect member states to embrace the programme and take into account their agenda for allocating adequate budget to the agricultural sector, which remains marginalised in many countries.
A conclusion was reached that non-state actors must be more involved in agri-food and agriculture systems to guarantee food security and ensure wealth creation in communities.
The four days (30th to 2nd November) at Mulungushi International Conference Centre were full of lively debates, panel discussion, breakaway session including key notes speeches from experts.
The diversity of participants present, believe that building resilient and inclusive food systems for Africa is the challenge of this generation, given that more than 250 million Africans are facing hunger at the moment.
The questions from participants to partners ranged from perspectives on the state of agri-food trade, food and nutrition security: major priorities, reflection on the last 20 years of CAADP, priorities for the remaining 2 years and what lies ahead for the post-Malabo agenda, what the goals and paths of the next CAADP cycle should be.
Innovation to increase productivity and sustainable agriculture, role of agro-ecology in nutrition and food security, financing agri-food and nutrition sector through the involvement of private sector, harnessing the nexus between CAADP and AfCFTA to triple intra-African trade in agricultural commodities and improve nutrition, capacity building of institutions, partnerships, were among the aspects addressed