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During a high-level policy dialogue that kicked off in Dakar, Senegal, yesterday on the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) food system review, stakeholders gave an overview of the status of the National Agriculture Investment Plans (NAIPs) and lessons drawn from the programme in the last 15 years.
In a breakaway session that focused on this analysis, it emerged that agriculture and food systems are a critical priority for the continent because of their ability to create jobs and transform livelihoods in the communities in the face of different forms of natural disasters.
Mrs. Estherine Fotabong, the Director of Programme Innovation and Planning of the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) said attention should be focused on the implementation of NAIPs since there are already policies and plans in place.
“Deriving from CAADP biennial review and from experience, the continent needs to do more and better to transform the agricultural food system. The cross-pollination of the food system with other sectors makes it a multi-disciplinary and integrated approach to its implementation. About 50 member states have developed their NAIPs and in some countries, they are on the second and third generation of NAIPs but the main issue now is implementation.
“The continent needs to invest more to ensure local systemic capacity is enhanced for implementation of the NAIPs and the food systems. There is a need to take stock of national development needs, and capacity gaps in ensuring a smooth implementation. The implementation of food systems through the Africa Common Position should be aligned with the NAIPs. This should be seen as one, not as two processes when aligning these at the national level,” she said.
Participants in the session were unanimous that partnerships at all levels are key to delivering the implementation at the local level. Thus farmers need to be supported to build resilient systems and guarantee self-sufficiency in production. Synergies and complementarity are key to building our own system and achieving a multi-player and multi-disciplinary approach.
Member states NAIPs national implementation experiences
In many countries, the NAIPs development process is well defined and working and most countries are in the second generation and being informed from the first generation. It emerged that the forms of financing are determined by the political will to enhance implementation.
A coordination mechanism is required to ensure implementation and in some countries, it is anchored on a high level and it’s a multisectoral approach. It has emerged that alignment between the private sector and government needs is very important. There is a need to design a framework to support implementation, especially when decentralising NAIPs.
The CAADP process is mainly based on 5 national priority commodities, but this approach is limiting diversification in the food system approach.
Private Sector Experience: Case Study of Ghana
Ghana is trying to improve inclusiveness in the agriculture framework through the development of a policy framework that recognises private sector participation. The improved policy framework resulted in investment by the private sector which led to 6% agriculture growth annually.
The inclusive multi-sectoral platforms called by the Ministry include the private sector and development partners. The platform has resulted in the mobilisation of more resources towards agriculture through donors, the banking system, insurance companies, and commodity exchange markets.
The country is still receiving less than 10% from the government to catalyse production. Efforts are being made to increase budgetary allocation. This will incentivise the private sector to invest in agriculture.
The private sector investment is limited because of the risk involved in agriculture. There is a need to derisk the sector and improve farmers’ market share on the market, especially in the face of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Coordination by the World Food Progamme (WFP) is key and leads to a good implementation and monitoring framework. The duplication of investment needs to be reduced. Information should be shared amongst the donor community. There was a reference to Ethiopia, described as a good example where donors are well coordinated to maximise interventions.
Experience from Regional Blockings, Donors and Private Sector
Regional economic communities provide good coordination with member states and financial mobilisation. They also provide technical support to member states. However, of concern are weak institutions in some countries, weak partnerships and poor monitoring and evaluation frameworks, coupled with inadequate private sector participation.
Agricultural and Food System Transformation agenda: Africa’s Ambitions and Plan
In their presentations, Dr Godfrey Bahiigwa and Dr Ousmane Badiane, the Executive Chairperson AKADEMIYA2063 focused on the state of Africa’s food system.
It emerged that there is rising hunger and malnutrition on the continent due to high fuel, fertiliser and food prices, and political instability in high import-dependent countries. This is also driven by pests and disease, COVID 19, and climate change.
What does Africa Need to do?
Out of the 51 members, only one country (Rwanda) was on track and about 20 countries are making progress in achieving the Malabo declaration. Member countries need to improve aggressiveness in the implementation of CAADP Business Plans, develop pathways in national dialogues under the UNFSS, improve Africa continental trade, and domesticate the Malabo commitment through capacity development, the involvement of different players such as the private sector, development partners, NGOs and donor community. There is also a need for peer review from other member countries and regional blockings.
There should be preparations for the successor of the Malabo Declaration ahead of the 2023 and 2025 biennial reviews. Various technical studies will be done that will inform the successor in 2026.
Successful Food Systems transformation requires good policies based on local and relevant evidence for better planning and decision making. These policies should go under rigorous review, clear targets, and dialogues for stakeholders, should be adequately tracked and reviewed and also take into account social and environmental issues. The policies require good data and knowledge management system which is consistent and speaks to each other
The engagement of technical expertise should bring stakeholders together for training and mentorship. Data infrastructure investment is important. It will help to monitor agriculture production in real-time. NAIPs should be inclusive and address ICT, innovation, and scientific new technologies.
