Development Programme (CAADP) -

Transcription

1 The Potential Contribution of Organic Agriculture to the Realization of the Objectives of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) - A Guide for Stakeholders

2 The Potential Contribution of Organic Agriculture to the Realization of the Objectives of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) A Guide for Stakeholders Report commissioned by IFOAM IFOAM Head Office Charles- de- Gaulle- Str Bonn, Germany Phone: Fax: HeadOffice@ifoam.org Authored by Charles Walaga, Uganda IFOAM

3 This report was commissioned by IFOAM Regional cooperation for organic standards and certification capacity in East Africa (OSEA) Project. The OSEA Project is being undertaken with support from Swedish Development Cooperation. The project is the sole owner of the production and the publisher is responsible for the content. More information: 2

4 Table of Contents Acronyms... 4 Executive Summary Background to the Comprehensive Agriculture Development Programme The New Partnership for Africa s Development The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme Status and achievements of CAADP at contiental, regional and national levels Continent level Regional level National Level Other achievements of CAADP Organic Agriculture: An important opportunity for Africa s development The agriculture challenge The development of Organic Agriculture in Africa Productivity, Resilience and Food Security benefits of Organic Agriculture in Africa Economic and Market Access benefits of Organic Agriculture in Africa Allignment with CAADP objectives Response of African governments to the organic agriculture promise The potential contribution of Organic Agriculture to CAADP Pillars CAADP Pillar 1: Sustainable Land and Water Management Pillar 1 - Principles and guidelines The contribution of Organic Agriculture to Pillar Strategies for mainstreaming Organic Agriculture in Pillar CAADP Pillar 2: Improving Rural Infrastructure and Trade Related Capacities for Market Access Pillar 2 principles and guidelines The contribution of Organic Agriculture to Pillar Mainstreaming Organic Agriculture in Pillar CAADP Pillar 3: Increasing food supply, reducing hunger, and improving responses to food emergency crises Pillar 3 principles and guidelines The contribution of Organic Agriculture to Pillar Strategies for Mainstreaming Organic Agriculture in Pillar CAADP Pillar 4: Agricultural research, technology dissemination and adoption Pillar 4 principles and guidelines The contribution of Organic Agriculture to Pillar Mainstreaming Organic Agriculture in Pillar Mainstreaming Organic Agriculture in RECs Other CAADP Support Initiatives The Abuja Declaration on Fertilizers and the Fertilizer Support Programme: Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System (ReSAKSS): Africa Agricultural Productivity Projects: African Union The Grow Africa partnership FEED the Future Other international initiatives Conclusions References

5 Acronyms AfDB AfroNet ASARECA AU AUC AUC- DREA CAADP CCARDESA CGIAR COMESA CORAF/WECARD: CSIF DANIDA DFID EAC ECCAS ECOWAS EPOPA FAAP FARA FiBL FIMA GFAR IFOAM IGAD IAASTD: ICRISAT ICROFS IDRC IFAD IITA ILRI ISOFAR IWMI JAG African Development Bank African Organic Network The Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa African Union African Union Commission Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture of the African Union Commission The Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme Centre For Coordinating Agricultural Research and Development in Southern Africa Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research Common Markets for Eastern and Southern Africa West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development/ Conseil pour la Recherche Agricoles en Afrique. Country Strategic Investment Framework for Soil Land and Water Management (SLWM) Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs UK Department for International Development East African Community Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) Economic Community of West African States Export Promotion of Organic Products from Africa Framework for African Agricultural Productivity Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture Framework for Improving Rural Infrastructure and Trade Related Capacities For Market Access Global Forum on Agricultural Research International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements The Intergovernmental Authority on Development International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development International Crop Research Institute for the Semi- Arid Tropics, in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe International Centre for Research on Organic Farming Systems International Development Research Centre International Fund for Agricultural Development International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan, Nigeria International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya International Society of Organic Agriculture Research International Water Management Institute Joint Action Group on Science and Technology Agendas 4

6 LDCs MDGs MIDA NAFSIP NARS NASRO NEPAD NEPAD Agency NOARA NVF OSEA II PASA PGS RECs ReSAKSS SLWM Sida SOAAN SSA TIPI UNCTAD UNEP USAID WOCAT Least Developed Countries Millennium Development Goals Millennium Development Authority, Ghana National Agriculture and Food Security Investment Plans National Agriculture Research Systems North African Sub Regional Organization New Partnership for Africa's Development NEPAD Planning and Coordination Agency The Network for Organic Agricultural Research in Africa New Venture Fund Regional cooperation for Organic Standards and certification capacity in East Africa Partners for Seed in Africa (PASA) Participatory Guarantee Systems Regional Economic Communities Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System Soil Land and Water Management Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency Sustainable Agriculture Action Network Sub- Saharan Africa Technology and Innovation Platform of IFOAM United Nations Conference on Trade and Development United Nations Environment Programme U.S. Agency for International Development World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies 5

7 Executive Summary NEPAD and CAADP background The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) was conceived in 2001 and ratified by the African Union in 2002 as an African Union strategic framework for pan- African socio- economic development to address Africa s development problems in the twenty- first century. The international community now recognizes NEPAD as Africa's development plan and the mechanism through which support to Africa's development efforts should be best delivered. Agriculture (covering Crops, livestock, forestry, fisheries) is one of the six thematic areas identified by African leaders as a key priority area for intervention in achieving the NEPAD vision. To this effect, the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) was formulated and was endorsed by the Africa Union Heads of State in July 2003 as a NEPAD program with the overall goal of Helping African countries reach a higher path of economic growth through agriculture- led development, which eliminates hunger, reduces poverty and food insecurity, and enables expansion of exports. A continental- wide structure with institutional linkages, mechanisms, and alliances has been developed to implement CAADP. At the continental level, the AU- NEPAD Planning and Coordination Agency in Pretoria, South Africa, is responsible for the continental- wide coordination of CAADP implementation, resource mobilization and developing continental wide programs and projects in support of CAADP. The Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture at the African Union Commission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, (AUC- DREA) supports CAADP implementation. AUC- DREA is responsible for securing political leadership and mobilizing partnerships and financial resources for moving the CAADP agenda forward and, formulating responses that holistically address the challenges of Africa s agriculture and rural development, sustainable management of the environment and natural resources. CAADP Pillars CAADP has been adopted at the national, regional and continent levels as the official framework for development of the agriculture sector, eradicating poverty and food insecurity and malnutrition on the African continent. Financial and technical resources are increasingly being mobilized for supporting implementation of the CAADP investment plans at all levels. CAADP is implemented along four pillars: Pillar 1: Extending the area under sustainable land management and reliable water control systems Pillar 2: Improving rural infrastructure and trade- related capacities for market access Pillar 3: Increasing food supply, reducing hunger, and improving responses to food emergency crises Pillar 4: Improving agriculture research, technology dissemination and adaptation African Union Recognition and Support of Organic Agriculture CAADP recognizes the important role that agro- ecological approaches can play in reviving and sustaining the productivity of African agro- ecosystems and conserving the biological resources that support agriculture production. While this recognition is important from a technical and substantive perspective it was recognition at the highest political level that has created the momentum for organic agriculture to be mainstreamed into CAADP in order for its potential contribution to African development priorities to be realized. 6

8 The Executive Council of the AU, at its Eighteenth Ordinary Session in 2011 requested the AU Commission and its NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency to initiate and provide guidance for an AU- led coalition of international partners on the establishment of an African organic farming platform based on available best practices; and to support of the development of sustainable organic farming systems in Africa. The AU through its Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture has, with support from the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, since engaged with private and civil society stakeholders from the African organic sector in the development of an action plan, the Ecological Organic Agriculture (EOA) Initiative, which is a framework for strategically developing the African organic sector and for engaging with CAADP and contributing to its goals. The EOA action plan is being implemented along six pillars: Research, training and extension Information and communication Value chain and market development Networking and partnership Supportive policies and programs Institutional capacity development Purpose of this publication enabling dialogue This publication aims to help bridge this gap and identify synergies between CAADP and the African organic agriculture sector. It intends to primarily inform stakeholders from the African organic sector of the institutional structures and activities of the African Union and CAADP. In the context of the CAADP 4 pillars it also identifies areas of commonalty and potential synergy in an effort to facilitate dialogue and collaboration for the benefit of Africa. It intends to inform and help steer initial engagement between the African organic agriculture sector and CAADP with the longer- term objective of mainstreaming organic agriculture into CAADP in order to maximize synergies. This publication is also intended to help inform CAADP stakeholders, including national African governments, of the status of organic agriculture in Africa in terms of government policies and regulations, institutions and certified and non- certified organic production and markets etc. Potential contribution of Organic Agriculture to CAADP Pillars 1 and 2 Organic agriculture in Africa is already well established with a thriving export orientated sector supplying high value products to meet the growing global demand for sustainably produced products. Uganda for example has 188,625 farmers formally using certified organic practices, the United Republic of Tanzania; 145,430 producers and Ethiopia; 122,350 producers. There is great potential to increase export earnings and farming household incomes through scaling up certified organic agriculture in Africa to benefit from the rapidly growing global market for organic products which was valued at 63 billion US$ in As a consequence of just one long- term project in East Africa; the Export Promotion of Organic Products from Africa Programme, the trade capabilities of local smallholders in East Africa and their access to high value markets increased to the extent that the value of certified organic exports rose from $4.6 million in 2002/03 to more than $35 million by 2009/10 a. Such initiatives could be replicated for different products across Africa and significantly contribute to the objectives of CAADP pillar 2 while simultaneously increasing the area under sustainable land management and reliable water control systems (CAADP pillar 1). Furthermore in an allied market access project aimed at facilitating the expansion of regional and international trade and cross- country investments in organic agriculture, the East African Community established a regulatory framework by developing a regional organic agriculture standard in 2007, the second in the world after the European Union s. a Report of the Secretary- General (August 2013) to the 68th UN General Assembly: Agricultural Technology for Development: 7

9 Potential contribution of Organic Agriculture to CAADP Pillars 1 and 3 The uptake of organic agriculture practices and systems in Africa are not only driven by rising local and global demand for certified organic products, they are also utilized by subsistence farmers to significantly raise yields in affordable and resilient manner, often in conjunction with the regeneration of degraded lands and ecosystems, largely through the utilization of locally available biodiversity. These systems are cutting the cost of production, increasing productivity and increasing and diversifying income streams, which is helping African smallholder farmers, and communities achieve food security and resilience to climate change and drought as well as regenerating the productive capacity of degraded lands. Such ecosystem and landscape based and community- centered approaches are highly suited to the majority of smallholder farmers throughout Africa and can be the bedrock of inclusive low carbon sustainable development throughout the continent. In Ethiopia for example thousands of smallholder farmers have been empowered with such practices, which have enabled them to lift themselves out of poverty and food insecurity and match the yields of high input conventional farms through the use of inter allia, compost and nutritious and resilient locally bred seed varieties. UNCTAD in their 2011 policy brief on sustainable agriculture and food security in LDCs outline the benefits for vulnerable communities in Tigray, Ethiopia when extension services in sustainable agriculture techniques, such as composting, prevention of soil erosion and water harvesting, were provided. Crop yields doubled and agrochemical use decreased by 95% b. These approaches directly benefit vulnerable communities and can therefore significantly contribute to the objectives of CAADP pillar 3 while significantly increasing the area under sustainable land management and reliable water control systems (CAADP pillar 1). Potential contribution of Organic Agriculture to CAADP Pillar 4 There are also many exciting synergies to be realized through the integration of organic agriculture into African research and extension programs. Organic agriculture is at the cutting edge of innovative farming systems based on ecological science, such as the Push and Pull system of maize production that is already transforming the lives of hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers in Africa. Research and extension in organic agriculture in Africa has already a good track record. For instance the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FIBL) is currently implementing Syprobio, a EuropeAid funded project in Mali, Burkina Faso and Benin. The project is establishing an effective methodology for helping farmers systematically address food insecurity and adaptation to climate change through the innovation platforms. Elected farmers, representing several thousand organic farmers are conducting on- farm research and cooperating with researchers and technicians in testing multiple innovative soil fertility, seed improvement, pest management, agronomy and socio- economic practices for the efficacy in improving food security and climate change adaptation c. This approach is building capability on the ground and amongst institutions that is exactly in line with the objectives of CAADP pillar 4: Test the adaptability of these options in a participatory and iterative fashion, from farm to regional scale. Develop appropriate mechanisms for wide- scale dissemination and adoption of technologies and for implementation of sustainable and supportive policies and institutional options. b UNCTAD Policy Brief (2011): Sustainable agriculture and food security in LDCs: c Information about Syprobio is available at: 10

10 Empower resource- poor farmers in Africa to manage their natural resources and systems sustainably. To this end the Network for Organic Agricultural Research in Africa (NOARA) and its linkages to the global organic research community through the Technology Innovation Platform of IFOAM (TIPI) could bring significant expertise and new opportunities to CAADP in the realization of the objectives of pillar 4. Whether the uptake of organic agriculture is driven by the increasing local and global demand for organic produce due to consumer recognition of its superior health and environmental characteristics or whether it is adopted for its ability to affordably empower smallholder farmers to enhance the productivity, profitability and resilience of their farms upon which their livelihoods largely depend or for creating green rural jobs or for putting African nations on a low carbon and inclusive and sustainable development pathway, organic agriculture is very relevant opportunity for diversifying approaches and increasing the impacts of CAADP. Mainstreaming organic agriculture however needs to go beyond the primary production level to the whole agriculture value chain in order for smallholder farmers in particular to benefit from the holistic nature of organic agriculture. Advocacy actions for mainstreaming Organic Agriculture into CAADP There has been to date minimal institutional engagement between organic agriculture stakeholders and CAADP implementing agencies. However the leadership by the African Union in recognizing the importance of organic agriculture and its subsequent support of the EOA action planning process provides a very important springboard for mainstreaming organic agriculture into CAADP processes. AUC- DERA works closely with the AU- NEPAD Planning and Coordination Agency in Pretoria, South Africa, which is responsible for the continental- wide coordination of CAADP implementation, resource mobilization and developing continental wide programs and projects in support of CAADP 1. Furthermore AUC- DREA is increasingly playing an important role in agriculture development on the continent. For example AUC- DREA services the summit- level meetings of the Committee of African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSCC) and a number of Ministerial- level specialized technical committees on Agriculture, Water, Disaster Risk Reduction and Environment that are strategically important to the African organic agriculture sector. AUC- DREA can therefore play an important role in securing the political support and NEPAD linkages that will be required to mainstream organic agriculture into CAADP. At the regional level, African Regional Economic Communities (RECs) have been assigned the responsibility for promoting regional coordination and coherence in formulation of agricultural policies and in the design and implementation of investments, with each REC having its own CAADP unit. At the country level, each country implements the CAADP agenda in its own way following the CAADP set of key principles and targets by incorporating the CAADP objectives into its agricultural and rural development strategies and/or by developing National CAADP Investment plans. Countries are also using a common set of CAADP tools such as a National CAADP Focal Point, the Pillar Frameworks and the Country Roundtable Process when developing their agricultural strategies and investment plans. Mainstreaming organic agriculture in CAADP will require successful engagement by the African organic agriculture sector with the AUC- DREA in Addis Ababa and the AU- NEPAD Planning and Coordination Agency in Pretoria as well as effective participation in the CAADP stakeholder processes that are taking place at the continental, regional, national and institutional levels. This will require the creation of 11

11 effective structures and the mobilization of resources to sustain long- term engagement with multiple organizations and processes. Recommendation Given the potential benefits that organic agriculture knowledge, practices, systems and initiatives can bring to Africa, donor support should be secured to enable effective engagement with the African Union and the various CAADP platforms and processes. National Organic Agriculture movements (NOAMs) especially in the East African countries have played a key role in advocating for organic agriculture policies at the national level. There is an urgent need for them to focus on the CAADP processes at the national level and to form regional coalitions that can engage in the CAADP processes of the RECs. The African Organic Network (AfrONet), which is the newly formed peak sector body for organic agriculture in Africa, would be the most appropriate organization to lead the advocacy for organic agriculture at the regional and continental CAADP levels as well as coordinate national level efforts. AfrONet is however still in its early stages of development and requires organizational strengthening. It is therefore recommended that IFOAM, through its Africa Office, which has traditionally played an important role in helping to nurture institutional development of the African organic sector, directly engages with the African Union (AUC- DREA), provides leadership and coordinates CAADP advocacy efforts, across the continent, in close cooperation with AfrONet and NOAMs in the framework of the Ecological Organic Agriculture Initiative and its Continental Steering committee. Furthermore IFOAM Africa Office, AfrONet and the EOA Initiative should organize high- level advocacy engagements that target the key stakeholder organizations and bodies outlined in this publication. To ensure the African organic movement s long- term capacity to lead the sector capacity building to strengthen AfrONet s ability to effectively advocate and coordinate advocacy actions at the national, regional and continental levels and to effectively link with IFOAM s global advocacy programs is highly recommended. Recommendations for mainstreaming Organic Agriculture into the four CAADP pillars Pillar 1: Extending the area under sustainable land management and reliable water control systems The Pillar 1 program is led by the NEPAD Agency and is implemented under the TerrAfrica Partnership of 20 sub- Saharan African countries and development partners. There is a significant correlation between the activities and expertise of organic agriculture and the objectives and guidelines and best practices developed and promoted by TerrAfrica under CAADP pillar 1. In fact they are a result of the recognition of the efficacy agro- ecological practices in the management of Africa s agriculture resource base. TerrAfrica guidelines stipulate that practices must be truly sustainable, must be environmentally friendly, reduce current land degradation, improve biodiversity and increase resilience to climate variation and change with priority being given to low- input agronomic and vegetative measures. The promoted best practices are the bedrock of organic agriculture. Organic agriculture utilizes these practices to achieve stable and resilient ecosystems that are required for achieving food security, adapting to climate change and drought and enabling inclusive sustainable development. Currently, the TerrAfrica Partnership does not include any individuals or institutions from the organic agriculture sector. This situation therefore results in the exclusion of the body of knowledge, experience and networks at the forefront of developing and promoting in Africa and beyond the agro- ecological technologies on which pillar 1 is based. 12

12 Recommendation Successful organic agriculture initiatives in different African countries and organic agriculture experts on the continent provide a valuable source of information on successful SLWM technologies, practices and approaches should be mobilized and leveraged in the development of the country SLWM CSIFs. Organic agriculture stakeholders should therefore mobilize and participate in the ongoing pillar 1 processes at the continent, regional, national and institutional levels so as ensure that their expertise knowledge, experiences and networks in developing and promoting agro- ecological SLWM technologies and practices inform the development and implementation of pillar 1. Further, the effective mainstreaming of organic agriculture principles and practices in the CAADP pillar 1 will require that organic agriculture initiatives on the continent are in line with the WOCAT format for documenting and disseminating SLM 2. In the meantime, the currently documented organic agriculture experiences should be used to inform the CAADP SLWM process. The technical and financial resources for documenting the experiences of organic agriculture in the WOCAT format needs to be mobilized and the documentation conducted. In the meantime, the currently documented organic agriculture experiences should be used to inform the CAADP SLWM process. Pillar 2: Improving rural infrastructure and trade- related capacities for market access Three out of every four people in sub- Saharan Africa who live on less than $1 per day, live in rural areas, and most depend directly or indirectly on agriculture for their livelihoods. Smallholder lead agricultural development is therefore considered a key driver of poverty reduction in the region and a major priority for pillar 2. The Framework for Improving Rural Infrastructure and Trade Related Capacities For Market Access (FIMA) 3 has been developed to guide the Pillar 2 facilitation and coordination roles of the NEPAD Secretariat, leading RECs, and country governments, as well as actions by all other major stakeholders, particularly the private sector, farmer organizations, civil- society organizations, and the development community. FIMA strategies and investment plans at national and regional levels recommend a focus on high value products, regulatory and institutional changes and partnerships and alliances required to build the technical and commercial capacities of farmer organizations to expand the supply capacity of smallholders and other farmers to respond to the demand, overcome the constraints to the development of smallholder- friendly value chains, harmonizing country strategies to facilitate the emergence of cross- border agricultural growth. Recommendation A central recommendation is to recognize the opportunities offered by the national, regional and global markets for organic products for adding value and volume expansion for products produced by smallholder farmers. CAADP can develop policies that promote the development of smallholder- friendly organic agriculture value chains that build upon, and scale- up, the successes of integrated value chain support programs such as Export Promotion of Organic Products from Africa, to sustain and expand the strong trade performance of African organic exports. This should also include the development of national and regional markets especially considering demand in local and regional urban food markets across Africa is expected to reach US$150 billion by Investment in strengthening the organizational capacities of farmers to access organic value chains including the provision of information and guidance on the creation of organic value chains for groups of smallholder farmers is essential for achieving CAADP development goals. Furthermore it is important to support the institutional capacity for quality assurance, sector organization and farmer support services so that both smallholders and the organic sector can jointly realize their market potential. This should include the expansion across the continent of smallholder- friendly regulatory frameworks (e.g. those that recognize PGS as equivalent to third party models of certification) that facilitate trade in organic agriculture at the national, regional, 13

13 continental and global levels. To this end organic agriculture should be recognized in national CAADP Compacts and investment plans so as to create clarity in policy and a conducive environment for public and private investment in developing organic value chains. Pillar 3: Increasing food supply, reducing hunger, and improving responses to food emergency crises Pillar 3 is led by the University of KwaZulu Natal - African Centre for Food Security and the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel. Pillar 3 has four key objectives; improved risk management; increased supply of affordable commodities through increased production and improved market linkages; increased economic opportunities for the vulnerable, and increased quality of diets through diversification of food among the target groups. While Pillar 3 may overlap with the objectives and activities reflected in other CAADP pillars, a key difference is that activities carried out under Pillar 3 are targeted directly to vulnerable populations in order to both accelerate access to the benefits and the impacts of agricultural growth, and to accelerate their ability to contribute to that growth. Organic agriculture can directly and affordably empower and benefit the chronically poor, food- insecure and vulnerable and those directly affected by various crises and emergencies, by building the performance of subsistence farms including productivity, profitability, diversity and resilience and by engaging landless rural people, including youth, in people- centered development initiatives. Such interventions have already proved very successful in lifting many thousands of smallholder farmers out of poverty and food insecurity in badly degraded landscapes. The ability to target vulnerable populations that are likely to be able to contribute to and directly benefit from increased agricultural growth confirmed in the UNEP and UNCTAD publication entitled Organic Agriculture and Food Security in Africa. The publication reviewed a meta- study of several hundred projects throughout Africa and found that the average crop yield increase for those farmers trained in basic organic agriculture practices was 116% d. Recommendation Organic agriculture based interventions can bring the vulnerable into the mainstream of agricultural growth while simultaneously addressing hunger and poverty in sustainable ways. In order to facilitate the development of strong organic agriculture production systems and linkages to organic value chains, it is important that the organic agriculture approaches are incorporated into CAADP regional and country pillar 3 strategic implementation and investment plans. The African organic sector is advised to engage with CAADP within the context of the Framework for African Food Security (FAFS) which has been developed for pillar 3 as a tool for initiating in- country and inter- country dialogue in the search of sustainable solutions to Africa s food insecurity and hunger. Specifically financial support should be provided to successful organic agriculture initiatives in order for them to be scaled- up and or replicated so that many more farmers on the continent can be benefit. For instance CAADP can build upon and scale- up landscape and community- based approaches successfully implemented by the African organic sector in Tigray in Ethiopia which have resulted in multiple direct benefits to vulnerable communities previously entrenched in poverty and hunger. Ecosystem based landscape approaches pioneered in Africa by the organic sector are particularly important where the d United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and United Nations Environment Programme (2008): Organic Agriculture & Food Security in Africa: 14

14 local ecosystems including water, soil, pollination etc have been severely degraded or require rejuvenation in order to become productive and sustain livelihoods. To this end it is recommended that CAADP consider the provision of subsidies for the development of organic value chains for vulnerable farmers. This should include linkages to sustainable markets and investment in affordable organic certification options, especially smallholder- friendly participatory guarantee systems (PGS) and group certification. Enabling poor farmers to access markets for organic products in an affordable manner is important for realizing the CAADP objective of linking vulnerable farmers to mainstream agriculture growth. CAADP can also work with the organic sector to develop the capacity of farmers in agro- ecological principles, technologies and practices through effective extension, knowledge and innovation initiatives that can replicate the performance improvements achieved when poor, isolated or vulnerable farming households and or communities are trained in basic organic agriculture practices. Such approaches are relatively low cost and highly appropriate for poor farmers as the interventions are based on building up the resilience and performance of their farms using largely locally sourced biodiversity based inputs to improve soil fertility, productivity, water holding capacity, and to control weeds and pest and disease. CAADP should consider supporting the roll- out and further development, including as appropriate the acquisition of enabling assets, of highly effective smallholder farming systems such as the Push and Pull system of maize production that integrates livestock and fodder production to create a range of nutritious crops and animal products as well as new income streams for farmers and their families. Pillar 4: Improving agriculture research, technology dissemination and adaptation Pillar 4 calls for making a paradigm shift away from a principally technological package approach to a truly integrated agricultural research approach and to ensure that researchers (national and international) work together with smallholders, pastoralists, extension agencies, the private sector and NGOs, to have impact on the ground. Organic agriculture can make significant contribution to the following thematic areas of the Science Agenda for African Agriculture: crop yields; agricultural resilience to, and mitigation of, climate change; livestock productivity; risk management in farming; water management in farming; and innovations geared toward addressing gender- related challenges in farming. Recommendation Organic agriculture has to- date developed on the continent with negligible research support. Mainstreaming organic agriculture into African and international research agendas should be a high priority for both CAADP decision makers and the African organic sector and its allies in the international research community. It is therefore important that the opportunities availed by CAADP to refocus agriculture research in support of sustainable farming systems is seized in order to put the organic agriculture research agenda on the Pillar 4 priority list. IFOAM and AfrONet should together with the Network for Organic Agricultural Research in Africa (NOARA) and TIPI (the Technology Innovation Platform of IFOAM) should actively engage, preferably within the context of the EOA, in the FARA (Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa) led pillar 4 consultative processes for the development of the Science Agenda for African Agriculture. This must include organic agriculture stakeholders and experts becoming part of the Expert Reference Group that plays an advisory and oversight role in the implementation and monitoring of CAADP Pillar 4 and participation in the consultative forums that are organised by FARA, regional research associations (ASARECA, CORAF/WECARD, CCARDESA) and in the consultative forums that are organised by national agriculture research organisations in developing the national CAADP research agendas. Ultimately to unleash the science and technology potential of the 15

15 organic sector for the benefit of Africa, CAADP will need to increase investment in research and extension in organic agriculture technologies and practices to support the realization of the CAADP pillars. At the international level, key players and processes that need to be engaged due to their significant roles in determining the agriculture research agenda on the continent these include the Dublin process and its Dublin Process Steering Committee and the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) Further, there is a need to strengthen the Network for Organic Agricultural Research in Africa (NOARA) and other relevant organic research initiatives especially, TIPI. Recommendations for mainstreaming Organic Agriculture into other CAADP Support Initiatives The Abuja s Declaration on Fertilizer for the African Green Revolution at the Africa Fertilizer Summit, held in June 2006 in Abuja, Nigeria included reference to organic fertilizers. The subsequent actions, such as the Fertilizer Support Program have however focused only on artificial fertilizers. Organic fertilizers, or other soil fertility measures that underpin soil fertility management in organic farming (e.g. biological nitrogen fixation, on- farm composting), should receive support through fertilizer support programs at least on par with support provided for artificial fertilizers. IFOAM in conjunction with NOARA should provide the three Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System (ReSAKSS) nodes with a list of organic agriculture experts on the continent that can provide advisory services on organic agriculture development. Finally organic stakeholders should also engage in other initiatives such as the Africa Agricultural Productivity Projects; The Grow Africa partnership; and FEED the Future. The Grow Africa initiative should adopt organic agriculture models shown to work in Africa as best practices for sustainable pro- poor business models and mobilize resources for their replication and scaling up to many more African farmers. Organic agriculture business stakeholders on the African continent and their local and foreign partners should organize themselves and become partners of the Grow Africa initiative in order to place organic agriculture businesses on the African business agenda. This will not only help in mobilizing financial support but also political support that is required to remove obstacles that are sometimes placed in the way of organic agriculture. 16

16 1. Background to the Comprehensive Agriculture Development Programme 1.1 The New Partnership for Africa s Development The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) was conceived in 2001 and ratified by the African Union in 2002 as an African Union strategic framework for pan- African socio- economic development to address Africa s development problems in the twenty- first century. At the time of its conception, Africa s development statistics were abysmal. Poverty was entrenched with half of the population (340 million people) living on less than US $1 per day. The mortality rate of children under 5 years of age was 140 per 1,000 and life expectancy at birth was only 54 years. Only 58 per cent of the population had access to safe water. The rate of illiteracy for people over 15 was 41 per cent. There were only 18 mainline telephones per 1,000 people, compared with 146 for the world as a whole and 567 for high- income countries 4. In the years between 1990 and 2005, the number of hungry people in sub- Saharan Africa had increased by 20 percent 5. Over 200 million Africans were undernourished. In Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, 33%, 19% and 44% respectively, of their total populations were undernourished in Yet regions like Asia, South America and North Africa had declines in the number of undernourished. Indeed, in Asia and Latin America, per capita food production had increased by 76% and 28%, respectively in contrast to Africa were food production was then 10% less per person than in Land degradation was increasing in severity affecting more than 485 million people with up to two- thirds of Africa s productive land area being affected by land degradation while close to 100% was vulnerable to it 8. Africa with only 17% of the world s forests was responsible for over half of global deforestation, most of it being driven by demand for more agricultural land. In Sub- Saharan Africa (SSA), over 7% of agricultural GDP was estimated to be lost annually as a direct result of soil and nutrient loss 9. The total economic costs of poor land management was estimated to be in the region of US$9 billion per annum and two- thirds of Africa s cropland was projected by the UN to become non- productive by 2025 due to land degradation. With expected global food demand projected to double over the next 50 years 10, it was unlikely that, without concerted effort, Africa would ever become hunger free and prosperous. NEPAD was conceived as both a vision and policy framework for Africa with the objectives of eradicating poverty, putting Africa on a sustainable development path, and halting the marginalization of Africa in the globalization process. NEPAD was designed as a new intervention, spearheaded by African leaders to provide opportunities for African countries to take full control of their development agenda, to work more closely together at country, regional and global levels, and to cooperate more effectively with international development partners in addressing the critical challenges facing the continent and international agreed upon goals including the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals. NEPAD is now recognized as Africa's development plan by the international community (governments of the North, international financial institutions and international governance inter- governmental organizations such as the United Nations) as the mechanism through which support to Africa's development efforts should be best delivered. 17

17 1.2 The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme Agriculture (covering Crops, livestock, forestry, fisheries) is one of the six thematic areas identified by African leaders as a key priority area for intervention in achieving the NEPAD vision. To this effect, the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) was formulated and was endorsed by the Africa Union Heads of State in July 2003 as a NEPAD program with the overall goal of Helping African countries reach a higher path of economic growth through agriculture- led development, which eliminates hunger, reduces poverty and food insecurity, and enables expansion of exports 11. As a growth- oriented development agenda, CAADP aims at increasing agriculture growth rates to six percent per year by 2015 and public investment in agriculture by a minimum of 10% of national budgets to create urgently needed wealth and prosperity in rural communities and households in Africa and to eliminate hunger. The program s core functions are: i. Strengthening country- led policy processes for better investment programs ii. Mobilizing partnerships for investment at the national, regional and international levels, and from both private and public sources iii. Evaluating commitments and strengthening systems and mechanisms for accountability iv. Advocating the restoration of African agriculture as a major development driver v. Harnessing African strategic thinking, positions and scenarios. Implementation of CAADP is guided by African ownership; building partnerships and alliances between government, the private sector, development partners and farmers to better address the needs of a cross- cutting sector like agriculture; promoting dialogue, peer- review and mutual accountability to develop a sense of collective Box 1. By 2015, African leaders hope to see: Dynamic agricultural markets within and between countries and regions in Africa; Farmers being active in the market economy and the continent becoming a net exporter of agricultural products A more equitable distribution of wealth for rural populations Africa as a strategic player in agricultural science and technology Environmentally sound agricultural production and a culture of sustainable management of natural resources in Africa responsibility; and exploiting regional complementarities and cooperation for common and mutual needs and regional comparative advantage. Five outcomes (Box 1) were set by African leaders to be achieved through interventions (also called CAADP Pillars) that are targeted at addressing what is conceived to be the major challenges faced by Africa: Pillar 1: Extending the area under sustainable land management and reliable water control systems Pillar 2: Improving rural infrastructure and trade- related capacities for market access Pillar 3: Increasing food supply, reducing hunger, and improving responses to food emergency crises Pillar 4: Improving agriculture research, technology dissemination and adaptation 18

18 In addition, there are two clusters of critical issues that cut across the four pillars: (i) The capacity strengthening for agriculture and agribusiness and (ii) Academic and professional training; and Information for agricultural strategy formulation and implementation. CAADP Institutional Structure The earlier years of CAADP were spent on the conceptualization of the program and its institutional architecture, and developing mechanisms and tools for the program at continental, regional, national and institutional levels. A continental- wide structure with institutional linkages, mechanisms, and alliances has been developed (Figure 1). At the continental level, the AU- NEPAD Planning and Coordination Agency (NEPAD Agency) with offices in Johannesburg, South Africa has the continental mandate to coordinate and oversee implementation of CAADP as a delivery mechanism for agricultural development. More specifically, the Agency is responsible for mobilizing support for CAADP and developing continental- wide programs and projects in support of CAADP 12. African Union Commission Conduct political advocacy for international support to CAADP Takes lead in coordinating strategy to develop agriculture in Africa Unifies AU agriculture programme with CAADP Facilitates technical cooperation between AU and NEPAD Regional Economic Communities National Governments Partner Institutions Coordinate external support for country processes Facilitate dissemination of information and networking Coordinate and participate in peer reviews Drive the REC- CAADP agenda Mobilize resources and coordinate donors at regional level Drive in- country priority setting and implementation Convene and ensure participation of public and private partners Work with in- country donors to mobilize resources Communicate requirements/gaps To RECs and NEPAD Share/provide best practices, benchmarks, lessons learned Identify, communicate and resolve in- country constraints Catalyze alignment at county level (donor coordination, etc) Provide technical expertise and backstopping for regional and national level CAADP implementation Participate in peer reviews Partner with national level institutions where requested Source: AU/NEPAD Agency (2010) NEPAD- CAADP Secretariat Provide technical backstopping of RECs Monitors and evaluates continental Africa peer review mechanisms Provides continental- level information Facilitates partnership and resource mobilization at continental level Facilitates mutual learning Figure 1. Institutional actors and their roles in CAADP Implementation 19

19 At the African Union Commission (AUC) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, CAADP implementation is supported by the Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture (AUC- DREA). AUC- DREA works with the NEPAD Agency, Regional Bodies and Member States, African institutions, Civil Society and Development Partners to advance food security, sustainable development and improved livelihoods for the population while ensuring sound environmental and natural resources management. AUC- DREA pursues the objectives of CAADP through mobilizing political support, and through its regional technical agencies e that address specialized issues and needs of Africa. At the regional level, African Regional Economic Communities (RECs) have been assigned the responsibility for promoting regional coordination and coherence in formulation of agricultural policies and in the design and implementation of investments. At country level, each country implements the CAADP agenda in its own way following the CAADP set of key principles and targets by incorporating the CAADP objectives into its agricultural and rural development strategies and/or by developing National CAADP Investment plans. Countries are also using a common set of CAADP tools such as a National CAADP Focal Point, the Pillar Frameworks and the Country Roundtable Process when developing their agricultural strategies and investment plans. It is at country level that the objectives of CAADP are to be realized. 1.3 Status and achievements of CAADP at contiental, regional and national levels Agriculture visions, strategies and plans have been redefined at continental, regional, national and institutional levels and monitoring, evaluation, peer review, dialogue and accountability mechanisms have also been established for the program Continent level At the continental level, the NEPAD Agency is coordinating the development of the following programmes and projects to support CAADP: i. TerrAfrica programme: Aims at leveraging funds to scale up sustainable land management in sub- Saharan Africa (US$ billion mobilized for activity implementation in 27 countries) ii. Fertilizer Support Program: Focused on facilitating the production, distribution, procurement and use of fertilizer in Africa (US$ 35 million earmarked) iii. Partnership for African Fisheries: Focused on improving sustainability and returns of Africa s fisheries. iv. African Biosciences Initiative: Aimed at harnessing biological applications for improved agriculture productivity over 5 years (US$ 11.9 million earmarked) e The Inter African Bureau for Animal Resources (IBAR) based in Nairobi, Kenya; the Inter African Phyto- Sanitary Council (IAPSC) based in Yaoundé, Cameroon; the Pan African Veterinary Vaccine Centre (PANVAC) based in Debre Zeit, Ethiopia; the Pan African Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Control and Eradication Campaign (PATTEC) based at the AUC in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; the Semiarid Food Grain Research and Development (SAFGRAD) based in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; and the Fouta Djallon Highlands Integrated Natural Resources Project (FDH) based in Conakry, Guinea, and two specialized projects, the African Monitoring of the Environment for Sustainable Development (AMESD) and the Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs). 20