Kamapala – Angolan President João Lourenço this Saturday in Kamapala, Uganda, said that the African continent will have a clear roadmap for the transformation of its agro-food systems and launch the bases for sustainable development.
According to the Angolan statesman, who was opening the Extraordinary Summit of the African Union (AU) on the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), this gathering will represent a turning point in the continent.
Speaking also in his capacity as vice chair of the African Union Assembly Meetings, João Lourenço said that summit will come up with new guidelines for the maerialisaion of the outlined goals.
He exhorted the African Union Commission to find mechanisms for successful implementation of the strategic instruments in the coming ten years, as well as to work closely with member states on their incorporation of the A.U agricultural investment plan in the national programmes.
He emphasised that the continent has to focus, with all its means, on boosting the agricultural sector in the next ten years. He appealed for the materialisation of the Malabo Declaration, which determines that 10% of the national budgets must be reserved for agriculture, taking into account, however, the financial constraints.
The Heads of State and Government Summit marks the third and last day of the A.U Extraordinary Meeting.
The African Union Extraordinary Summit on the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme began on Thursday. It is being attended by presidents of various African countries or their representatives, as well as experts in agriculture (forestry, fisheries and livestock), rural development, water and environment.
CAADP has been a key framework for transforming agriculture in Africa since its launch in 2003 with the Maputo Declaration, where African leaders committed to allocating at least 10% of public spending to agriculture to achieve a 6% annual growth rate in agricultural Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The programme is in line with the Agenda 2063 of the African Union, an organization created on May 26, 2002, when its Constitutive Act came into force, replacing the Organization of African Unity (OAU) created in 1963.
Currently, the continental organization brings together 55 African countries.
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