AGRICULTURE, FOOD SECURITY AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT CLUSTER (AFSRDC)

1. AGRICULTURE, FOOD SECURITY AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT CLUSTER (AFSRDC) Cluster Report for the 10th Regional Coordination Mechanism (RCM) BY WELDEGHABER KIDANE FAO, SENIOR AGRICULTURAL POLICY OFFICER

2. Introduction • preparation of an annual work plan has not been possible in the case of AFSRDC • report based on two cluster meetings and key collaborative activities • Some cluster members did not provide information on their collaborative activities  report may not be complete.

3. Cluster meetings • First Cluster meeting held on 28 June 2009 in Tripoli; margins of CADDP-Day • Second Cluster meeting held on 22 September in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia • Third Cluster meeting 4 November 2009 in Addis Ababa.

4. Discussions • Cluster concerned by low attendance • Many parallel coordination mechanisms; CAADP/PP, GDPRD/TT on CAADP, HLTF, MDG Africa • Cluster reminded itself RCM is GA decision  should work

5. Outcome of Cluster meetings • discuss with NEPAD and DREA their strategic and annual work plans and agree on few activities to be handled by AFSRDC; • agree between the cluster members key collaborative activities; • identify resources required for their implementation and strategy for its mobilization; • ensure that the activities are mainstreamed into the global CAADP coordination mechanism; and • organize AFSRDC meetings on the margins of bigger events that involve most cluster members to reduce costs and ensure better attendance.

6. Collaborative Activities • High Level Expert Meeting - League of Arab States and AU; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 8-12 November 2008. (FAO and WFP) • paper on food crisis highlighted possible areas for joint Afro-Arab cooperation for sustainable agricultural development and food security in the two regions • Conference on Water for Agriculture and Energy in Africa, Sirte 15-17 Dec. 2008 • Key players FAO, World Bank and AfDB along with NEPAD and AUC (400 participants • Discussed (i) agriculture-energy nexus in Africa; (ii) investment in water for agriculture and energy; (iii) climate change and agriculture in Africa; and (iv) inter- and intra-basin cooperation in water and energy transfer • Four side events on water and energy related issues were organized that involved AfDB and FAO

7. Collaborative Activities Cont. • High Level Meeting on Food Security for All; Madrid, Spain; 26-27 January 2009 • FAO, IFAD and WFP were among the key organizations • Hosted by the Government of Spain and the United Nations as a follow up to the “High Level Conference on World Food Security: the Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy” convened by FAO, in collaboration with IFAD and WFP, and held in Rome from 3 to 5 June 2008. • The meeting resulted in a declaration on specific actions as envisaged in the Comprehensive Framework for Action (CFA) • Entrusted HLTF on the Global Food Security Crisis to ensure implementation of recommendations

8. Collaborative Activities Cont. • Tracking agriculture expenditure in the context of meeting the Maputo 10% • FAO with financial contribution from the World Bank in support of NEPAD/AUC • Report discussed in a workshop in December 2008 • Outcome serving as important advocacy tool • The 13th African Union Summit • AfDB, WFP, FAO along with IFPRI and other partners for the Joint Meeting of Ministers for Agriculture and Ministers for Land held in Addis Ababa on 23 and 24 April 2009 • Four thematic areas (i) Climate Change – Challenges and Opportunities; (ii) Agricultural Trade and Market Integration; (iii) Financing African Agriculture; and (iv) Inclusion of the Poor and Most Vulnerable) • FAO Prepared a synthesis paper of above documents and its own experience as background document for the 13th AU Summit

9. Collaborative Activities Cont • Promoting Agro-Industry and Agribusiness Development in African Countries • Meeting convened by ECA in Addis Ababa 22-24 July 2009 • Partners UNIDO, FAO, IFAD, AUC, AfDB, and CGIAR as well as AGRA and selected public and private sector institutions • discussed a draft report on Public-Private-Partnerships (PPP) in agro-industry and agribusiness • Agro-industry Conference will be held in March 2010 in Abuja, Nigeria

10. Collaborative Activities • Sustainable Modernization of Agriculture and Rural Transformation (SMART) • Key players are ECA in collaboration with FAO and UNIDO • best practices on SMART assessed in West Africa, Central Africa and southern Africa using the value chain approach. • Commodities in focus for the assessment cassava in Nigeria, rice and tomato in Senegal, milk in South Africa, palm oil and banana plantain in Cameroon and maize in Malawi • Enhancing Market Access for Small-Holder Farmers: • WFP in partnership with FAO leveraging local food procurement capacity to enhance productivity of small-holder and low-income farmers • Initiative being implemented on a pilot basis in some fifteen African

11. Recommendations • should meet once a year but continue to exchange information on regular basis via tele/video conferences and emails; • takes advantage of summits, conferences and other big meetings which involve participation of cluster members to organize side meetings to discuss Cluster issues; • urges ECA to bring the issues of resource constraints for effective cluster activities to the attention of Heads of Agencies through the Chief Executives Board (CEB); • focuses on information exchange rather than preparing and implementing annual Cluster work plans; and • annual reports continue to comprise activities implemented through the collaboration of two or more members of the AFSRD Cluster.

12. Thank you!!!