//  Accelerate implementation for results and impact

This was the overall theme of the 8th Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program Partnership Platform meeting in Nairobi. Participants welcomed the idea that after process and meetings, there needed to be concrete implementation on the ground and at a faster pace than what had been seen so far.

//  Sustaining CAADP momentum is critical

The majority of statements and key note remarks highlighted the importance of sustaining the CAADP momentum within the context of the bigger transformation agenda and emphasised the need for improving the policy, regulatory and legislative environment as countries and RECs move from planning to implementation. As such, AUC and NPCA were applauded for leading the process of defining the long-term vision, focus areas, and priorities of CAADP, and therefore encouraged to disseminate the outcomes of the long-term vision document for a wider buy-in.

//  Regional economic communities remain at the heart of the CAADP agenda

Statements affirmed the role of RECs as building blocks for Africa's regional integration and stressed increased collaboration among RECs to enable CAADP contribute to the regional integration agenda. The statements further underlined the critical importance of tracking and evaluating progress with a view to informing speedier implementation of CAADP and achieve broad-based agricultural development and contribute towards enhanced food and nutrition security.

//  Better stakeholder representation in target groups is required

It clearly emerged that it was about time that a better representation of stakeholders in targets groups by the CAADP and affiliated programme was secured. In the course of the discussion, participants unanimously appreciated that space was given to national, regional and continental farmer's organisations and platforms as key actors and investors in African agriculture. Probably, the emphasis on the importance of focusing on smallholder family-based farming operations has never been so well articulated in a PP meeting – with several statements underpinning the need to focus on youth, women and marginalised groups so that they all benefited from the progressively increasing attention being given to the development of African agriculture through CAADP.

//  CAADP now recognised as brand name

Because of its agreed strategic engagement on agriculture and food security, CAADP is reported to have reassured continued donor support as well as highlighted the importance of ensuring quality of investment plans; and called for a strong and coherent system to achieve effective partnerships.

//  CAADP Multi-Donor Trust Fund vital

In spite of the modest size of donor contributions to the fund so far, the meeting acknowledged the important role that the CAADP Multi-Donor Trust Fund and their bilateral and multilateral sources of funding played with respect to enabling African institutions to deliver on their respective CAADP mandates. There was a consistent call for expanding CAADP process financing in line with the greater effort expected of CAADP to address emerging issues and themes.

//  Funding implementation of CAADP investment plans to be "business unusual"

While on the one hand participants called for increased international financial support to the implementation of CAADP-aligned agriculture and food security investment plans, on the other hand a particular emphasis was repeatedly put on the need for AU member states with CAADP-based investment plans to meet their own funding commitments, and urged the importance of broadening agricultural development financing. As such, the virtues of strengthening public-private partnerships in the financing of country investment plans were streessed as well as the promising start that the Grow Africa Initiative had made in brokering private investment to Africa's agricultural sector thus far.

//  Challenges and opportunities ahead as CAADP aims to accelerate implementation

More than before in the almost 10 years of CAADP discourse, specific attention was given to the challenges facing African agriculture as these related to the drought situation especially in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel Region as well as the various factors accentuating instability in these regions.

//  Emerging issues and trends of concern to African agriculture

Emphasis was put on a range of emerging issues that are of direct relevance to Africa's pursuit of a food- and nutrition-secure continent. As such, particular attention was paid to large scale land and water acquisition and the attendant measures that needed to be allocated to help Africa realise its food security and social and environmental sustainability objectives; respond to the increased demand for non-food uses of agricultural products; and deal with the climate change challenge and the imperatives of instituting climate-resilient agriculture.

//  Agenda

The key question to be discussed at the 8th PP is how can CAADP best support the implementation of investment plans.

//  Sub-questions

What measures need to be undertaken on the part of CAADP to facilitate faster implementation and to ensure that CAADP's efforts lead to concrete results?

What are some of the key global and continental issues that have emerged since the inception of CAADP and are having an impact on a country's capacity to implement its plan?

What value added and role can CAADP play to support countries and RECs to implement their investment plans taking into account the changing context and emerging issues?

//  Platform support to CAADP

The Platform brokers activities that facilitate greater understanding and trust between the donor community and key entities at all levels. The CAADP Development Partner Task Team was established – which is operating on the basis of a concrete workplan and as such has been recognised as a well functioning body. Platform created the position of CAADP Task Leader in the Platform Secretariat, which today constitutes a dedicated link between donors and the CAADP process.

//  Organisers

African Union Commission and NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency

//  Guidance for faster progress at regional CAADP

Entitled “Getting ready to take off: Lessons for regional CAADP”, the note is intended to provide guidance on possible concrete actions for faster progress on CAADP at the regional level. As such, it presents:

• Short overview of the state-of-play of "regional CAADP" in the four regions
• Synthesis of key messages and challenges from the regions
• Ideas on how to address those challenges to make regional CAADP more effective

//  Download

//  Source

ECDPM

Stakeholders from the African Union Commission, NEPAD Agency, development partners, regional economic communities and CAADP pillars institutions met in Johannesburg from 17th to 19th April at the mid-term review workshop of the MDTF to:

• Review and discuss progress, lessons learned and effectiveness of the MDTF to date
• Explore options for strengthening the aid effectiveness agenda within the MDTF and as a tool for CAADP, assess adjustments where necessary
• Design a strong action plan/framework for the MDTF and future CAADP activities.

//  Key recommendations for the way forward

Moving forward, key recommendations emerging from stakeholders for the MDTF were articulated around:

• Monitoring and evaluation mechanism and result framework, as it was deemed relevant that this critical element of the delivery chain ought to be better articulated so as to track progress and results
• Institutional capacity strengthening at the recipient level to help them deliver on mandate and move CAADP implementation

• Governance of the MDTF in general and its Partnership Committee in particular, as a response to the shortcomings revealed by the review, including the ad hoc nature of decision making procedures, the irregularity of meetings, etc.
• Emerging issues associated with the running of the fund and that ought to be addressed

• Messages from development partners on the journey so far as well as the prospect for the future of the fund; with a call for broadening the scope of contribution to ensure that others than the current contributing members add their support

• Critical signals from Mid-Term Review workshop on MDTF timeline in disbursing fund to demanding and eligible organisations that qualify for the Child Trust Fund

• Suggested specific next steps in view of making the MDTF more effective and efficient

Most specifically on the future of the MDTF, a clear consensus was reached that the MDTF should be extended in its current structure and governance during a transitional phase while details of a "MDFT-2" should be worked out by all the parties involved.

//  Source

NEPAD

//  Building drought resilience and growth

IGAD ministers responsible for agriculture, livestock, water resources, environment, arid lands and drought disaster management held a joint meeting with high level development partners in Nairobi on 4 April.

The objective of the meeting was to review the progress made since the Joint Horn of Africa and East Africa Summit held in September 2011 and to secure the commitment of the global community to build drought resilience and growth.

//  Outcomes of Nairobi meeting

IGAD ministers and their partners have, among others, agreed to further strengthen coordination, harmonisation and alignment of development assistance related to resilience and to commit to new and proactive approaches to end drought emergencies in the region.

//  Downloads

IGAD communiqué

//  Source

Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)