EALA Speaker signals Malabo Declaration domestication is way forward to create momentum in poverty eradication

06/06/2016

 EALA Speaker signals Malabo Declaration domestication is way forward to create momentum in poverty eradication

*EALA committed to working with ESAFF, civil society

By ESAFF Correspondent

East Africa Community Member States need to fully adopt and implement Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) and African Union Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Africa Agricultural Growth and Transformation.

EALA speaker Hon. Fred Kidega made the affirmation during the EAC Agriculture Budget Summit 2016 that took place in June in Arusha at the Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC).

The event was funded by the Dakar based Trust Africa and the EU through the INVOLVE project.

The adoption and implementation should use a bottle up approach so as to be able to hold national governments accountable in forging agricultural growth geared to poverty eradication.

The speaker told the summit organized by ESAFF, Action Aid and ANSAF, that it was paramount to arrest the dwindling agriculture fortunes across the region, with more investments in the sector.

 “…holding national governments accountable is the key to ending poverty in EAC through agriculture,” noted the speaker, in his opening remarks read on his behalf EALA member, Hon. Chris Okumu.

With the theme of  “increasing public investment in agriculture towards ending hunger and poverty by 2025,” he noted the summit was timely as it sought to look for ways to stop the decline of agriculture contribution to GDP.

Agriculture is too important sector and requires more attention as majority populace depend on it for livelihood, he intoned.

Domesticating Malabo Declaration would propel the sector to more growth and in essence greater poverty reduction momentum, he remarked.

According to the speaker, EAC states should follow SADC countries that have already committed and domesticated the CAADP Maputo Declaration in May 2004 through the Dar es salaam Declaration on Agriculture and Food security although it did not go far to binding protocol or legal framework.

He informed that ESAFF has been lobbying EALA to lead the drive for governments to increase agriculture sector budget to 10 percent as per Malabo Declaration.

Unfortunately, only Rwanda and Burundi has reached that mark. Noting that agriculture was more effective in eradicating poverty than oil or any other sector, it was paramount for EAC countries to adopt and implement the CAADP and the Malabo declaration.

The EALA chief echoed the call by civil society for establishment of EAC Agricultural Advisory Council (EAC-RAAC) in the EAC. Such a platform would play a pivotal role in harmonization of agriculture development policies in the EAC region and brining stakeholders together.

“ EALA is committed and ready to work with ESAFF and other civil society organizations to ensure that CAADP is implemented by members’ state,” he said.