SADC “complete” CAAD COMPACT in May 2016

17/12/2015

SADC “complete” CAAD COMPACT in May 2016

 PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA

The Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) is expected to sign its Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme

(CAADP COMPACT) in May 2016.

The Compact will be signed as the Community Secretariat has gone through all processes to develop the Regional Agriculture Development Policy (SADC –RAP), the Regional Investment Plan (RAIP) and the Implementation Management Plan (IMP).

Mr. Martin Muchero, the SADC RAP Coordinator says the region has embarked in the process since 2003 as it was decided by Community leaders to sign the Compact when all elements of the Compact are clearly defined and costed to bring meaningful agriculture transformation.

CAADP COMPACT could have been  signed as it was as it is an Africa Union initiative but SADC decided that it will be signed after the objectives, activities, timeframe and budget have been determined, he disclosed.

He was speaking in Pretoria, South Africa at a SADC / NPCA CAADP Regional And National Status Workshop last December.

Mr. Muchero said according to the calendar, the SADC Regional CAADP Compact will be finalised and put to Member States and key stakeholders to sign in May 2016 if all goes well.

He added  that “It was the decision by regional leaders that the SADC Regional CAADP Compact be developed and put forward for signing once is clear about the RAP investment plan and its implementation mechanisms and their implications for their governments”.

He said the SADC Compact document itself will be much shorter, just covering essentials such as the developmental objectives of the RAP, key operational principles, responsibilities, operational guidelines and values. Its main purpose is to serve as a cooperative framework for the region and its various partners.

The SADC CAADP Compact will be signed by representative of the SADC Member States, farmer organisations, private sector, Non State Actors, and a representative from development partners.

Speaking at the same event, a representative of the NEPAD Program Coordination Agency (NPCA) says the Compact is not a legally binding document but more on how do partners at country or regional level harness their energy for agriculture development.

Ms. Unami Mpofu said that the compact document is usually not more than 10 pages. It will have a vision of working together (developmental objectives), principles, core values, expected results, responsibilities, operational guidelines and how to hold each other accountable 

“The compact is the declaration of intention to show ownership and commitments to agriculture transformation at either regional or national level,”  she said.

Speaking at the event, ESAFF Chairman Serge Benstrong thanked SADC for organising a regional validation workshop and inviting farmers, CSOs private sector and Member states Principal Secretaries to show their commitment and validate the process.

Mr. Benstrong said that ESAFF wished SADC and other Regional Economic Groupings to put in place legally binding instruments to ensure that the new CAADP Compact reflecting the Malabo goals are implemented even before the year 2025, as hunger, poverty, unemployment and malnutrition continues to affect communities every day.

 The SADC RAP and its Investment Plans focuses on the 4 results areas

 •  Enhanced sustainable agricultural production, productivity and competitiveness;

•     Improved regional and international trade and access to markets of agricultural products;

 •     Improved private and public sector engagement and investment in the agricultural value-chains; and

 •     Reduced social and economic vulnerability of the region’s population in the context of food and nutrition security and the changing economic and climatic environment.