In 2003, African heads of state committed to revitalize the agricultural sector on the continent through the allocation of 10% of their budget to the agricultural sector and a 6% growth rate of agriculture. This commitment was expressed through the Maputo Declaration and the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP).
Ten years later, only 8 of the 54 countries have met this commitment and more than 240 million people suffer from malnutrition, a quarter of the continent's population. At the same time more than 60% of the African population has agriculture as a livelihood.This situation challenges the conscience of all those involved in development issues and the fight against poverty and hunger. It is for this purpose that ONE International in partnership with several international organizations launched a campaign of advocacy with African leaders to remind them of their commitment to agriculture, particularly smallholder farmers.
ACED has participated in the launch of this campaign, which was held on 28th and 29th January in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. During the meeting the importance of youth involvement in agriculture and the application of ICT in agriculture were highlighted. This initiative reinforces advocacy in 2014 doubling devoted to agriculture as "Year of agriculture, food and nutrition security" by the African Union "and" International Year of Family Farming "by the United Nations.
This campaign includes the signing of a petition to be presented to African leaders in mid-2014 to create a recommitment of our states to invest more in agriculture because it has been shown that investing in agriculture is 11 times more profitable than investing in any other sector.
You can contribute to this continental initiative by signing the petition to support small farmers who suffer from hunger and poverty.
You can also download the report ONE “Ripe for Change: The Promise of Africa's Agricultural Transformation"