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African heads of state, officials from regional economic organisations, international donors and others are expected to convene in Abuja, Nigeria, for two days to spearhead initiatives aimed at boosting the continent's food security and agricultural programmes.
The 11-12 December meeting, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization, will centre on the harmonisation of regional economic organisations with NEPAD's Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAAPD). NEPAD is the NEW Partnership for African Development.
Related items on the agenda include the role of regional organisations in promoting agriculture as a means of economic development and improving trade balance, as well as agriculture as a tool to fend off hunger in Africa.
About 200 million people in Africa are chronically hungry and nearly 30 million require emergency food and agricultural assistance in any one year, FAO said in a news release on Monday. It added that the continent had become the largest beneficiary of food aid while it had reversed from being a key exporter of agricultural commodities into an importer.
CAAPD is a continent-wide agricultural programme that was adopted during the 2002 World Food Summit and that focuses on three areas: increasing food supply and reducing hunger, improving rural infrastructures and trade-related capacities for market access, and improving land management and water control systems. The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) represents the continent's latest initiative to bring out sustainable development.
The meeting is jointly organised by the African Development Bank, FAO and NEPAD steering committee.
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