African leaders reminded to honour 2003 agriculture agreement

Paul Kagame, President, African Union

African leaders have been reminded to honour their commitment to allocate 10 percent of their budgets to agriculture if the continent is to improve food security, reduce poverty and spur economic growth.

This was the candid submission of Batanai Chikwene of the Economic Commission for Africa while speaking at the Intra-African Trade Fair, Cairo.

According to him, with the continent on the brink of great things with the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Act (AfCFTA), more resources were needed to support agriculture and smallholder farmers.

“The AfCFTA will be of immense help to small scale farmers and startups on the continent. In addition to providing them with 97 percent market access and a framework for trade facilitation, it will eliminate barriers inhibiting their growth. But then access to finance is important which is why I believe the time is ripe for us to urge our leaders to recommit themselves and build that capacity for farmers to increase productivity.”

He continued that with the AfCFTA, Africa’s farmers need to be ready not only to feed people in their own countries but the entire continent and also to penetrate international markets.

He added that the private sector also has a crucial role to play in helping to finance the sector, insisting that Africa's small scale farming was key to the continent’s economic success hence the need for leaders to refocus on the sector.

African leaders agreed in Maputo, Mozambique, in 2003 to refocus national attention to building stronger, more dynamic agriculture sectors. In the Maputo Declaration, they agreed to re-invest at least 10 percent of their national budgets to improve food security, reduce poverty, and spur rural development.

“So far just a few of our countries have kept their promise. Our farmers need the support if the AfCFTA is to make the huge difference that we expect it to make on the continent.”