CAADP Day: Farmers, banks, policymakers and researchers to boost investments in African agriculture

Ouagadougou, 21 July 2010 – Close to 200 policymakers, Ministers, researchers, and representatives from farmers’ organizations, the media, the private sector, and development agencies are convening for the second annual Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Day which is focused on the opportunities for the private sector in the implementation of CAADP.

The engagement under the theme, ‘Post-Compact CAADP Implementation: the African private sector and investments in agriculture,” which is hosted by the Government of Burkina Faso is organized by the Africa Union Commission, the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NEPAD Agency) and the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA).

The event is being held within the context of the Africa Agriculture Science Week and the FARA General Assembly.

CAADP is a programme of the African Union’s (AU) New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). Under the guidance of the AU, the CAADP Day will provide the participants with an opportunity to engage each other on how to get the private sector in Africa to better support the work of farmers in Africa.

According to Martin Bwalya the Head of CAADP at the NEPAD Agency, “although African governments and development partners have increased their focus on agriculture in Africa evidence on the ground shows that in order for us to boost agricultural productivity in Africa we need to direct our attention to the access of finances for farmers in Africa”.

“This is why our focus this year is on how to get farmers and banking institutions in Africa to support each other in the implementation of the CAADP Agenda”, he added.
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For more information contact:
Andrew Kanyegirire: AndrewK@nepad.org / +27 (0) 83 704 4506