20 January 2009. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The meeting was arranged with the Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture (DREA) of the African Union Commission (AUC) and NEPAD to discuss and strategize on the road map for organizing the 4th Conference of Ministers of Agriculture.The 4th Conference of Ministers of Agriculture is scheduled to take place April 22-24, 2009 as a prelude to the AU July 2009 Summit in Madagascar.
It was agreed that since NEPAD will engage a facilitator for the process of organizing the conference and because the AUC and Madagascar must endorse a theme, the propositions should be left to the AUC and Madagascar. 3 sub-themes were accepted with the acknowledgment that they need further refinement:
- land degradation and climate change or land use and climate change;
- Regional markets on strategic products for investment and trade and
- strategies to leverage increased investment financing in African agriculture. Partnerships, capacity strengthening and policy cut across all conference themes.
