Monday, 9 February 2009

FANPRAN helps design COMESA’s CAADP regional compact

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) has signed a contract with the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN) for the design of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) regional compact.

FANRPAN CEO, Dr. Lindiwe Sibanda was at the COMESA Secretariat in Lusaka, Zambia and signed for FANRPAN.

This development is an important milestone in the CAADP agenda in the COMESA region and for Africa. The regional compact is significant as it will capture priority agricultural investments at regional level, providing a vehicle for the CAADP framework to encompass all key areas and meaningfully contribute to regional integration.

The objectives of the regional compact are to, among other things, finalise the COMESA CAADP regional concept papers for all key pillars and cross-cutting pillars, design and facilitate implementation of programmes focusing on youth and women in the COMESA region.

The regional compact will also take an inventory of key stakeholders in the region that COMESA should work with in successfully implementing the CAADP including taking an inventory of existing regional projects and programmes which, the COMESA- CAADP team should take into consideration.
FANRPAN will work in consultation with other regional stakeholders including the East African Seed Committee (EASCOM), the Forum for Youth in Agriculture (FOYA) and the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Southern Africa (ASARECA).