2 - 3 March. Nairobi. A meeting focusing on advancing the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Pillar IV in the COMESA region was held in Nairobi in collaboration with Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Southern Africa (ASARECA).
The meeting focused on various issues including the modalities and progress in incorporating FARA initiatives in the CAADP Round Table process; discussing the role of CAADP Pillar IV to the overall implementation of CAADP and the role of Centres of Excellence for selected agricultural commodities and Pillar lead institutions in the CAADP agenda.
The meeting noted that agricultural productivity in Africa has been stagnant and is faced with many challenges. Producers of maize for example, which is a major staple in the region, realize only an average of 1.3 tonnes per hectare compared to the world average of 5 tonnes per hectare. Poor infrastructure, low adoption of modern technologies, unfavorable external markets and institutional weaknesses were cited as some other reasons contributing to low productivity levels.
Reference + Read more: COMESA 13/03/2009
