Last week, the Africa Progress Panel and the ONE Campaign released reports that focused on Africa's development, including an examination of food and agriculture issues.
The first report, from the Africa Progress Panel, chaired by former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan, points out that while the past decade was one of good news for Africa, this progress screeched to a halt at the decade’s end, due in large part to the onset of the global financial crisis. In the Panel's proposals to ensure sustainable economic growth and poverty alleviation in the future, two of the report's key recommendations focus on agriculture and food security: (1) the Panel calls on Africa’s leaders, their international partners, and the private sector to implement CAADP compacts and thereby prioritize investments in agriculture, including by increasing access to markets; and (2) the Panel calls on African leaders to prioritise rural women’s access to land, including land rights, information, credit and financial support, insurance and extension services. Additionally, on page 33 of the report, a lengthy discussion of the current state of food and nutrition security on the continent is included.
The second report, from the ONE Campaign, is a scorecard on the largest economies’ fulfilment of their pledges at Glen eagles five years ago to double official aid to Africa. Beginning on page 121 of the report, ONE tracks official development assistance (ODA) for agriculture to Africa, and includes several interesting charts and graphs on how ODA trends correlate with rising undernourishment rates on the continent.
Both reports are a must read!
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