ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, August 5, 2015/African Press Organization (APO)/ — H.E Mrs. Tumusiime Rhoda Peace, Commissioner for the Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture, AUC received Dr. Patrick Kormawa, FAO Sub-Regional Office for Eastern Africa and Representative to the African Union and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and signed a TCP project document to jointly support Climate Change Resilience initiatives in Horn of Africa and the Sahel Regions.
The objective of the project is to enhance resilient livelihoods of households and communities in the Horn of Africa and improve food and nutrition security governance in the Sahel. The TCP envisages three outputs: knowledge management on resilience building between Permanent Inter-state Ministerial Committee for the Control of Drought in the Sahel (CILSS) and Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) strengthened; good practices on resilience in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa identified, documented, disseminated and institutionalised to inform policy processes and enhance investments; and Sahelian countries and intergovernmental organisations capacities for food security and nutrition analysis and response enhanced.
The Commissioner thanked FAO for its contribution as technical partner in the implementation the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) at continental, regional and country level and stressed that the current TCP is evidence for the action-oriented collaboration and directly related to the commitment of Enhancing Resilience of Livelihoods and Production Systems to Climate Variability and other related shocks, as articulated in the AU Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Africa Agriculture Growth and Transformation.
Dr. Kormawa, on his part, expressed his gratitude for the chance to be among close partners on issues related to agriculture and food and nutrition security in Africa.
The two parties discussed issues related to moving the partnership of the two institutions towards programme-based initiatives rather than ad-hoc project type engagements. This would be done through joint strategic planning, information sharing and participation in each other’s relevant programmes. They further discussed the Technical Cooperation Project to enhance the capacity of DREA. Furthermore, issues related to the Land Policy Initiative and how FAO can engage with AUC/DREA, UNECA and African Development Bank to provide support for the initiative were also discussed. They also talked ways and means of advancing the Africa Fertilizer Financing Mechanism (AFFM) and also agreed to organize a consultation meeting that will help consolidate the collaboration of the two institutions in areas of Partnership to End Hunger in Africa including the zero-hunger initiative, post-harvest loss reduction and agribusiness, and climate change, natural resources and resilience.
The meeting was attended by Dr. Janet Edeme, Officer-in-Charge for the Director, Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture and Head of Division of Rural Economy and Food and Nutrition Security; Prof. Ayalneh Bogale, Adviser in Climate Change and Agriculture, and Mr. Edward Kilawe, Forestry Officer at the FAO Sub-regional Office for Eastern Africa.
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