“We are the mouths that do the talking and farmers are the feet that do the walking,” remarked Dr Theo de Jager, President of the Pan African Farmers’ Organisation.  Dr De Jager delivered a vote thanks to farmers and other participants at the just ended 11th Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Partnership Platform meeting (CAADP PP).

The 11th Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Partnership Platform (CAADP PP) meeting was organised around the theme “Walking the Talk: Delivering on Malabo Commitments on Agriculture for Women Empowerment and Development.” The theme reflects the tempo and ambition expressed by African Union member states, both governments and non-state players, to see more action, results, and impact.

Also speaking at the closing session of the CAADP PP meeting, Mrs Estherine Fotabong, NEPAD Director of Programmes, remarked that the meeting gave contributions to detail for action on the ground in the CAADP Prorgamme of Work for the next ten years.  “We are bound by a common cord that will see stakeholders support the growth of agriculture on the continent, building on the successes of the last ten years, through the theme of “Walking the Talk” for results,” Mrs Fotabong said.

The Meeting, held in Johannesburg between 25 and 26 March, was attended by over 400 agriculture and food security stakeholders from the African continent and beyond.  The meeting served as an important platform to take stock of existing capacity and commitments, as well as gaps in the continent’s capabilities to attain the goals and targets as set in the Malabo Declaration and CAADP Results Framework for agricultural growth.

In his closing remarks, Dr. Abebe Haile Gabriel (Director of Rural Economy and Agriculture at the African Union Commission), urged the participants to ensure that the next meeting should start by taking stock of what has happened to make sure that what is agreed upon in this platform actually materialises in the different constituencies. 

The Malabo Declaration itemises specific goals and targets for 2015-2025. These include recommitment on the 10% annual public budget support to agriculture and the 6% annual agriculture productivity growth rate.

The deliberations at the 11th CAADP PP on “Walking the Talk” acknowledged that gender discrimination is not only detrimental to women farmers but also to the economic and social development of all. To this end, the empowerment of women is seen not only as a question of economic justice but also of efficiency.  Therefore, actions to redress discrimination in accessing productive resources and assets by marginalised groups such as women, youth and smallholder farmers should be at the core of economic policies if the Malabo targets are to be realised.