Notes from the Field: African Union Trip 2014

Africa – January 31, 2014: The African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government declared 2014 the Year of Agriculture and Food Security with focus on “Transforming Africa’s Agriculture for Shared Prosperity and Improved Livelihoods, through Harnessing Opportunities for Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development.” The selection of this theme was timed to mark the 10th anniversary of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP), and overlapped for the first half of 2014 with the AU’s 50^th anniversary celebrations.

Jennifer Gross, founder of the Blue Chip Foundation, was honored to attend the 2014 Ordinary Session of the African Union. In addition to having a deep interest in policymaking, Jennifer founded the Blue Chip Foundation to help support organizations that directly or indirectly aim to alleviate global poverty in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The African Union’s commitment to agriculture and food security is holistically interwoven with elements that alleviate poverty for individuals and nations and directly support Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger.

According to the AU, the overall objectives of the Year of Agriculture and Food Security in Africa were:

• Facilitating broad-based and inclusive consultations, and dialogue among all relevant stakeholders (parliamentarians, women’s groups, youth groups, farmer organizations, civil society organizations, private sector, etc.) on CAADP and African agriculture and food and nutrition security

• Facilitating mutual learning and experience sharing among countries with a view to strengthening and deepening country engagements and ownership to advance the agriculture and food and nutrition security agenda

• Facilitating high level political dialogue on collective actions and seek demonstrable commitment by the Heads of State and Government for sustained support and engagement on agriculture through the CAADP framework

• Facilitating dialogue with Africa’s strategic partners – for demonstrable commitment to program alignment, harmonization, coordination and mutual accountability for results.

According to the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Business Foundation: (as of 2014) “over 70% of African households survive on subsistence farming and as such, agriculture remains a big contributor to the African economy accounting for over a fifth of the continent’s GDP.”

The principles of the Year of Agriculture and Food Security aimed to help improve local food production levels throughout Africa to improve food security and secure sustainable livelihoods.