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Liberia has recommitted itself to the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) framework for agriculture and food security.
The new arrangement, the Kampala Declaration, aims to renew efforts in advancing the development of a resilient and sustainable agrifood system on the continent.
Vice President Jeremiah Kpan Koung made the commitment on behalf of the government and people of Liberia in a statement at the just-ended Extraordinary summit of the African Head of States held in Kampala, Uganda.
“Liberia fully supports the CAADP Declaration, which outlines a bold vision to transform Africa’s agri-food systems by 2035. We believe agriculture will drive the next phase of development for Liberia and Africa. With vast fertile lands and dedicated efforts, Africa can truly become the world’s breadbasket,” Vice President Koung said.
“CAADP provides a valuable framework for us to strengthen these initiatives. We are committed to aligning our national policies with the goals of this summit. Liberia is ready to play its part in addressing the challenges of food insecurity and transforming agriculture into a driver of growth,” he added.
The Extraordinary Summit of African heads of States for the Kampala, CAADP Declaration brought together participants from the AU’s 55 member countries, consisting of the African leaders, ministers of agriculture and foreign ministers, researchers, civil society actors, media, and youths from the respective member’s countries.
The 10-year strategy and action plan to implement the CAADP along with a consensus document titled the Kampala Declaration were announced on Saturday at the conclusion of the AU Extraordinary Summit.
According to the AUC, under the new framework, African countries are committed to intensifying sustainable food production by increasing agri-food output by 45 percent by 2035 and reducing post-harvest losses by 50 percent.
The member countries also agreed to boost investment and financing in the agricultural sector, aiming to raise 100 billion U.S. dollars in public and private investment by 2035.
However, to obtain the objectives of the framework, countries are encouraged to have a collective commitment from governments, lawmakers, farmers and value chain members, the private sector, civil society organizations, and the media to translate the recommitments into actual vision.
Vice President Koung informed the summit of African leaders that the administration of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai has launched the National Agriculture Development Plan (NADP) for his country which aims to create jobs, improve food security and reduce poverty.
He said the plan also recognized the critical link of agriculture with nutrition, stating that his office currently oversees the National Scaling-Up Nutrition (SUN) Secretariat, which is committed to fighting malnutrition and stunting.
The Liberian Vice President cautioned the need for Liberia to go beyond discussion about agriculture.
“The decisions we make today are crucial. We must move from discussions to action. Let us invest in sustainable agriculture, empower our farmers, and ensure that no child goes to bed hungry,” he warned.
Liberia became a signatory to the CAADP framework in 2003 to make agriculture a priority to end hunger and reduce poverty by allocating 10 percent of the country’s total national budget.
But, Liberia, like many African countries, is yet to meet up with the commitment for the 10 percent of the total national budget for agriculture since 2003 and current. The nation’s agricultural sector is still being hugely supported by monies that come from external sources such as loans and grants.
The allocations made in the national budget over the years have been far below the benchmark of the CAADP framework.
And despite millions of dollars of external funding, the country’s farmers are still facing numerous challenges.
Though there are some strides made to revamp agriculture, constraints such as limited access to finance, farm machinery and the lack of adequate inputs continue to limit the country’s ability to meet the CAADP goals for poverty reduction and food security enhancement.
The current budget for agriculture has a little increment to address some thematic issues of the CAADP framework such as access to finance and to improve extension delivery.
A private farmer, Tornolla Varpilah, said that Liberia’s recommitting to the CAADP framework is an excellent idea but will require the political will to make it a reality.
“I am doubtful if the country is going to increase public funding in line with the framework. I just see this as an international commitment. We have made a lot of commitment but we still depend on international partners to support our development agenda.
Mr. Varpilah, former Minister of Transport under the administration of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, said that the country’s commitment without a justification of the current budget is a mockery.
“The government will need to make the sacrifices to support agriculture by reducing waste in spending to support critical sectors,” he said.
Varpilah called for an increase in advocacy by the private sector to ensure that the government does what it has put on paper.
For his part, the President of the National Rice Federation of Liberia, Mohammed Kamara, said that transparency in implementing and monitoring agricultural funding is key to achieving the goal for the CAADP.
“The government must allow the private sector in the implementation of funding for agriculture. Our lawmakers should not also think that attracting loans for the sector means improving public funding. While we get the funds from the partners we also need the government’s own if we are to take agriculture seriously,” Kamara emphasized.
