MINISTERIAL MEETING BRAZIL-AFRICA May Opening Remarks by Jacques Diouf. Director-General

Transcription

1 MINISTERIAL MEETING BRAZIL-AFRICA May 2010 Opening Remarks by Jacques Diouf Director-General Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Your Excellency, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Your Excellency, Mr. Jean Ping, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Your Excellencies, the Ministers of Brazil, Your Excellencies, the Ministers for Agriculture of African countries, Honourable Delegates, It is an honour and a great pleasure for me to be among you today in this great Capital City of Brasilia and to address such a prestigious gathering. I wish to thank President Lula da Silva and his Government for the kind invitation as well as their warm welcome and great generosity. Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Brazil s Zero Hunger Programme, or Fome Zero, as the programme is known in Portuguese, was launched by President Lula da Silva in January Since then, it has succeeded in reducing poverty and food insecurity significantly and in stimulating agricultural development through a variety of actions on multiple fronts. The number of hungry people in Brazil fell by a whole 28% in just four years: from 16.6 million in to 11.9 million in At the World Summit on Food Security held at FAO Headquarters in Rome in November 2009, President Lula announced Brazil s intention to support African countries in developing and implementing their own versions of Fome Zero. To this end, he signed with FAO an important and forward-looking technical and financial cooperation project for African countries and decided to host this important Summit.

2 2 FAO is pleased to have been associated with the process that has led to this meeting, and looks forward to working with institutions in both Brazil and Africa to carry forward the initiative. FAO brings to the table a wealth of experience and a record of success in mobilizing resources and technical expertise to help member countries develop their food and agricultural sectors and achieve food security. Let me mention just a few examples that are particularly relevant for the future collaboration between Brazil and Africa. FAO Support to the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) FAO actively supports the African Union and its New Partnership for Africa s Development (NEPAD) programme. In particular, FAO s assistance came in the elaboration of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme, or CAADP, which was adopted by the African Union Heads of State and Government in Maputo in July Its adoption represented an important milestone in the pursuit of agricultural development and food security on the African continent. By adopting a resolution to increase the allocation for agriculture and rural development to at least 10% of national budgets, African leaders clearly expressed their commitment to this sector which represents the principal source of livelihood for the majority of people. In this context, with the support of FAO, in 51 African countries, were prepared National Medium Term Investment Programmes (NMTIPs) with an investment portfolio worth 26.7 billion US dollars and about 200 Bankable Investment Project Profiles (BIPPs) for a total budget of over 10 billion US dollars. In the wake of the food price crisis, a number of African countries accelerated the processes leading to the implementation of CAADP. As a result, some 20 African countries and their development partners have now signed, and many more will soon sign CAADP Compacts that provide a framework for identifying priority investment needs for the agricultural sector. FAO is assisting a number of these countries in preparing their Compacts into comprehensive investment programmes leading into financing and accelerated CAADP implementation. FAO is committed to continue supporting Africa within the CAADP framework. National and Regional Programmes for Food Security (NPFS/RPFS) FAO provides assistance to governments for developing their own strategies and plans of action under the National Programmes for Food Security (NPFS). These

3 3 programmes are being fully integrated within the CAADP framework. They build on lessons learned from pilot projects implemented under FAO s Special Programme for Food Security between 1994 and 2008, which demonstrated the benefits of simple, low cost technologies that improved yields and income of poor farming households. So far, 40 African countries have engaged in the process of preparing NPFS; and 12 countries are implementing them. Funded from their own resources and donor support, these programmes have a total value today of over 2 billion dollars and benefit over 20 million people. African Regional Economic Communities - UEMOA, ECOWAS, SADC, COMESA, IGAD and AMU - have, with the support of FAO, also prepared regional food security programmes which focus on intra-regional trade and WTO sanitary and phytosanitary measures. Mr. President, South-South Cooperation FAO launched in 1996 the South-South Cooperation (SSC) initiative to enable developing countries to benefit from experiences of other advanced developing countries in enhancing production and productivity. The SSC provides the recipient countries the opportunity to have access to cost-effective expertise in areas such as water control, crop production, livestock, aquaculture and agroprocessing. The initiative has proven to be a very effective instrument. Since 1996, twenty-nine agreements for South-South cooperation have been signed to provide assistance to African countries, resulting in the fielding of over 1200 experts and technicians. To meet the increasing demand, FAO has entered into strategic alliances with China, Indonesia and Argentina - countries that are in a position to mobilize large numbers of experts and technicians. Besides this initiative, several other new forms of South-South partnership in Africa are also emerging. Examples include: - Financial support for small-scale water control projects (Venezuela); - Establishment of agricultural training centres on the African continent and specialized training for African nationals in Chinese agricultural research institutes and training centres (China);

4 4 - Financial and technical support for South-South knowledge-sharing about improved rice and aquaculture technologies used in Asia (Japan). Water and Energy Investment Programme for Africa Improving water control and harnessing water power are crucial for achieving food security, particularly in Africa where 93% of cropland depend exclusively on rainfall and only 4% of water resources are utilized. Aware of the critical situation, FAO organized in December 2008 in Sirte, in partnership with the African Union, NEPAD and the African Development Bank and with the support of the Libyan Government, a Ministerial Meeting on water. On that occasion, a portfolio of projects worth 65 billion US dollars was approved for a short-, medium- and long-term programme of irrigation and hydro-electric power, established at country level by governments with FAO support. Opportunities for Brazil-Africa Cooperation Brazil has demonstrated a great capacity in developing public policies in favour of rural areas and agricultural development. Its small farmers account for about 10% of the country's GDP and 70% of the food that graces the Brazilian dinner tables everyday. A large part of Brazil has climatic and soil conditions similar to the ones found in many countries in Africa. In addition, most of the main food staple crops in Brazil are also important crops in Africa. Different Brazilian institutions are known worldwide for their knowledge in different fields, and I would like to name a few: The Brazilian Agricultural Research Company (Embrapa) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA), vastly known in Africa already, has the capacity of transferring plant genetic resources to African countries of rice, beans, cowpea, cassava, sorghum and maize to name a few. Its national research system has a large experience in developing improved varieties adapted to a wide range of climatic, soils and management conditions; The Ministry of Aquaculture and Fisheries, created by President Lula and responsible for a wealth of knowledge on both marine and inland waters, gathers technical expertise indispensable for cooperation with Africa; The Ministry of Social Development and Hunger Fighting (MDS), which bears the management responsibility of the Zero Hunger Programme and the Food Purchase Programme (PAA), has made it possible to guarantee

5 5 incomes to small farmers and enhance food production; The Ministry of Agrarian Development (MDA), which through policies for agrarian reform, credit, technical assistance, agricultural extension and insurance, trade facilitation and policies aiming at the promotion of women s equality, the youth, traditional communities, agro-industries and the support to movements and organizations among others, has influenced radical change in rural areas. Meanwhile, the More Food Programme has recently been made permanent, thus allowing the continued modernization of the family farm s agricultural equipment in the country; The Ministry of Education (MEC) which, through its National Fund for School Development (FNDE), provides good quality food from small farmers to students in public schools through the School Food Programme; The Ministry of External Relations (MRE) which, through the Brazilian Agency of Cooperation (ABC), has helped implement cooperation initiatives from different Brazilian official institutions towards Africa. To ensure sustainable food production, and achieve food security, African agriculture needs to attain significant growth gains over the next 40 years. African population is expected to double by 2050, reaching 2 billion people with 62% living in urban areas. Mr. President, Honourable Ministers, Brazil, with its rich experience and wealth of expertise, is well-positioned to provide the catalytic support that is required. I am grateful in this regard to President Lula who indicated last November at the Rome Summit that Brazil was committed to a stronger cooperation with Africa. I am confident that the deliberations of this meeting in Brasilia will result in concrete cooperation initiatives. For its part, FAO stands ready to provide the needed support to achieve the established goals. Thank you for your kind attention.