ADDIS ABABA DECLARATION ON REINVIGORATING AFRICAN AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION AND ADVISORY SERVICES October 16, 2015 Addis - Ababa, Ethiopia

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1 ADDIS ABABA DECLARATION ON REINVIGORATING AFRICAN AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION AND ADVISORY SERVICES October 16, 2015 Addis - Ababa, Ethiopia Participants at the 2 nd AFAAS Africa - Wide Agricultural Extension Week

2 ADDIS ABABA DECLARATION ON REINVIGORATING AFRICAN AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION AND ADVISORY SERVICES October 16, 2015 Addis - Ababa, Ethiopia

3 WE, more than 300 representatives of African ministries of agriculture; rural agricultural extension and advisory services practitioners from public, private and civil society organizations; farmers; academia; continental and international research, innovation and technology institutions; the private sector; bilateral and multilateral development partners and related donor organizations; policy making and advocacy institutions; financial institutions and the media from over 40 countries; assembled in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, October 2015 to participate in the 2 nd Africa-Wide Agricultural Extension Week 2015 (AAEW 2015) under the theme: Reinvigorating Extension Services for Market-led Agriculture within the Context of the Malabo Declaration ; ACKNOWLEDGING our gratitude to the Government and People of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia for graciously hosting AAEW 2015, a forum that has afforded us the opportunity to recommit ourselves to the development of Africa s rural advisory services sector particularly the critically important agriculture extension services community, to align our collective efforts towards support of the realization of the African Union Malabo Commitments ( ) to redouble the provision of support for the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP), and to rededicate ourselves to ensuring that the agricultural extension and advisory services (AEAS) sector effectively, professionally and sustainably plays its catalytic role toward Africa s agricultural transformation agenda; Page 1 of 11

4 APPRECIATIVE of the strides made by African AEAS stakeholders to align with the CAADP Framework for Agricultural Productivity (FAAP) principles, namely: a) end-user empowerment, b) subsidiarity, c) pluralism, d) evidence-based approaches, e) multi-stakeholder integration, f) incorporation of sustainability criteria in the evaluation of public investments, g) systematic utilization of improved management information systems, h) introduction of cost sharing with end users, and i) integration of gender considerations at all levels; NOTING with satisfaction the position that AFAAS has attained as a leader in inter-continental networking of AEAS through the Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services (GFRAS) and through its initiatives to identify, develop and share best practices in AEAS continentally, and globally; RECOGNISING the importance that has been placed on agriculture as a development catalyst in Africa towards achievement of the newly established Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in the founding Declaration of the New Partnership for Africa s Development (NEPAD), in CAADP, and in the aforementioned commitments made at the 2014 African Union Summit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, collectively incorporated into the Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Agricultural Page 2 of 11

5 Growth and Transformation for Shared Prosperity and Improved Livelihoods ; ENDORSING the Science Agenda for Agriculture in Africa s (S3As) vision that by 2030, Africa ensures its food and nutrition security; becomes a recognised global scientific player in agriculture and food systems, and the world s bread-basket ; PARTICULARLY SUPPORTING Malabo Declaration III to End Hunger in Africa by 2025 by (at least) doubling agricultural productivity levels and halving current levels of post-harvest losses, and Declaration IV to Halve Poverty by the Year 2025 through Inclusive Agricultural Growth and Transformation by creating job opportunities for 30% of the youths in agricultural value chains and supporting and facilitating preferential entry and participation for women and youths in gainful and attractive agribusiness opportunities ; AWARE of the recently signed, April 2015, Memorandum of Understanding between the African Forum for Agriculture Advisory Services (AFAAS) and the African Union s Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture, which calls upon AFAAS to play a leading advocacy and advisory role for AEAS within and to the member states of the African Union; Page 3 of 11

6 RECALLING the related commitments made by African Heads of State and Government: 1. in the 2003 Maputo Declaration calling for 10% of annual public expenditure on agricultural and rural development; 2. in the 2004 Sirte Declaration on The Challenges of Implementing Integrated and Sustainable Development of Agriculture and Water in Africa to promote and develop the key agriculture sector; 3. in the 2006 Khartoum Decision urging African Member States to allocate at least 1 per cent of annual GDP to research and development; 4. at the June 2006 Abuja Summit to Accelerate the Dissemination of Fertilizer to Africa s Farmers and to develop a Green Revolution in Africa; 5. at the December 2006 Abuja Summit on Food Security to foster increased intra-african trade by promoting and protecting strategic commodities at the sub-regional and continental levels; 6. at the 2007 African Union Summit on the Plan of Action for the Accelerated Industrial Development of Africa which identifies agriculture as a key sector within which to promote value added production on the continent; 7. at the 2009 Sirte Summit on Agriculture for Economic Growth and Food Security to facilitate the creation of agricultural investment and enterprise development platforms in member states and to organize agribusiness joint venture fairs to promote public-private partnership; and, 8. at the 2011 Addis Ababa Summit which endorsed the recommendations of the 2010 Abuja High Level Conference for the Development of Agribusiness and Agro-Industries in Africa (HLCD- Page 4 of 11

7 3A) and of the African Agribusiness and Agro-industries Development initiative (3ADI) to mobilize increased private sector capital for agribusiness development and to promote value chain development in Africa; REAFFIRMING the commitments that we ourselves made in 2011 at the Innovations in Extension and Advisory Services International Conference in Nairobi, Kenya from November 15-18, where we adopted the Nairobi Declaration on Agriculture Extension and Advisory Services and called upon all key stakeholders to: 1. Develop clear policies and strategies for extension and advisory services in a participatory manner and to put coordination and quality assurance mechanisms in place; 2. Advocate for increased funding within national budgets and develop and implement public, private and donor funding mechanisms that ensure sustainability, risk sharing and efficient use of funds to provide high quality demand led services; 3. Promote and facilitate continuous capacity building, learning and forward planning as well as greater use of ICTs and the media, which take into account culture and gender in the provision of advisory and extension services so that millions of smallholder farmers can move up the value chain; 4. Develop and implement participatory processes for monitoring, evaluation and impact assessments and for conducting research on extension to facilitate learning, accountability, efficiency and empowerment; and to 5. Continue to develop and support platforms at different levels for Page 5 of 11

8 extension professionals and researchers and farmers to meet, exchange and improve their capacity to mobilize smallholders knowledge, labor, land, water and genetic resources for global food security; MINDFUL that we are entering into a period of relative global development assistance austerity where increasing focus is being given to the need for domestic resource mobilization, including illicit funds flow reduction, diaspora remittance funds utilization for public good and investment, and domestic pension fund incorporation as an investment resource for the continent s economic transformation agenda; yet ENCOURAGED by the accelerating development of the African agriculture sector and its rapid ascent toward becoming a US trillion dollar market - a continental market that will afford agriculture sector stakeholders on the continent opportunities beyond poverty alleviation, toward wealth creation and economic growth and development; REFLECTING on the engaging, market focused, action learning, probing, improved accountability oriented, analytical and self-evaluative, knowledge sharing and capacity development-focused week of activities that we have had during the 2 nd Africa-Wide Agricultural Extension Week; Page 6 of 11

9 HEREBY CALL UPON ALL KEY AEAS STAKEHOLDERS INCLUDING GOVERNMENTS, EXTENSION PROFESSIONALS, FARMERS ORGANIZATIONS, REGIONAL AND GLOBAL BODIES, THE PRIVATE SECTOR, CIVIL SOCIETY, DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS AND AGRICULTURAL SECTOR FINANCIERS AND INVESTORS TO TAKE THE FOLLOWING ACTIONS THAT WILL REINVIGORATE AEAS: GENERAL 1. Continue to promote pluralistic and demand-based AEAS systems but in ways that do not conflict with the overarching national contexts and needs of farmers, markets and consumers; 2. Continue to support the creation and strengthening of linkages between the AEAS services of African countries (through AFAAS) with those of other continents (through GFRAS) for mutual benefit in the evolution of global good practices; 3. Promote the expansion of AEAS in Africa and the continued use of monitoring and evaluation systems to improve the profession and to help practitioners play their critical role in the achievement of transformational agricultural development in Africa and the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals; Page 7 of 11

10 POLICY AND REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT 4. Revamp public extension systems in ways that accommodate nonstate AEAS providers including private sector actors - but retain and strengthen state capacity to provide policy direction, coordination, regulation and the setting of standards for inclusive, market-led, agricultural transformation in Africa; 5. Emphasize the need for the development, review and reform of legislative policy on AEAS at country level to enhance agricultural and national economic development; INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY, MEDIA AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT 6. Positively exploit the rapid penetration of ICT in Africa to cost effectively support the provision of advisory services to rural farm communities and to the actors that support associated agricultural value chains therein, while also pursuing ICT approaches that can improve AEAS coverage and reach to to farmer ratio; 7. Actively pursue the adoption of good practices in knowledge management to enhance knowledge exchange and co-creation that Page 8 of 11

11 respond to the needs of farmers and other value chain actors; 8. Take advantage of the opportunities created by the increasing digital migration in Africa to innovatively introduce AEAS radio and television programming to inform, educate, train and share good practices with and among agricultural value chain stakeholders; RESOURCE MOBILIZATION 9. Prioritize resource allocation, through the inclusion of line item for AEAS in African governments budgets, for the support and development of integrated systems that help ensure sustainable and reliable access to quality and affordable inputs including knowledge services to meet the demands of smallholder farmers for sustainable intensification and climate smart agriculture; 10. Increase the efficiency and efficacy of public resources, domestic and foreign direct investment, and resources sourced from development partners to improve and expand the delivery of AEAS in Africa. Page 9 of 11

12 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT 11. Urge national AEAS networks to promote and support the development of a professional system that is technically, functionally, and technologically proficient in extension and rural advisory service provision, and support continuous professional development of AEAS practitioners; 12. Expand the training and education in AEAS at high school and tertiary education levels to ensure improved capacity for AEAS and promote the development of farmer innovation systems and farmer-to-farmer education and training in AEAS; APPROACHES AND INNOVATION PLATFORMS 13. Promote evidenced-based, AEAS delivery approaches and allocate resources to support post-harvest management technologies for improved produce quality, market access, and the reduction of postharvest losses through public-private partnerships and especially increased private sector investment; 14. Support investment in field testing, documentation, and wide dissemination of locally adapted cost effective AEAS approaches, including those from indigenous knowledge systems, and those Page 10 of 11

13 that promote access to rural services by youth, women, smallholder farmers, and other actors in agricultural value chains toward the attainment of wealth creation, food security and improved nutritional food value in Africa; GENDER AND YOUTH 15. Promote AEAS policies, strategies and programs that incorporate affirmative action for creating gainful employment and procurement opportunities for women and youth, and enterprises they lead; COUNTRY FORA AND SUB-REGIONAL NETWORKS 16. Continue support for need-based capacity strengthening and development of the continental platform (AFAAS) and its network of sub-regional (including, but not limited to the Southern Africa Region Forum for Agricultural Advisory Service and the Reseau du Service Agriculture et Rural en Afrique Ouest et Centrale) and country fora as platforms for AEAS professionals and practitioners to network, share learning, support evidence based policy development, and within which to track the progress of programme implementation and promote social accountability; and This Declaration was adopted by the participants who attended the 2 nd Africa Wide Agricultural Extension Week, October 11-16, 2015 and endorsed at the 2015 AFAAS General Assembly. Page 11 of 11

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