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The 14th Africa Day for Food and Nutrition Security (ADFNS) Commemoration and the 19thComprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Partnership Platform convened from October 30th to November 2nd, 2023, in Lusaka, Zambia. The event was structured under the theme, “Accelerating the Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement in the Context of CAADP Commitments for Safer and Healthier Diets.” This vital assembly sought to explore the strategic synergy between implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and fostering healthier, safer diets through the prism of CAADP commitments.
The 14th Africa Day for Food and Nutrition Security (ADFNS) Commemoration and the 19thComprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Partnership Platform convened from October 30th to November 2nd, 2023, in Lusaka, Zambia. The event was structured under the theme, “Accelerating the Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement in the Context of CAADP Commitments for Safer and Healthier Diets.” This vital assembly sought to explore the strategic synergy between implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and fostering healthier, safer diets through the prism of CAADP commitments.
The Africa Day for Food and Nutrition Security (ADFNS), commemorated every 31st of October, was declared on July 2010 by the African Union Heads of State and Government at the 15th Ordinary Session of the AU Summit in Kampala, Uganda. CAADP PP is the African Union’s main platform for policy dialogue, lessons sharing and accountability among the CAADP Stakeholders to advance the CAADP Agenda.
These events were jointly organized by the African Union Commission (AUC), the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) and the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ). The event welcomed a diverse spectrum of stakeholders, including AU Member State Governments, Regional Economic Communities, NGOs, national Parliamentarians, Farmers’ Organizations, Civil Society groups, women and youth organizations, Youth Forums, Financial and Development Institutions, Research Organizations, Non-State Actors, the Private Sector, Media, and Development Partners. This diversity in participation catalyzed inclusive discussions, promoting a collective commitment toward enhancing food security, agricultural development, and nutrition across the continent. The varied representation facilitated the exchange of valuable insights, best practices, and the formulation of collaborative solutions to address the food and nutrition security challenges effectively.
The meeting served as a rallying point to underscore how the CAADP agenda, and increased intra-African trade in agricultural products and services can accelerate the achievement of food and nutritional security through safer and healthier diets across Africa.
The meeting was historic as it witnessed, for the first time, the joint hosting of the commemoration of the ADFNS and the CAADP PP. This was unprecedented; it presented the opportunity for collaborative synergies and engagements among experts in agri-food trade, food and nutrition security as well as agricultural development related and inter-dependent disciplines to advance the broad objectives of the AU Agenda 2063.
By fusing these two influential initiatives, the event provided a platform for a more comprehensive exchange of ideas, experiences, and actionable strategies, fostering an environment conducive to exploring, understanding, and addressing the complex interplay between agricultural trade, food security, nutrition, agricultural development, and socio-economic well-being across the African continent.
The collaboration elevated the dialogue, encouraging cross-pollination of perspectives and best practices that, in turn, widened the scope for innovative approaches to accelerate the implementation of strategies within the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement, ensuring safer and healthier diets for the continent’s population. This historic joint event opened new avenues for holistic discourse and action, serving as a catalyst for a more integrated and collaborative effort towards achieving common objectives and commitments.
Structured under several key themes, the hybrid event, attended by one thousand four hundred participants, featured strategic plenary and parallel sessions. Topics discussed were success stories and policy lessons learnt in Food Security and Trade, the intersection of Nutrition, Food Security, and Trade, and the examination of the CAADP’s progress. With a detailed structure comprising five (5) thematic areas and multiple parallel sessions, the event addressed systemic capacity strengthening, intra-African agricultural trade, and partnerships’ role in achieving sustainable food systems.
Participants passionately voiced a unified plea at the event for immediate concrete actions, not just rhetoric. From the welcome remarks to the keynotes, the urgent need to implement concrete actions for governments and stakeholders to walk the talk and turn words into actions was emphasized and re-emphasized. The gathering observed that though all wasn’t gloom and doom in the past two decades of implementing the CAADP/Malabo frameworks, significant weaknesses remained in the sector, and more efforts are needed to eliminate hunger among the 250 million Africans (one of every five Africans).
Representing the African Union Commission (AUC), Her Excellency Amb. Josefa Sacko, the AU Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment, and H.E. Minata Samaté Cessouma, the AU Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development presented welcome remarks. Other speakers included Mr Stanlake Samkange, the outgoing Chair of the CAADP Development Partners Coordination Group; Dr. Abebe Haile, Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Africa, FAO; H.E. Dr Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, AUC Special Envoy on Food Systems, as well as Ms. Estherine Lisinge-Fotabong, Director, Agriculture, Food Security and Environmental Sustainability, AUDA-NEPAD, on behalf of Ms. Nardos Bekele-Thomas CEO, AUDA-NEPAD.
Other notable dignitaries that spoke at the event included Her Honour the Vice President of the Republic of Zambia, Mrs W. K. Mutale-Nalumango (MP) Hon. Reuben Mtolo, MP, Minister of Agriculture, Government of Zambia, and Hon. Makozo Chikote, MP, Minister of Livestock and Fisheries, Government of Zambia. Dr Lawrence Haddad, Executive Director of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) made a keynote plenary presentation on Reaping the dividend of two decades of policy reforms for food and nutrition security in Africa; and Dr Ousmane Badiane, Founder and Executive Chairperson of AKADEMIYA2063, presented plenary keynote on Where we stand and what could be the target and pathways of the next CAADP cycle.
In her keynote address, her Honour the Vice President of the Republic of Zambia, Mrs. W. K. Mutale-Nalumango, outlined critical points regarding food and nutrition security in Africa. Her Honour’s speech emphasized the necessity for a paradigm shift, stressing the need for political will and financial commitments to address the challenges. Her Honour re-emphasised on the need for a change in the negative narratives and appalling statistics that have long characterized African agricultural development. The Vice President of the Republic of Zambia commended the alignment of the event with the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and emphasized the importance of science, innovation, and research in achieving food security. Furthermore, Her Honour advocated for collaborations, increased financial allocation, and commitment to programmes like the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme to address malnutrition and contribute to the Africa Agenda 2063. The Vice President of the Republic of Zambia underlined the urgency of addressing the challenges and the importance of collective efforts, innovative solutions, and partnerships to achieve food security and improved nutrition in Africa.
Her Excellency, Amb. Minata Samaté Cessouma, Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, during her remarks highlighted the importance of Agenda 2063’s aspiration 1: “A prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development” and the commitment to eradicate hunger and malnutrition as well as ensure a food secure continent as a key priority. She reminded all participants of the importance of the African Continental Free Trade Area, which is a game changer for the continent, aimed to offer an opportunity to promote economic growth, strengthen intra-African trade as well as improve food security and nutrition, but also stressed the importance of member states to ratify the free movement of Persons Protocol, a catalyst for free trade. She also welcomed the participation of the African parliamentarians to the event and made reference to the high-level dialogue on nutrition financing that was held early in 2023, and was led by the African Union Champion, His Majesty King Letsie III of the Kingdom of Lesotho, where national elected parliamentarians pledged to advocate for an increase in investment in food security and nutrition in their respective parliaments. She, therefore, called on the parliamentarians in attendance, to support the mobilisation of political will and resources to meet the challenges on malnutrition and drive the CAADP commitments, particularly that of 10 percent national budget allocation towards agricultural development.
For more Information, please download the Document here below:
Korup United, the Voluntary Association of ex-personnel of the Korup Project (1998-2003), is organizing a two-day Symposium October 31 - November 01, 2024, on Conservation and Sustainable Development in the Lower Guinea Congolian Forest Ecosystem. This event also commemorates the 38th Anniversary of the creation of the Korup National Park in October 1986 by Presidential Decree as the first rainforest IUCN Category II National Park in Cameroon.
Mrs Salina GRENET-CATALANO was appointed on July 5, 2024, by decrees of the Prime Minister and the Minister in charge of Europe and Foreign Affairs, the Director of Global Affairs of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs. It is in this light that she takes over Mr Christophe GUILHOU and becomes French’s new Co-facilitator for the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP).
PANGEA investigates variation between and within Earth’s two largest tropical forests in the Americas and Central Africa while integrating datasets and research from existing and complementary activities across the tropics. PANGEA’s research questions focus on five thematic areas, Biogeochemical Cycles; Biodiversity; Climate Interactions and Feedbacks; Social-Ecological Systems; and Disturbance Dynamics.
The Science Panel for the Congo Basin (SPCB) was launched on 3rd December 2023, at COP28 in Dubai. The SPCB is an independent platform for scientists from the region to synthesize the existing knowledge including Indigenous peoples and autochthonous knowledge, on the functioning of, and threats to, the Congo Basin and its ecosystems.
The DYNAFAC collective was created to develop common skills and technical and scientific complementarities. Its goal: to develop activities that will ultimately improve development plans and ensure better management of production forests in Central Africa.
The Congo Basin Science Initiative (CBSI) is an independent scientist-led platform that promotes long-term investment in science in the Congo Basin with a mission to transform our understanding of the world’s second largest extent of tropical forest, build scientific capacity in the region, and use this knowledge to support sustainable development.
In his book, "How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need,” Bill Gates singled out CGIAR centers, which have been at the forefront of supporting the world to feed itself through research including developing improved higher-yielding varieties of important staples such as maize and rice, as doing work that is “indispensable in creating new climate-smart crops and livestock for the world’s poor farmers.”
The PANGEA Scoping Campaign had a strong presence at the 20th Meeting of the Parties of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership from May 31 – June 5, 2024 in Kinshasa, DRC. The conference exchanges between civil servants, scientists, and philanthropic organizations in the Congo Basin provided a special opportunity to address the need for strengthening collaborative partnerships in the region and pan-tropically.
The CBFP and the coordination of the Western Bloc are pleased to invite you to a face-to-face exchange session, to be held on Friday 4 October from 8:00 to 10:00 at the Hôtel de l'Amitié, in N'Djamena, on the occasion of the conference on pastoralism and protected areas. The event will provide an opportunity to reflect on how the CBFP can continue to lead discussions on the most topical issues in the sub-region.
The Conference aims at: Presenting the state of knowledge on the causes and consequences of tensions between agropastoral activities and protected areas within the Sahelian and Sudano-Guinean ecosystems; Reviewing the modes of governance and technical innovations making it possible to better manage the interface zones between agropastoral areas and protected areas, in order to promote the sustainable development of agropastoral territories...
After a series of broken silence procedures in the lead-up to the Summit, the Summit of the Future (SOF) opened under a cloud of uncertainty when the Russian Federation made a last-minute proposal for an amendment to the outcome document. However, following a quick voting round, delegates adopted the Summit’s negotiated outcome, the Pact for the Future, and its two annexes: the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration of Future Generations. The rest of the day then proceeded largely as planned, with general statements by high-level representatives taking place in parallel with two interactive dialogues on the Summit’s themes.
The Summit of the Future opened with some drama when the Russian Federation tabled its objection to several paragraphs in the outcome documents: the Pact for the Future, the Global Digital Compact, and Declaration on Future Generations. In the end, after months of negotiations, the Pact was adopted. UN General Assembly (UNGA) President Philémon Yang thanked the Co-Facilitators for steering a complex negotiating process and described the just-adopted Pact as a reflection of “our pledge” to lay the foundation for a sustainable, inclusive, and peaceful global order.
The Central African Biodiversity Working Group adopts common views for COP-16 at the CBD and related meetings at the end of their 38 meeting held from September 9 to 13, 2024 in Brazzaville. The Central African Biodiversity Working Group held its thirty-eighth meeting (GTBAC-38) from September 9 to 13, 2024 in Brazzaville, the Republic of Congo. These meetings organised by the Executive Secretariat of the Central African Forests Commission (COMIFAC) with technical and financial support from the GIZ Regional Support Project to COMIFAC, brought together members of the GTBAC.
President of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) Philemon Yang has made available an updated programme of the Summit of the Future (SoF), along with a logistics note, an announcement of the co-chairs for the interactive dialogues to take place during the Summit, and lists of speakers for the interactive dialogues. The SoF is taking place in New York, US, from 22-23 September 2024.
New York, 10 September 2024 – Philémon Yang, former Prime Minister of the Republic of Cameroon, took office today as President of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly at a time when the urgent need to strengthen multilateralism respond to new and emerging challenges is increasingly acute. The theme of President Yang’s mandate is “Unity in diversity, for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for everyone, everywhere”. His priorities range from boosting gender equality, advancing multilingualism to combatting terrorism. Under his leadership, efforts will focus on fostering more effective collaboration and finding effective solutions to global challenges.
On 10 September 2024, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) closed its 78th session. Addressing the Assembly for the last time as its President, Dennis Francis (Trinidad and Tobago) underscored the important role of the multilateral system in overcoming complex challenges. Philemon Yang (Cameroon), President-elect of the 79th session of the UNGA, subsequently took an oath of office, pledging to perform his duties “in all loyalty, discretion and conscience.” This was followed by the opening of the Assembly’s 79th session.
07 September, Abidjan - African Environment Ministers meeting in Abidjan have called for the establishment of a legally binding protocol on drought management under the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), with a special focus on Africa. The call for action comes amid growing concerns over the detrimental impact of land degradation, drought and desertification on the continent’s socio-economic stability, food security, and environmental sustainability.
A search was carried out using Google Scholar and Scopus (for the period 2000-2023) and official reports (from the inscription of the site until 2024) submitted by countries on the state of conservation of natural UNESCO World Heritage sites in Africa. The scientific literature does not sufficiently address the determinants of armed conflicts affecting African Natural World Heritage sites or the connections between the quality of governance of Protected Areas and the emergence and/ or resolution of armed conflicts. Understanding the origins and foundations of these armed conflicts requires an in-depth analysis of several determinants linked to the existence of these protected areas and an assessment of the effectiveness of the governance systems, which is rarely available.
Abidjan, 3–6 September 2024 : Leveraging financing and partnerships for combating drought, land degradation and desertification in Africa The note available to dowload explores the critical role of financing and partnerships in addressing the interrelated challenges of drought, land degradation, and desertification in Africa.
Bonn / Laramie, 4 September 2024 - Today, a groundbreaking online map was launched showing the migration paths of land animals around the world. An international team of over 80 scientists has collaborated to create the first-ever interactive migration map of hooved mammals such as antelopes, guanacos and zebras, that routinely travel large distances at different times in the year. Such animals are collectively called “ungulates".
The African Forest Forum (AFF) in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)’s Regional office for Africa, is organizing a three-week Community of Practice (CoP) on “Climate Change in African Forestry and Wildlife Sectors”. The CoP will be held from9 - 27 September 2024, from 12:00 noon - 3.00 pm Nairobi time/ 9:00 am -12.00 noon GMT., via Howspace – a virtual ‘African Forestry Community’ platform – for knowledge sharing and learning.
To prepare the next post-Malabo plan, the ECCAS Regional Economic Community (REC), in partnership with AU, and the Feed the Future Policy LINK Program organized regional stakeholder consultations for the Central Africa region. The participants at the consultation were: the CAADP focal points and government representatives of different countries, as well as private sector and non-state actor representatives from the seven ECCAS Member States. Please download the report...
The tenth special session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) regional consultations will be held in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, from 30 August to 6 September 2024, under the theme “Raising Africa’s Ambition to Reduce Land Degradation, Desertification, and Drought.” The theme underscores the critical need to address the current state of land degradation in the region and restore this vital resource.
Rome – A new roadmap guiding the work of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on forests was endorsed on Wednesday by members at the 27th Session of the Committee on Forestry (COFO 27) in Rome. The FAO Forestry Roadmap - From Vision to Action 2024-2031 sets out how FAO will work to enhance the role forests play in meeting forestry-related goals and targets and in addressing global challenges in coming years.
In recent years, the international community and countries in central Africa have developed various initiatives and programmes to halt biodiversity and natural resource degradation, and to address challenges to sustainable development in forest ecosystems.
At the 26th IUFRO World Congress in Stockholm from 23-29 June 2024, the booth hosted by the Scientific and Academic College of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) provided an opportunity for Crispin Ilunga-Mulala Mushagalusa, a PhD student at the University of Liège (Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech), to present his research as part of the UFA - Reforest project (Reforestation in the Forest Management Units of Cameroon).
This study addresses the need to explore the attitude and perception of local residents toward wildlife and conservation. Questionnaires, surveys and field observations were used in data collection. A total of 400 people was conveniently selected in 16 villages from October to December 2015. Data analysis relied mainly on factor analysis and structural equation modelling in SPSS 21 and Smart-PLS software.
The objective of this side event on 4 June 2024 was move away from rapid conflict mitigation and prevention towards to holistic and integrated coexistence programs between human and forest elephants in rainforest of the Congo Basin.
The theme for International Youth Day 2024 (12 August) is “From Clicks to Progress: Youth Digital Pathways for Sustainable Development.” This theme highlights the key connection between digitalization and accelerating the progress of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), emphasizing the crucial contributions of young people in this transformative process.
On 23 December 1994, the United Nations General Assembly decided, in its resolution 49/214, that the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People shall be observed on 9 August every year. The date marks the first meeting, in 1982, of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations. The International Day observance will take place online on Friday, 9 August 2024. This year’s theme is: Protecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation and Initial Contact.
CBFP, which is one of the oldest Type 2 partnerships in the United Nations system, registered in the ECOSOC and UN DESA partnerships, and strengthened in SDG 17, is calling on its partners to make the conclusions of the High-Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development their own... the call is crystallised in advocacy for Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership with diverse stakeholders for sustainable developmen. In Fact, Partnerships are the glue for SDG implementation and is been essential to making the Agenda a reality.
This hybrid event aims to set the stage for the 2025 IYC, which will be officially launched during the ICA Global Cooperative Conference, scheduled for November 25-29, 2024, in New Delhi, India. The New York event will serve as a platform to deepen the theme of IYC2025, unveil the media package, discuss the UN resolutions outlining the modalities for the IYC launch.
Side event organized by the Sustainable Wildlife Management Programme on the 04/06 from 8h30 to 9h30 am. United Nations member states are committed to reducing hunger, improving health, and conserving natural resources through the Sustainable Development Goals. Additionally, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework aims to conserve 30% of terrestrial and marine areas by 2030, promoting sustainable wildlife management and equitable benefits. However, in Central Africa, the unsustainable wild meat trade threatens food security and biodiversity, making these goals challenging to achieve.
The Sustainable Wildlife Management (SWM) Programme presented its innovative Legal Hub at the recent 20th Meeting of Parties (MoP20) of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership. This event was held in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), from 3 to 5 June, 2024. A specific side-event titled "A Tool to Connect Different Sources of Law" showcased the Legal Hub’s critical role in enhancing the legal frameworks governing wildlife management across multiple countries, including the sub-region.
In this 20th meeting, the consortium comprising the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), RIKOLTO, and the Catholic University of Bukavu (UCB) actively participated in the sessions held from June 3 to 5, 2024, at the Pullman Hotel in Kinshasa. During a panel focused on agroforestry and agribusiness, the consortium presented solutions for sustainable and effective land management around the Itombwe Reserve and the Kahuzi-Biega National Park through two main themes...
