ECA and AUC should press African countries on 10 percent budget commitment to agriculture, says expert

Addis Ababa 24 April 2007 - The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Union Commission (AUC) should deepen their advocacy efforts to compel African countries to honor their various commitments, including the 10 per cent of total budget to agriculture, the Regional Director (Sub Saharan Africa) of Bioversity International, Dr. Joseph Baidu-Forson, said today in Addis Ababa.

Speaking to the Information and Communication Service of ECA, Dr. Baidu-Forson said until the two regional bodies use their convening power to “prick the conscience of African policy makers on the promises made by our leaders”, these commitments would not be taken seriously.

He said that the sort of “high level advocacy” required for implementing the commitments made could not be easily carried out by civil society groups in African countries, many of who, he said, are not taken seriously at country level.

“ECA should use its Conference of Finance Ministers and AU should engage its Ministers of Agriculture on this urgent matter beyond the regional limits,” said Dr. Baidu-Forson.

Earlier, during a discussion amongst experts on how to transform African agriculture, the Head of Agriculture and Food Security at the AUC, Edson Mpyisi, said the role of AUC could only be limited to “advocacy around the commitments”.

“When it comes to implementation at the national level, the countries are the bosses – they set their priorities,” said Mr. Mpyisi.