THE GHANA CAADP PROCESS
IN SUPPORT OF THE FASDEP AND THE MEDIUM TERM AGRICULTURE SECTOR INVESTMENT PLAN
BACKGROUND
The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) is at the heart of efforts by African governments under the AU/NEPAD initiative to accelerate growth and eliminate poverty and hunger among African countries. The main goal of CAADP is to help African countries reach a higher path of economic growth through agriculturally-led development which eliminates hunger, reduces poverty and food insecurity, and enables expansion of exports. As a program of the African Union, it emanates from and is fully owned and led by African governments. Although continental in scope, it is an integral part of national efforts to promote agricultural sector growth and economic development. It is not a set of supranational programs to be implemented by individual countries. It is rather to be understood as a common framework, reflected in a set of key principles and targets that have been defined and set by the Heads of State and Government, in several documents and declarations in order to: (i) guide country strategies and investment programs, (ii) allow regional peer learning and review, and (iii) facilitate greater alignment and harmonization of development efforts. The following are the main principles and targets which define the CAADP framework:
- the principle of agriculture-led growth as a main strategy to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of poverty reduction;
- the pursuit of a 6% average annual sector growth rate at the national level;
- the allocation of 10% of national budgets to the agricultural sector;
- the exploitation of regional complementarities and cooperation to boost growth;
- the principles of policy efficiency, dialogue, review, and accountability, shared by all NEPAD programs;
- the principles of partnerships and alliances to include farmers, agribusiness, and civil society communities;
- the implementation principles assigning the roles and responsibility of program implementation to individual countries; that of coordination to designated Regional Economic Communities; and that of facilitation to the NEPAD Secretariat.
THE CAADP IMPLEMENATION PROCESS AT THE COUNTRY LEVEL
The fact that CAADP is a shared framework around common objectives and targets, in addition to principles of dialogue and peer review, should stimulate and broaden the practice of benchmarking, mutual learning, and harmonization of country development efforts. It should also encourage a greater level of cooperation across countries, boost efforts to better integrate national agricultural sectors, and facilitate the exploitation of regional growth opportunities. The CAADP process also promotes partnerships and alliances that should: (i) facilitate the alignment of development efforts by national governments and their development partners, (ii) improve incentives for long term investments by the private sector, (iii) raise participation in the policy making process by farmer organizations and other stakeholder.
The country level CAADP implementation process is primarily one of aligning national agricultural sector policies, strategies, and investment programs with the above CAADP principles and targets, in particular the 6% growth rate and 10% public expenditure share for the sector. Furthermore, the CAADP process at the country level is supposed to build on ongoing country efforts and be led by national governments and other stakeholders, with the necessary support from the Regional Economic Communities and the NEPAD Secretariat. Moreover, in line with the NEPAD principles of ownership and accountability, the country CAADP process is initiated on demand-driven basis, through consultation between RECs and their member countries.
THE CAADP IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS IN GHANA
In the case of GHANA, the CAADP implementation process has sought to add value to the ongoing agenda and processes under the Food and Agriculture sector Development Policy (FASDEP) as part of the GPRS and National Medium and Long Term Development Plans. It focuses on providing a longer term strategic framework for the implementation of the investment programmes in the agriculture sector. For the period 2009-2015, the following six programmes, which together represent Ghana’s priorities within the four CAADP Pillars, are defined:
Ghana’s sector policy priorities across the four CAADP pillars:
FASDEP Objectives |
Corresponding CAADP Pillars |
Food Security and emergency preparedness |
- Enhancement of food supply and reduction of hunger.
- Sustainable development of livestock, fisheries and forestry resources.
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Improved growth in incomes and reduced income variability |
- Enhancement of food supply and reduction of hunger.
- Sustainable development of livestock, fisheries and forestry resources.
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Increased competitiveness and enhanced integration into domestic and international markets |
- Improvement of rural infrastructure and trade-related capacities for improved market access
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Sustainable management of land and environment |
- Sustainable land development and reliable water control systems
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Science and Technology applied in food and agriculture development |
- Development of agricultural research, technology dissemination and adoption
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Enhanced Institutional Coordination |
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For the above purpose of value addition, and in collaboration with the NEPAD Secretariat and ECOWAS, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in collaboration with national institutions have mobilized a team of national and international experts and resource persons to carry out the following tasks:
- Take stock of ongoing agricultural development efforts in Ghana and identified gaps that need to be filled to increase the chances of success;
- Specify the strategic options and sources of poverty reducing growth to guide long term development efforts in the sector;
- Estimate long term funding needs to exploit the growth and poverty reduction potential associated with the identified options and sources of growth;
- Identify review, dialogue, and knowledge mechanisms to facilitate the transition towards evidence based and outcome oriented strategy planning and implementation and thereby ensure better outcomes.
The process described above is summarized in five brochures and four briefs. The brochures describe the background information and the briefs describe the investment programmes.
OBJECTIVES AND EXPECTED OUTCOMES OF THE GHANA CAADP ROUNDTABLE
The first outcome is to review and discuss the assessment of Ghana’s, performance, progress, and prospects in terms of achieving the growth and poverty reduction targets under the CAADP and FASDEP agenda. In particular, the review will focus on the evidence presented in the documents listed above discussing the FASDEP and Sector Investment Plan package and the possible long term growth and poverty outcomes in Ghana contrasting these with the CAADP and MDG1 targets. The purpose is to established a shared understanding of the broader strategic framework that should guide ongoing and future efforts under the FASDEP and its implementation document, the Agriculture Sector Investment Plan.
The second outcome is the endorsement of a Ghana CAADP Compact, which is a consensus document specifying commitments by the government of Ghana, the private sector, development partners and other key stakeholders in terms of actions that will be taken to ensure successful implementation of the FASDEP agenda. These include sector policy and budgetary commitments, investments and development assistance commitments, and policy dialogue and mutual review commitments. The Compact will build upon and be fully consistent with the Government of Ghana policy on aid. The Compact will guide: (i) country policy and investment responses to meet the Maputo Pledge and achieve the 6% sector growth rate; (ii) the long term planning of development assistance to support country efforts; and (iii) the public private partnerships as well as business to business alliances to raise and sustain the necessary investments in the agribusiness and farming sectors.
The third and final outcome would define the institutional arrangements for the coordination and review of implementation progress and performance with respect to the actions and commitment specified in the Compact. The dialogue and review mechanisms will be fully aligned with the national procedures and modalities. In addition, they will include strategy analysis and knowledge management systems to facilitate the successful transition towards evidence based and result oriented policy planning and implementation in the sector.
PARTICIPANTS FOR THE ROUNDTABLE CONFERENCE
These include:
- The public sector made up of government ministries, departments and agencies
- Private sector including agencies under the Private sector Foundation (PEF)
- Agriculture Associations
- Financial Institutions
- Civil Society Organisations
- Academia, Deans of Faculties of Agriculture
- Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and its Agriculture Institutes.
- Traditional rulers represented by the National House of Chiefs
- The Agriculture Select Committee of Parliament
- The Minister, Deputy Ministers and National and Regional Directors of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA)
- Project Coordinators from MOFA, MiDA, School Feeding Programme
- Ghana Export Promotion Council
- Ghana Investment Promotion Council
- Forestry Commission
- Water Resources Commission
- CAADP Pillar Institutions
- ECOWAS Institutions and Member States
- AU and NEPAD Officials
- Global Platform Members
- Development Partners
- Media Houses
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
- Draft Round Table Programme
- Delegate Reply Form
Ghana CAADP Round Table,
Accra International Conference Centre,
October 27th -28th, 2009
Draft Round Table Programme
DAY 1: TUESDAY 27TH OCTOBER
Opening Ceremony
9.00am Arrival of Invited Guests, cultural display
Arrival of Dignitaries, cultural display
Arrival of Guest of Honour
10.00am National Anthem
Introduction of Chairperson and Dignitaries: MC
Chairperson’s opening remarks
Welcome address : Hon Minister, Ministry of Food and Agriculture
Speeches :
- Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS)
- Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
- Global Donors’ Platform
- New Economic Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD)
- Africa Union
- Keynote address
Vote of Thanks
National Anthem
Cultural display
12.00-12.30 Break, refreshments
Technical session one
12.30 Presentation on roundtable processes – regional, national,
Presentation and discussion of brochures:
- Brochure 1: Review of ongoing agricultural development efforts in Ghana
- Brochure 2: Past performance and future prospects for agricultural growth, poverty reduction and food security
- Brochure 3: Strategic options and sources for agricultural growth, poverty reduction and food security
14.00-15.00 Lunch Break
15.00 Presentation and discussion of brochures
- Brochure 4: Long term funding needs for agricultural growth, poverty reduction and food security
- Brochure 5: Strategy Analyses and Knowledge Support Systems to support the CAADP implementation process in Ghana
- Cocktail reception
DAY 2: WEDNESDAY 28TH OCTOBER
Technical session two
9.00am Presentation and discussion of briefs:
- Brief 1: Food Security and Emergency Preparedness; and Improved Growth in Incomes
- Brief 2: Increased Competitiveness and Enhanced Integration into Domestic and International Markets
- Brief 3: Sustainable Management of Land and Environment; and Science and Technology Applied in Food and Agriculture Development
- Brief 4: Enhanced Institutional Coordination
11.00 Snack break
11.15 Breakout sessions
Technical session three
12.00 Presentation of compact.
Statements by signatories and signing of compact
14.00-1500 Lunch break
15.00-16.00 Discussion of draft roadmap for post compact engagement
Closing ceremony
16.00 Introduction of Chairperson and Dignitaries, MC
Chairperson’s opening remarks
Statements, optional speeches
Issuing of communiqué.
Chairperson’s closing remarks.
Vote of thanks,
Reply Form
GHANA CAADP ROUNDTABLE CONFERENCE
OCTOBER 27TH – 28TH 2009
PERSONAL DETAIL
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DESIGNATION (Prof. Dr. Mr. Mrs. Ms) |
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EXPECTED DATE OF ARRIVAL |
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EXPECTED DATE OF DEPARTURE |
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Send reply to: Josephine Quagraine (ji_qu@yahoo.com); and copy Annie Kudro (anniekud@yahoo.com); and Charlotte Amenti (sharlo_tte@yahoo.com) |
