AU nations yet to achieve 10-pct budget allocation to agriculture

The target of 10-percent budget allocation to agriculture by AU member states has not been achieved, according to Rhoda Peace Tumusiime, AU Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture.

African countries have agreed in 2003, under the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development program (CAADP), to allocate at least 10 percent of public budgets to agriculture to achieve 6-percent growth in the sector.

"The target of 10 percent budget allocation to the agricultural sector has not been achieved, but we have moved from the low base of budget allocation to an average 7.4 percent," the commissioner said Thursday during a press conference in the framework of the 28th AU summit in Ethiopia.

She also noted that over the past eight years the agricultural growth rate has risen from below 2 percent to an average of 4 percent.

The AU department for rural economy and agriculture, aiming to accelerate agriculture transformation in Africa, has drafted a 4-year AU Business Plan for implementation of the CAADAP-Malabo commitments.

Referring to the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) findings that Africa will suffer the most from the climate changes, the commissioner advised member states to strengthen resilience to climate change-related risks.

The commissioner expressed concerns on climate change and recurrent drought, saying it is a "big challenge in Africa."

"Each and every country must ensure that they train the communities in building resilience harvesting water ... and ensures that they really prepare for the prolonged drought which is here," she said. Endite