^{News Release: The 7th Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Partnership Platform (PP) session was kick-started yesterday in Yaoundé, Cameroon under the theme “Mutual Accountability in the Formulation and Implementation of country CAADP investment plans.”}

^{The President of Cameroon, Mr. Paul Biya who was represented by the Special Duties Minister, Mr. Victor Mengot, who officially opened the three day event at the Hilton Hotel in Yaoundé.}

^{In the speech read by the Special Duties Minister, President Biya reiterated the commitment of Cameroon in supporting the CAADP agenda. He said even though Cameroon had not achieved as much as expected in the field of agriculture, the country will continue to work with bilateral and multilateral agencies in reducing hunger and poverty.}

^{The meeting which has in attendance representatives from the African Union Commission (AUC), the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), Regional Economic Communities (RECs), agriculture experts, researchers, the private sector, civil society organizations, farmers group and development partners is placing strong emphasis on the issue of mutual accountability, capacity building and the involvement of non-state actors in the formulation and implementation of country CAADP investment plans.}

^{Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture at the AUC, Tumusiime Rhoda Peace expressed delight that there had been remarkable achievements since CAADP was set up. She says CAADP was about doing business differently adding that twenty five countries have now signed the CAADP compact with more African countries now investing more resources in the development of the sector.}

^{“Democratic Republic of Congo became the twenty fifth country in Africa to sign the CAADP compact. The farmers are better organised now, last year we launched the Pan African Farmers Association (PAFO), our private sector have also become more dynamic in investing in the Agro-Business sector, which has helped in developing the sector. All these are remarkable signs of progress,” Rhoda Peace added. (the complete speech of the Commissioner is available on www.africa-union.org)}

^{Also speaking at the occasion, the Chief Executive Officer of NEPAD Agency, Dr Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, recalled that when CADDP was conceived, the level of agriculture production and quality of policy design was low. He said CAADP came as a transformation strategy.}

^{According to Dr. Mayaki, “CAADP is not about bureaucratic structures, it is about constructive means of developing agriculture in Africa. Partnership is absolutely key, if we want to prioritise Agriculture in Africa. The AU/NEPAD is working on a common strategy through CAADP.”}

^{Giving an overview of the meeting to the participants, the Head of CAADP, NEPAD Partnership and Coordinating Agency (NEPAD Agency), Mr. Martin Bwalya, said the first two days will be devoted to sharing-learning from CAADP Partners and members. He noted that the meeting was about the implementation of CAADP plan, sustaining the gains achieved over the years and giving attention to the management of resources.}

^{“CAADP is about advancing the common vision of Africa for development. It is about sharing experience on CAADP implementation; facilitate dialogue and mobilizing efforts and energy for implementing Africa Agricultural development. It will pay attention to local ownership, issue around financing, private sector involvement and accountability”, Mr. Bwalya added.}

^{German Development Cooperation representative and current Chair of Development Partners for CAADP, Sonja Palm, while reiterating the readiness of the group to continue to support the growth of agriculture in Africa, identified some challenges that need to be addressed.}

^{She says, “to ensure that we can build on existing momentum and that these plans translate to concrete coordinated and harmonised programmes that deliver results, policy-makers need to transfer ownership and understanding of their investment plans and detailed programmes to those who will take forward implementation. We strongly believe that technical and political support needs to target these people and organisations.”}

^{The 7th CAADP-PP Meeting will end on Friday 25th, 2011}

^About-CAADP

^{The African Union through its programme of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) works to raise the amount and quality of food that Africa produces, in order to make families more food-secure and exports more profitable. To do this, the NEPAD Agency brings together all the organisations involved in Africa’s agriculture – and helps them voice their needs and co-ordinate their work. The framework guiding this work is CAADP, developed and led by African nations. Established as part of NEPAD, CAADP was endorsed by the African Union Assembly in July 2003.}

^{www.nepad.org or www.nepad-caadp.net}